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What Causes Persistent Pain In The Hands And Legs?
I have idiopathic neuropathy in my hands and feet. I have a lot of pain in hips, hands and feet all the time. I am loosing some of my toenails, eye lashes and my eyebrows. I am taking gabapentin 1200 mg a day which only helps slightly with my pain. I get sores on my face and neck that just won t heal. I have been tested for diabetis and thyroid. That all came back normal. I have had breast cancer over 12 years ago and been good since then. What s going on?
posted on
Fri, 16 Sep 2016
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sun, 5 May 2019
Answered on
Tue, 7 May 2019
Last reviewed on
Hi,
Looking at the description of your symptoms I would say I tend to agree with your PT about a systemic issue. A neurological cause is not likely from that description and the nerve conduction studies confirm that.
Most probable cause would seem a systemic connective tissue disease like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus. That could explain both the aching and the swelling episodes.
However their signs are not specific and could be encountered in many different conditions and should be confirmed through lab tests. It is unclear what other tests you have done, I would advise a blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C reactive protein, fibrinogen, liver and kidney function tests, thyroid function, electrolytes, vitamin D and B12, rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies.
Such tests can detect inflammation changes or exclude them, reveal other abnormalities which could explain your symptoms. Perhaps you might already have done some of these tests. If yes please come back to me with the results as they could change my opinion. I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Ivan R. Rommstein,
General Surgeon
Looking at the description of your symptoms I would say I tend to agree with your PT about a systemic issue. A neurological cause is not likely from that description and the nerve conduction studies confirm that.
Most probable cause would seem a systemic connective tissue disease like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus. That could explain both the aching and the swelling episodes.
However their signs are not specific and could be encountered in many different conditions and should be confirmed through lab tests. It is unclear what other tests you have done, I would advise a blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C reactive protein, fibrinogen, liver and kidney function tests, thyroid function, electrolytes, vitamin D and B12, rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies.
Such tests can detect inflammation changes or exclude them, reveal other abnormalities which could explain your symptoms. Perhaps you might already have done some of these tests. If yes please come back to me with the results as they could change my opinion. I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Ivan R. Rommstein,
General Surgeon
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