Re:Sledgehammer pain

[Guest guest]

Dear M,

Can you be more specific? Is the pain a throbing, or a sharp shooting

pain? Is it a dull ache? When my EN hurts it is a tender feeling at

the site of the lump. If the leg is badly swollen the pain feels like

the leg could explode--especially if the position is changed from

lying down to standing up. I don't know if it wluld help to describe

the pain more accurately, but it might help a doctor to figure out

where the pain is coming from---bone, vascular, tendons, nerves etc.

I've never had a migraine headache, so don't know what a sledgehammer

feels like.

Love,

[Guest guest]

Strange thing is . . . it's very difficult to explain. The closest I

can come is like when . . . you're icing a broken or sprained ankle?

and it gets so cold that you can feel it in your bone? and the bone

aches? Part of it is like that . . . it's not cold, but the aching

is like that, but about 5x worse. It also feels like muscle

cramping, but the muscles aren't cramping. It's not centered

anywhere, like over a lump, although it seems to be centered near the

major joints, knees, ankles, base of toes . . . but the pain is solid

from knee to toe. I can move everything during the pain; touching

it, or rubbing it does nothing to ease it, sometimes makes it worse.

I can walk during it . . . but the pain is no different if I'm

walking or lying down. I'm telling you . . . it's the scariest,

weirdest thing. There's no redness, no swelling . . . well, there is

now, but not during these episodes . . . I think the swelling I have

now is damage, or trauma from whatever that pain was. I've explained

this to the doctors . . . they don't know what to think. I have a

little clue though . . . when I read up on the new meds the rheumy

prescribed, I learned one of them was for gout . . . so I looked up

gout. During a gout attack, there is a release of a certain chemical

or enzyme, can't remember exactly, and it attacks the major joints

like this . . . this is very similar to RA . . . the same kind of

thing happens . . . but with RA, it attacks the soft tendons, or

something like that. With both of those is redness and swelling

which I didn't have . . . so I'm thinking it's some kind of chemical

release of some sort, causing a nerve reaction . . . of some sort.

When I use the term 'sledgehammer', I refer to the breaking of the

bones . . . of course, that's not happening, but that's how bad the

pain is. Does that help?

M

> Dear M,

> Can you be more specific? Is the pain a throbing, or a sharp

shooting

> pain? Is it a dull ache? When my EN hurts it is a tender feeling at

> the site of the lump. If the leg is badly swollen the pain feels

like

> the leg could explode--especially if the position is changed from

> lying down to standing up. I don't know if it wluld help to describe

> the pain more accurately, but it might help a doctor to figure out

> where the pain is coming from---bone, vascular, tendons, nerves etc.

> I've never had a migraine headache, so don't know what a

sledgehammer

> feels like.

> Love,

>

[Guest guest]

Dear M,

That is some pain! Sounds like a description of AGONY! The theory of

chemical release sounds possible. I haven't read much about pain, but

that is another huge issue related to many disorders.

With swelling and redness, the best I can recommend is leg elevation

and support stockings if you can take the pressure.

Love,