[kiwimum03]

Hi everyone,

well my first time posting on the NEW forum.......its pretty nice over here.

Okay, I am finally going to see my NEW Rheumatologist tomorrow, this is one that Sherrill recommended and even my family doctor had heard of him, so I am quite looking forward to seeing what he thinks about me and my symptoms.
My first rheumatologist just said I might have Fibryomyalgia and unidentified arthritic pain, but wouldn't give me anything definate.

So, Iknow I am rambling here. This last week my right elbow has been bothering me.
When I bend it, it feels like there is a thick rubber band running taught over the top of my elbow (you know the muscle that sits next to the bone) and it feels like it is pulling when I bend my arm and it makes it ache a little.

Show I mention it to the new rheumatologist? I don't want to scare him off by telling him all my little aches and pains, but this one is new and does bother me.
I do have it a little on my left elbow but not much.

Sometimes I think I am being hypersensitive to everything that is going on because I don't have a diagnosis yet and I don't want to read into everything.

I just wondered if anyone else who has Scleroderma has this?

thanks if you made it this far.

Hugs,
Irene

[janey]

Irene,
Ditto to everything Sherrill said! Tell your doctor everything.
Let us know how the appointment goes. Good luck

Big Hugs,

[Heidi]

Hi Irene,

I too totally agree....tell him everything that is bothering you! About 2 years ago, the cartilage in my ears started hurting a lot (just feels like it is hot and burning and it is really hard to sleep because I lie on my side and my ears hurt a lot). I wasn't going to mention it to my rheumatologist because I thought it would sound crazy. But, I went ahead and he acted like it was a HUGE deal and seemed to start taking all of my symptoms more seriously after I told him that....go figure!

Please keep us posted on how it goes.

Warm wishes,
Heidi

[Sweet]

Hello!

For sure mention it. I think we need to be our own advocates, and so the more info you can share the better!!

Keep us posted.

Much love Sweet

[kiwimum03]

Thanks for your replies Sherrill, Janey, Heidi and Sweet,

You have been a source of encouragement for me today.

I have been having such a downer of a day. The ache in my elbow got so bad it made me cry, something I don't usually do, but I was feeling a bit down, so that probably put me over the edge.

I don't usually take anti-inflammatories if I can help it, since I have high bloodpressure and everytime I take them, my BP shoots through the roof;
But my elbow started to swell up this afternoon, and it was just tight and unbearable I just had to take some, and then just had to go and lie down because I got dizzy.
Grrr, I know I shouldn't grumble. I don't have that many problems.

Sherrill, thanks for the referal to the rheumatologist, he sounds very good, even my general practitioner had heard of him, she was greatly impressed I was going to see him.

I will let you all know how I get on tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone.

Big HUGS,
Irene

[LisaBulman]

Hi Irene,
Welcome to the forum! It is pretty nice over here. Good luck at your appointment and please let us know how everything goes. You need to tell your doctor everything! Even if it sounds like you have a "list" of complaints, they need to know.

Hugs,
Lisa

[ssakar]

Hello Heidi,

I was reading through some of the older posts on this board and this one caught my eye.

I too have something wrong with my ear.......it sounds exactly like what you are talking about (the cartiledge on my right ear hurts). It hurts when I lay on that side too.

I was just wondering if you ever found out what was wrong?

Thanks,
Sakar

[Heidi]

Hi Sakar,

No, my rheumatologist never did say why it hurt or what was going on. This month it has been hurting ALOT more. It has started to hurt during the day....all of a sudden it will hurt almost like I just got hit in the ear with a baseball. A couple of times when I have looked in the mirror at these times, the right ear is bright red and a little swollen. I am going to talk to my rheumatologist about it when I see him next month. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Warm wishes,
Heidi

[Bird Lady]

WOW I can't believe this. Birdmans ear also hurts. He's been complaining about 3 weeks now. I look in there,don't see anything, even put antibiodic oint. on it. We go to dr. next week, I'll mention it. Sure is strange !!
Anybody else have ear pain (like cartlidge) not inner ear.
Birdmans Wife

[bookworm]

My ear hurts, too! It has done this once before and then, it got better on its own. Now it's hurting again. It sounds almost exactly what Heidi describes. It's the cartilage that hurts and mine gets a little scab on it, as if I'd scratched it or something.

It hasn't swollen and I don't seem to have burning pain or any of that, but it is extremely tender to the touch! It is very uncomfortable if I put my head down on my pillow on that side.

I know that cartilage is a connective tissue, so I guess it makes some kind of sense, but I'd like to know what all of you find out, if anything!



Mary in Texas

[Heidi]

Hi again,

For me, the ear pain (and again, cartiledge, NOT inner ear at all) has been going on (off and on but mostly on) for 3 years! For awhile I had cut a hole in the center of my pillow and when I slept at night (at night it effects both ears, but during the day it is mostly just my right ear) I made sure to put my ear in the hole. That way my head was supported by the pillow while my ear wasn't touching much. I can't remember why I stopped using it. But now I have a VERY soft, smushy pillow and I bunch it up underneath my head so that my ear is somewhat suspended in air and not touching anything while the pillow is under the upper part of my head (if that makes sense). It definitely does seem to get worse when I am having any kind of flare!

Warm wishes to all,
Heidi

[ssakar]

Yep Mary in Texas.......that is EXACTLY like my ear. It has a little scab on the outter bottom ear lob part. It too gets puffy and red at times.....but it seems to always have the little scab on it.

Heidi - that is an excellent idea about cutting the center out of a pillow!! Thanks for the idea :-)

Also it seems right now that my skin is doing funny things....very tender in spots it usually isn't. My fingertips are very sensitive to the touch and are getting little indentations in them......kinda like a hangnail expect it's skin that is peeling. I don't think it's actual 'digital ulcers' forming....but it is pretty painful.
I just wonder if it's the Cipro that I'm still taking from when I was in the hospital. I still have another week on them.......yuck.

Sakar

[Elehos]

Hi Irene,

Tell him everything! My mistake for years was not doing that, feeling like a whiner, and now I realize why all the aches and pains were occuring. Don't feel like you're complaining--one little symptom might be the key for this doctor!

Best wishes to you,
Elehos