Age: 51.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Paraesthesia, Rheumatoid arthritis, Rheumatoid factor increased, Skin burning sensation, Sleep disorder
Clinical narrative: I received the first covid 19 vaccine in March and the second in April of 2021. In April i started having bad headache. It then progressed to joint pain that moved around to different parts of my body. I went to my doctor and had some blood tests. They found a slight elevation in RA factor and thought I had rheumatoid arthritis. I saw a Rheumatologist for this and tried a couple different treatments. Both of which made me sick. During the course of this my pain was accompanied by numbness in my feet and hands. I spent 2 days in the hospital in May of 2022. My numbness had become much worse and was now tingling pain in the lower have of my legs. Walking had become more difficult and my balance was bad. I was very fatigued all the time. They did some tests. My RA factor was now normal. My spine and my neck showed arthritis and some degeneration. Typical of someone my age, but I did a course of physical therapy to see if it would help. It did not, and my therapist suggested my problem was more systemic rather than musculoskeletal. I had MRI's and more testing. My doctor thought I should see a neurologist so she referred me. This did not go well for me, nor did I feel I was given adequate time by this doctor. He talked with me for about 10 minutes and told me to try a drug for migraines. I went to another location for a second opinion. This doctor and staff are wonderful. He is still my neurologist. He did a lot of testing and by this time my tingling changed to severe burning nerve pain. I could not sleep more than 2 or 3 hours at a time. He put me on a large dose of gabapentin. Tests did not reveal the source to my problems. Several more MRI's, EMG's, and blood work. I had a skin biopsy and a lumbar puncture. Biopsy showed small fiber neuropathy. Lumbar puncture was normal. EMG of leg was normal. EMG of arm showed only carpal tunnel. By this time I started having tremors in my hands and muscle spasms in my legs. Still no clear cause to my symptoms. More medication was added. baclofen for spasms, and amitriptyline for sleep and pain. My eye sight was also affected and I began seeing the eye doctor every 6 months. Blurry vision and double vision issues. The last visit in March of 2023 he though my optic nerve look suspicious for MS. So I had another MRI. Still no sign of a cause. I began having burning pain in my face and on top of my head in the winter of 2022. I went back to facility and began getting nerve blocks for occipital neuralgia. My med's increased to help with the trigeminal neuralgia and increased nerve pain. Still no found cause to all my issues. I went on disability in November of 2022, and I resigned from my 10+ year employment in May of 2023. My life has completely changed. I can no longer do anything I used to do. I am now seeing a neurologist that specializes in Autonomic Nervous System. I has the testing for dysautonomia and he found I do have this problem. My bladder is also affected and I now self catharize twice a day for now, and over time it will increase up to 5 times a day. This was found previous by a Urologist in May 2023. I will have to do this for the rest of my life. My ANS neurologist order more testing. He believes the source to my problem is a vaccine injury by my covid 19 vaccines. Once the testing is complete, I am praying a new treatment regimen can take place, where I am not on so much medication treating the symptoms and not the cause.