I am a 25 year old female who has been living with limited Scleroderma as a secondary disease to dermatomyositis for the past 5 years. Three years ago I began developing calcinosis (calcium deposits on both elbows and knees) the build-up has been fairly painless. But a few months ago, I made the mistake of listening to my ob/gyn and took extra calcium during the end of my second pregnancy. He claimed it would not affect the calcinosis, but it did quite extensively. The deposits practically tripled in size over a course of 2 months. Again, the build-up did not cause too much pain. However, about 2 months after I delivered my daughter, both knees and both elbows began swelling horribly and began leaking calcium through the skin, my knees have literally gotten to be the size of a large grapefruit. I have had the leaking before, but never the swelling. The first time I went to the ER, it was diagnosed as infection. I was given a course of IV and oral antibiotics as well as IV and oral steroids for the inflammation. However the treatment was ineffective, the swelling and pain continued for weeks. My rheumatologist ordered an MRI and X-rays, all of which came back normal (except for the calcium deposits). A couple days later I saw my primary care physician, who insists it is merely pain associated with Scleroderma from the tightness of my skin, but the skin tightness in my body is limited to my forearms, hands, and feet, and I have never experienced this sort of pain in those areas. The pain eventually began to subside for a few days, but then came right back, just as strong as ever...so back to the ER I went. They diagnosed me with pseudogout, which my rheumatologist immediately dismissed due to my young age. She did an ultrasound on my knee joint which showed no fluid, and gave me more antibiotics to be on the safe side. That was two months ago, the pain and swelling still continued, so then I had blood drawn to check for infection, as well as a culture of the fluid leaking from my knees, they both came back negative. It has now been a total of 3 months since this all began...I am at a total loss on what to do. The pain is unbearable, it is to the point where I can barely walk or lift my children. I am wondering if this could possibly be my body breaking down the deposits and reabsorbing the calcium. I have noticed that the deposits on my elbows have shrunk quite a bit, I still can't tell a difference in my knees. I have not been able to find any information on the resorption of calcium deposits. If anyone knows anything about it or has had a similar experience, I would be so grateful to hear about it.
