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@vjdembro

Oh my. What are your symptoms? I am not familiar with that med. Do you have any family members who suffer (ed)?
It took me forever to grasp that there is no cure, only symptom mgmt. My sister told me it's your root canals or metal in the mouth or your flu vaccines (I was teaching adult ed-second career ) or this or that . So I kept trying to fix the cause - to no avail. I even did several months of TMS, which might have set my mouth off too.
My worst symptoms are Big profound fatigue, dizzy, weakness, feeling faint. This is constant. You?
I walk with trekking poles, mostly up and down the parking lot -just to move and look at the sky. Several fingers are swollen and red and hurt sometimes. Sides of toenails are painful from time to time Above the neck is dry mouth, aching teeth and weird upper palate raw feeling, dry eye, swollen eyes, eyelid twitch, runny nose, blocked right ear off and on. I have freezing hands and feet but I don't mind cuz that has a solution- electric heating pad. Every day round noon my feet and hands get freezing and I feel horribly sick that tells me its time go to bed and try to nap for a hour, even though I might have gotten 9 hours sleep the night before.
I have also had weird symptoms that last a few months or weeks and then go away- like severe right hip pain, painful underarm lymph nodes, burning pain in the ball of my foot, pain in my side, heartburn. One night 4 years ago there was such severe pain in part of my skull I almost went to the ER. But it lasted 5 or 6 hours only. But I'll never forget that night. I had a month of non-stop bloody eyeballs - one after the other - in my left eye. Eye doc mumbled something about giant cell arteritis. I am now 74 but I had been doing hot yoga for 20 years and walking 10 miles a day. I was NOT a hypochondriac. My yoga leg muscle memory for balance has probably saved me from a fall over and over this past year. My life has cratered and I don't know what I did wrong.
I have stiffness in my back etc but I wouldn't call it bad - and because I don't have big muscle pain, doctors tend to dismiss me. Call me depressed, etc. Well hell ya, you would be too ! I might rather have pain that responds to meds, rather than constantly feeling like I am going to throw up, have my legs give out from under me, and pass out or just crumple in sleep.
I had COVID for the first time end of 2023. You? A tiny short lived cough and slept for several days is all. My fatigue and malaise symptoms started in 2017 pre-Covid - They are much worse now. Worse since 2 oral surgeries.
So is it long Covid? EBV virus reactivation?, auto immune? metal poisoning , chronic infection somewhere? vaccine reaction? Genetics? All or some of the above?
So LDN for now - it might be helping mouth pain, but I am more dizzy and faint. I was on Gabapentin low dose and it helped my mouth. But then dizzy and fatigue began to worsen. Not adverse to prednisone or back on Plaquenil if it comes to that which it prolly will. Just doing the LDN for now, because I am pretty sensitive to medication it appears. Want to try ozone treatment IV and Vitamin C IV if I can afford it. (Insurance doesn't cover). Has anyone tried this?
Pardon this diatribe. But I am truly curious if we have any symptom overlap. I know manifestation can be quite different in each body, but somehow it provides comfort knowing I am not totally alone in feeling so dreadful like this.

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Replies to "Oh my. What are your symptoms? I am not familiar with that med. Do you have..."

I am Canadian. I have noticed that our treatments tend to be different than in the USA. Are you American? You asked me about my meds. They have changed
over the last 7 years. Right now I take teva-pregabalin, 1 Aspirin, Teva-rosuvastatin, Rosuvastatin Calcium, 1000 Mcg/Swiss Vit. B 12,1000Mcg. Act- Amlodipine Besylate, 5 MG.
More symptoms are leg weakness for awhile after I wake up
In the 🌄. Symptoms are also, eyelid twitch, heartburn like most people our age! Haha. I am almost 72.
My husband wants to check out ozone treatments in Toronto. Can't hurt.
As far as the dental connection and covid mentions, personally I think that could be going down the wrong path. Am I being too bold?😄
What is LDN?
I am so excited to meet another person experienced in the ways of Mixed Connective Tissue.
Disease.
Sincerely,
Charlotte

I forgot to reply to you about Covid. My husband and I both got covid on the same day about 2-3 years ago. We got sick. We went bed. No memory at all of the 2 weeks we were " out of it". Woke up at the kitchen table. End of story.