Leg weakness and hand tremors

Posted by titan32 @titan32, Aug 11, 2022

I will try to summarize my chain of events. I was 50 when this started. I was a 255lb 6’ 0”muscular active football and baseball coach. BP was running somewhat high….diet was a lot of pizza and fast food soft drinks caffeine etc. Own rental properties on top of a full time engineering manager job. I have 4 kids 24, 20, 16 and 16 (twins). In March I started having what I know now to be heart palpitations and I also know now to be PACs. Emergency doc gave me an Atenolol prescription and they set me up to see a cardiologist. The medication helped with the symptoms and my BP came down some as well. Cardiologist added Olmesartin and changed to Metropolol ER. Had a Echocardiogram. Heart functionally completely normal. I’m April started feeling an odd pressure in my heart area. So back to the ER. I had elevated Troponin levels (now I know mine just run high). I had stress test with contrast, heart CT, Calcium score and finally a heart cath. No issues other than one artery LAD had 30 percent blockage. In the hospital I had major anxiety and worry. I couldn’t sleep because I would feel like I couldn’t breath when I started to NOD off. O2 levels good. Hospitalist thought I might be having trouble with the Beta blocker so she cut in in half and added amlodipine. After coming home I was so sick. Couldn’t sleep, no energy, weak, and shortness of breath that was random and not tied to exertion. GP orders a 3 day hear monitor. My heat goes nuts on day 6 home from the hospital. PACs PVCs Bigeneny, Trigemey and some aFib. We quickly up the Metropolol and things calm down heart wise. But then I became weaker and suffered from sleep deprivation. Switch to Atenolol and things improve some with sleep. Fast forward to June…fired first cardiologist, get a new one. Everyone seems to think I just can’t tolerate beta blockers and they were causing the shortness of breath. Also had pulmanary function test and lung CT to rule out lung issues. A wonderful NP had me start short acting Diltiazem a couple times a day so I could lower the beta blocker at night. I start to sleep better and exercise. I have lost 30 lbs by this point (fixed diet…no caffeine since March…walk 1.5 miles every night) strength gets better. But now I start to have an internal feeling of shakiness in the mornings and finger twitching where you can see the little muscles under my skin firing. It’s almost like tremors but maybe more of a fasciculation. GP says I’m having panic attacks and gives me Xanax. It does help but the brain fog is also bad. Finally see an EP who put me on Diltiazem ER 120. No palpitations …don’t see any PACs on my Apple Watch. The hand tremors and occasional twitches in my triceps or biceps seem to be a little worse. Also have an odd sensation/weakness in my quads. Had all the blood work for metabolic panel, sed rate, vitamins, CBC, CK. All ok. Have an appointment with a neurologist in September. Just for information I have had psoriatic arthritis since my early 20s and I take MTX for that. Also during all this testing I had a sleep study and I do have mild sleep apnea when in my back. Cpap on back order…although no issues when I side sleep or sleep in my recliner. Long story short I’m in perfect sinus rhythm…I’m scared to death about these hand tremors and leg weakness. It’s also like if I use any major muscle group under stress that muscle feels like it wants to shiver like I’m cold. This is all so odd and am hoping the neurologist is more help than the GP, 2 cardiologist a sleep doc, a pulmonologist and an EP!

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@ eatberry, Why don’t you get an appt at Mayo in Rochester? I have read story after story of folks being dxed quickly at Mayo for these types of problems. I lived there 10 years ago so here is how you do it. Get a shuttle at the airport to Rochester, stay in a hotel that is connected to the tunnel/skyway system. I know it will cost a few bucks and be annoying to navigate, but at least you can get answers that you can trust. Praying for your journey. 🙏

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