polymyalgia rheumatica and a sink hole

WOW - what a completely horrible and very scary week I had.   As many know I have been going through some heath issues that were getting progressively worse. 

I'm typing this not for entertainment but to get information out IN CASE it happens to anybody else.

The one sure thing was my knee replacement in January - I was prepared for that bit of news but what happened after that was freaking me out.  For any of you medics out there here is what was happening and my attempt to figure things out.

First my shoulder froze up. Not a totally uncommon thing it seems and it's called Adhesive capsulitis. DJ had it a few years ago and we believed this was the issue. I felt it was an injury stemmming from my knee being a large useless piece of meat and I had to use my shoulder 20 times a night to roll over.   I made an appointment which his still 18 days away.  The problem was my left shoulder was COMPLETELY frozen.  A totally useless arm from the elbow up.

OK - I can deal with that for a LITTLE while.  Then my right shoulder started to freeze - VERY VERY painful and if you happen to sleep in a bed, try it without your shoulders touching anything. You can't sleep on your back or either side. 

 I was literally losing the ability to dress myself with my T-rex arms and the pain went from 2 to 8 instantly when I tried to use my arms for ANYTHING - NOT GOOD.

But then my gluts and hamstrings were  started acting up.  I could not get out of a chair and I could only sit for maybe 15 minutes without serious pain in my legs and butt.  This was not just atrophy from not using my leg, this was something different.  I could stand or lay down but when I sat it was like all the blood was being squeezed out of my legs. The act of standing up was horrific pain and I was literally walking around like Tim Conway.   

Googling I assumed this was Inflammatory Myositis.  I contacted my DR and he ordered blood tests.  DJ drove me down to the Clinic (I could not get in or out of a car).  I honestly felt I NEED TO BE IN A HOSPITAL!

A day later I got all the tests back and it all 30+ things seemed fine . . .except one, called C-Reactive Protein which was very elevated, 

That was Wednesday and Wednesday night was the worst yet.  Up all night.  I contacted the shoulder Dr and pleaded for some better pain relief as nothing was working.

and I waited for a reply.

Thursday afternoon I was contacted and Dr Wilson at UW Health Sports Medicine said he had been  looking at my records and going back at ALL that was going on with me had an idea.  The C-Reactive Protein (CRP) was the key.

He believes I have a somewhat rare-ish (200,000 a year in America) issue called polymyalgia rheumatica.   DJ and I looked into this and OMG - we were both sort of laughing as I check off EVERY symptom.  I'm the poster child.

Aches or pain in your shoulders - without a doubt

Aches or pain in your neck, upper arms, buttocks, hips or thighs - check

Stiffness in affected areas, particularly in the morning or after being inactive for a time - yup

Limited range of motion in affected areas - check

Pain or stiffness in your wrists, elbows or knees - check

Mild fever - check

Fatigue - check

A general feeling of not being well (malaise) - check

Loss of appetite - check

Unintended weight loss (I have lost 14 pounds in 7 weeks)

Depression - check

Limits your ability to do your usual activities, such as getting dressed - check

Complications

Getting out of bed, standing up from a chair or getting out of a car - YEA

Combing your hair or bathing (hands can not reach my head - I don't comb anyway)

Getting dressed ( I could not put on a shirt or socks)

These difficulties can affect your health, social interactions, physical activity, sleep and general well-being

Looking at other sites I feel like I'm the poster child for polymyalgia rheumatica.   My mom had lupis so there are issues in the family.  In 3rd grade I had Rheumatic fever.

SO - this morning I took my first very low lever dose of prednisone and you will hear results Monday (I hope)

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MEANWHILE - all this is going on it seems a small sink hole happened under our house.

We found this out when plumbers started to work on our plumbing in the basement.  A backward pitch for the toilette needed to be fixed.

WELL - surprise!  They got through the concrete and instead of dirt . . . there was 5 inches of air.  THAT'S NOT RIGHT!  The dirt under the house in one area had sunk!

The trench for the plumbing was great and then sank with the dirt. So there was a 5 inch backward pitch.    

As you can see there should NOT be a gap under the shower.    

 

Of course insurance will not pay for this as there seems to be a "moving earth" clause.  No leaks or anything.  Is it from the gravel pit that lights off explosives once a month shaking the house?  

Now I need to find a company that will insert some sort of slurry into the gap . . . of something. 

and that is my story at the moment - what a week. and HOPEFULLY I'm on the upside . . of ONE of these two things