@dadkins
Thank you so much for the kind words, the prayers, and the encouragement! I really appreciate it. 😊
Interestingly, I actually went deeply down the rheumatology rabbit hole over the last year.
My journey started with knee pain after falling off my bike. Over a span of about five years, I had multiple MRIs (back home) that didn't catch any mechanical issues, so I was actually given an autoimmune diagnosis back home. It was a really tough journey-| even took
Methotrexate for two to three months. It did absolutely nothing for my knee, and left me with stomach issues and feeling the worst i felt in my life.
Later, decided to do an evaluation in germany, a rheumatologist and the hospital rheumatology department there sent me for a MRI, but this time on a higher-resolution 3-Tesla machine. That scan finally caught the real problem: a mechanical meniscus tear and grade 2 degeneration, with no signs of arthritis. Between that imaging, my blood work, and the clinical signs, the autoimmune diagnosis was officially debunked.
Because of that traumatic history, when this sudden neck pain started, my mind immediately jumped to it being an autoimmune condition.
I had my CRP and ESR checked right away, but they were both completely normal. So, while I am so glad you finally got your answers and relief, it seems highly unlikely to be an autoimmune condition for me