Age: 75.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: COVID19-2
Symptoms: Arthritis, Back pain, Blood pressure increased, Blood test abnormal, Burning sensation
Clinical narrative: I had my annual physical on 11/18/2022. I underwent X-rays during the physical, because I had had neck and back pain. The X-rays indicated that I had degenerative disk disease of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae. The bloodwork also showed that I had elevated levels of vitamin B12 (over 7000). I was advised to stop taking vitamin B12 and B complex supplements and to return in a couple of weeks for follow-up. I was prescribed naproxen and told to get topical capsaicin cream for the neck and back pain.  I was also sent to a physical therapist for my back pain, and it was recommended that I go to the gym for low-impact aquatic exercises. I saw the physical therapist for the first time on 1/4/2023. The physical helped with the tightness in the shoulder, but after I started going to do water exercises, my vertigo was set off. After I developed vertigo, I was pretty much unable to leave the house, even for appointments to the physical therapist. The vertigo began in January 2023, and it finally subsided at around the beginning of March 2023. On 1/4/2023, I saw a physiatrist for my arthritis. The physiatrist confirmed that I had arthritis, but I asked him if I had a pinched nerve, because I had felt pins and needles intermittently beginning in December 2022 or January 2023. The pins and needles feeling eventually became constant. The physiatrist told me that it would not cause me a pinched nerve or the pins and needles sensation. He decided to refer me to a neurologist, whom I saw on 2/24/2023. He diagnosed me with peripheral neuropathy. He sent me to have me checked for diabetes, and it turns out that I am neither diabetic nor prediabetic. I have neuropathy of unknown origin. On 1/25/2023, my PCP prescribed meclizine to take as needed for the vertigo. It makes me drowsy, so I can't go anywhere or day anything whenever I take it. I checked back with the hematologist, and I was told that I was fine and that I should just cease taking vitamin B12 and B complex. On 3/17/2023, I saw my NP. I told her I felt weird. She checked my BP, and it had shot up. I also had chest pains. She told me I needed to have a stress test as soon as possible. I began to have chest pains. I became flushed and had hot flashes and felt clammy. I was having the symptoms of a heart attack, except I didn't have nausea. My NP then took me to the ER. At the ER, I underwent an EKG and a chest X-ray. They gave me nitroglycerin. They couldn't see what the problem was, but they wanted me to at least stay in the hospital overnight and then undergo a chemical stress test the next day. I was admitted to the hospital. I underwent the stress test. I did not have a heart attack, and they said that my heart was in good shape. I had gone from having a 75% chance of getting a heart attack to a 1% chance. The cardiologist didn't know what was causing the heart issues, but he believed the symptoms were caused possibly by my arthritis and other pain issues. I am currently taking turmeric with black pepper for the arthritis and alpha lipoic acid for neuropathy. I have noticed a difference. The pain is now more tolerable, and I am no longer waking with a burning sensation in my legs or ankles. The arthritis is more tolerable, except when I do too much.