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if i had a lymph node that was swollen for about 3 weeks and the doctore put me on an antibiotic and now it is feeling better but my neck still feels painful like i have a neck brace on, and i am tired all the time. But my CBC is all normal. My ANA was pretty high. And i had further tests for Lupus and they were negative. I feel totally exausted all the time and have occassional hot flashes. What do you think about all of this? Thanks, Angelica

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Female

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mobic,clarithromycin

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The fatigue and continued soreness and stiffness may be lingering effects from infection and swelling of the area. The ANA elevation may have certain benign causes, but alone is not diagnostic. Mobic would suggest a history or suspicion of Rheumatoid Arthritis which would present an elevated ANA.

I think it is time to return to the Doctor to explore other causes for your fatigue.

If you are post-menopausal, or perimenopausal, (you didn't give your age)hormone changes may be causing some symptoms you describe and a visit to the OB/GYN may be advisable.

Otherwise, your symptoms indicate a need for more testing (thyroid function and EBV-Epstein Barr Virus for example). An EKG may be indicated and an imaging study of the head and neck.

In the meantime: you may look at diet (sensitivities, erratic blood sugar fluctuations, high fat intake causing sluggish liver) as a cause or aggravating factor. Keep a food diary for at least a week and review for patterns etc. If any excess or deficit leaps out, consider changes. Drink plenty fluids, avoid alcohol, refined carbohydrates, simple sugars, and trans fats. Add yogurt daily for the acidophilis.

Supplements:
high dose B12,
daily vitamin with antioxidants, (you may need to add iron and/or calcium to reach recomended daily intake-check label)
Omega 3 (fish oil)
chromium picolinate to help maintain normal blood sugar levels
Soy protein (add supplement to certain foods or try soy milk) this is especially beneficial to estrogen production.

I hope you feel better soon, and this helped. Please let me know if I can add or clarify info.

I hope my answer is helpful. If you have more questions, just ask! I am happy to help. If not, please click "accept" so I may receive credit for my work.
Positive feedback and a bonus is appreciated when you feel I've earned it. Thank you, Christy

Reply to Christy Hammond's Post: Hi I am 34 sorry i didn't tell you. I was negaive for the RH factor. Just had high ANA of 1:320 I get hot flashes at night and during the day. Feel so tired. The doctor did say my thyroid was normal. Could there still be something wrong with my thyroid if in the CBC it is normal? This all began with aches and pains in my back near the left flank, then moved up and up to the base of the back of the neck. Now that is feeling all better. I did get bad leg cramps really bad for a while, but that has decreased. I felt light-headed the other day and lied down on the floor. My son came in and said my eyes were rolling and and rapid movement of my eyes and then i let out a loud cry and cried so hard then stopped. I got up real slowly and felt like the energy had been drained from my body. My son said i was talking kinda sluggish and acting confused. He helped me lie down and my left arm and hand lost feeling, and my hand looked a bit purple. My blood pressure is usually about 117/76 but after that episode it went up to 145/95 and i got a horrible headache. They didn't do anything for me at the ER.My hand and arm have gotten back feeling in it. Just feel a bit week. I am confused about all this. THis was the 2nd time this happened. Ct scan was negative, and EKG was normal.

Reply to Christy Hammond's Post: I sent you some more information last night about my age and the other things leading up to my current health. The other thing i didn't mention was that a doctor tried to give me some antianxiety med Xanax and said maybe i had some kind of anxiety attack. But when the episodes happened i was not mad and i am not worried about anything. My family is great. Thanks. Please read what i wrote before.I wrote a reply but no one responded. Thanks, Angelica

1. Your Thyroid was likely tested with a thyroid function test (vs. CBC). Though it is "normal", I would request values to see if it is borderline.

2. Anxiety/panic attack is not just psychological. Symptoms are generally physical and produce documented changes in vital signs and other test results. Your Doctor has a more complete picture, and may have multiple reasons to diagnose anxiety attack as a cause of your episode. Anxiety can be subconscious. Life experiences, stress, worries and fears may not be experienced, or may be minimized by people with strong will and determination. (Suppression causes AA as well.)

That aside:
Your milder symptoms individually can be attributed to factors like poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, food sensitivities, vitamin deficiency, diet and possibly hormaone imbalances, and possible chronic blood pressure elevation (not necessarily "hypertension, but a pattern of episodic elevation).
Taken together, then added to the episode recently dubbed an anxiety attack, they bear further testing.

The "episode" you describe could have been a seizure or other serious disorder, but only tests can differentiate and diagnose.

Lifestyle changes are important, stress reduction will help, diet and exercise + supplements may aid overall well being but:

You still have no diagnosis, making any plan for treatment too general. Lupus and RA are not the only possibilities. Secreting adenomas for example have a very similar symptom profile. Type 2 Diabetes, vascular disease, even cancer, while unlikely, should be ruled out.

There is a fine line between overeacting or being to aggressive in investigating symptoms and being too conservative.

Minimally: a repaeat Thyroid profile, CBC, clotting time, EBV and liver enzymes should be drawn. A CT of head and neck, with contrast and EKG are also indicated. Hormone testing may be indicated, depite young age. Other testing should be based on cummulative results.

It is possible your Doctor is not entirely aware of the effect your health is having on daily life, or he is minimizing or diregarding your complaints.. Checking for Autoimmune disorders indicates he is willing to look, but you may have to advocate for yourself: monitoring and organizing your own course of testing.

Keep a daily journal of physical feelings experienced (good and bad), diet, activity and detailed description of any further episodes you may experience along with questions to ask at next appt as they arise. Also write down Doctors names, addresses, tests, exact number results, and request copies of test results (CT, pathology, EKG results).

If you are unsatisfied with your Doctor's approach get a second opinion. This is your right and your resposibilty.

I really hope you feel better very soon. Can I add, or clarify any info?

I hope my answer is helpful. If you have more questions, just ask! I am happy to help. If not, please click "accept" so I may receive credit for my work.
Positive feedback and a bonus is appreciated when you feel I've earned it. Thank you, Christy

Reply to Christy Hammond's Post: Hi Thank you so much for talking to me. I felt pretty good today. Just had the horrible headache on the sides of my head. I did notice that my left foot is really hurting. The top of my left foot was swollen. My other foot was fine.The right foot hurt really bad, and yesterday the ball of my foot hurt first. The top of the foot is what is going on now. Is that coming fron the joint, mmuscle. or where? It is located on top of my foot close to ankle area. Thanks again for being to concerned. That is very thoughtful. Angelica Hill

You are more than welcom-I am happy to help! Can you clarify your info a little?
You said your left foot is hurting and the top is swollen, but your other foot is fine.Then you went on to say your right was hurting and the pain began in the ball of your ffot yesterday.
DDid you mean to say left foot, or was yesterday's pain in the right, today the left?

Is is painful to touch, or aching?
Is your leg swollen?
When you press your finger into the swollen area, does it leave an impression or dent for more than 1-2 seconds?

Are you on your feet alot, play sports, or sit with legs crossed or hanging dependant for long periods?

I hope my answer is helpful. If you have more questions, just ask! I am happy to help. If not, please click "accept" so I may receive credit for my work.
Positive feedback and a bonus is appreciated when you feel I've earned it. Thank you, Christy

Reply to Christy Hammond's Post: It is just the right top of the foot that is painful. I don't remember doing anything to hurt it. It has been hurting about a week now. No indentions when i push on it. I have to push a bit hard to find the pain. It is like it is a little deep. Could that be muscle or joint? If i point my toes or dorsiflex it it doesnt make it hurt. It hust has a constant hurt about it. And i just ate for breakfast a bowl of oatmeal and a piece of toast, and half a cup of coffee. And when i was done, i started the sweating business again. I think i told you about that earlier. I wrote it down to keep a log. The sweating is very strange. I am in an air condition area nice and cool and here i am sweating. I had a mammogram, no breast cancer. I had a lymph node swollen on my left side that was there about 3 and half weeks they put me on clarithromycin and i have been taking that for about 5 days the lymph node seems to have gone down, but i still have this feeling of heaviness in my neck feels almost like i am wearing a light neck brace on my neck. Right under the chin and down from there and halfway down neck it feels a bit large. And i am tired all the time. My throat is fine negative for strep not hard to swallow or eat. Just feel heaviness in neck area especially in middle. Thanks again, Angelica

The foot pain definately sounds like a tendon or muscle injury. This can be caused from overpronation, or other acute injury.
Go to: http://www.drfoot.co.uk/pronation.htm to read about overpronation and how to treat/prevent the damage it causes.

Your breakfast sounds pretty good, though it could use a little lean protein to add balance, and maintain stable blood sugar. The sweating could be attributed to diet, (an insulin response or food allergy for example) or may be coincidental in it's timing. Either way, you should pursue testing asap.

Do some gentle stretching exercises for your neck. While treating the swollen node you probably avoided movement to prevent pain etc, and the muscles may be stiff. Go to: http://chinese-holistic-health-exercises.com/stiff-neck-exercise.html for examples.

Fasting blood glucose, follow-up thyroid, CT with Iodine, and EKG are tests that may pin down or rule out the more serious causes of your symptoms. See your Doctor, armed with your journal, and a written list of questions, and request he not rule this simple "anxiety" before ruling out other serious possibilities.

I hope this has helped, do you have any other questions or need clarification on any point?

I hope my answer is helpful. If you have more questions, just ask! I am happy to help. If not, please click "accept" so I may receive credit for my work.
Positive feedback and a bonus is appreciated when you feel I've earned it. Thank you, Christy

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