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Home > Archive > Lupus Support > December 2005 > spleen pain
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| janice 2005-12-19, 1:04 am |
| I have been lurking for a while and this is my first post. My biggest
problem lately is spleen pain. It was quite sore a few months back but I
went on prednisone as well as methotrexate as they thought I had rheumatoid
arthritis. I have since seen a rheumatologist and she said it was definitely
not RA but rather Lupus. My joints are very sore and have difficulty moving
around. I am tired all the time and spleen pain is back and I think it has a
lot to do with not being on as much prednisone. I am weaning off and take
2.5 mg every other day this week and reduce by another pill each subsequent
week and in three weeks I will be off. I can only imagine the pain I will be
in once I am off.
Need your input,
Janis
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| janers 2005-12-19, 12:55 pm |
| Hi Janis
First off, how did you find out it was spleen pain? I am confused. Did a
blood test tell you the spleen is having problems and show up there? Or is
the pain in the area on and under the left or right ribs?
Another quick question is "is the tapering just how the rheumy told you to
do? Maybe it is too quick and you might need to stay on a higher dose a
little longer and then taper very very slowly like 1/2 to 1 mg a week. You
definately need to call the doc on that one and mention this, it is
important for sure.
I surely hope you find some answers but seems your dose again might not be
enough for now.
Please call your doc and let us know what and how you are ok???
janers
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| Hi Janis,
Welcome to you. Glad you decided to post.Do you know the results of your
CBC? I am sure the doctor ordered one. The reason I am asking is because
spleen enlargement is often connected with a too rapid destruction of
certain blood cells. Do you know your platelet, rbc, and wbc levels?
BJ-Sk. Canada
"janice" <janwood63@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:K4rpf.9066$ic1.1715@edtnps90...
> I have been lurking for a while and this is my first post. My biggest
> problem lately is spleen pain. It was quite sore a few months back but I
> went on prednisone as well as methotrexate as they thought I had
rheumatoid
> arthritis. I have since seen a rheumatologist and she said it was
definitely
> not RA but rather Lupus. My joints are very sore and have difficulty
moving
> around. I am tired all the time and spleen pain is back and I think it has
a
> lot to do with not being on as much prednisone. I am weaning off and take
> 2.5 mg every other day this week and reduce by another pill each
subsequent
> week and in three weeks I will be off. I can only imagine the pain I will
be
> in once I am off.
> Need your input,
> Janis
>
>
| |
| janice 2005-12-19, 6:02 pm |
| >I had an ultrasound done last summer when the pain started as they thought
>I was having kidney problems. The pain was as a result of an enlarged
>spleen according to the ultrasound. My doctors seem to dismiss it as it is
>only slightly enlarged but still causes pain when I eat.
> Janice, BC Canada
"janice" <janwood63@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:K4rpf.9066$ic1.1715@edtnps90...
>I have been lurking for a while and this is my first post. My biggest
>problem lately is spleen pain. It was quite sore a few months back but I
>went on prednisone as well as methotrexate as they thought I had rheumatoid
>arthritis. I have since seen a rheumatologist and she said it was
>definitely not RA but rather Lupus. My joints are very sore and have
>difficulty moving around. I am tired all the time and spleen pain is back
>and I think it has a lot to do with not being on as much prednisone. I am
>weaning off and take 2.5 mg every other day this week and reduce by another
>pill each subsequent week and in three weeks I will be off. I can only
>imagine the pain I will be in once I am off.
> Need your input,
> Janis
>
| |
|
| Hi Janis,
I don't know if you have a good doctor or not, but I have learned from
experience not to leave anything to chance. I always get a copy of my
monthly blood work, so I can follow it myself. An enlarged spleen may not be
a big problem, but might be if you have abnormal blood results along with
it. Do you get copies of your test results?
BJ-Sk. Canada
"janice" <janwood63@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:XDEpf.20479$Hl4.20430@clgrps13...
thought[vbcol=seagreen]
is[vbcol=seagreen]
>
> "janice" <janwood63@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:K4rpf.9066$ic1.1715@edtnps90...
rheumatoid[vbcol=seagreen]
another[vbcol=seagreen]
>
>
| |
|
| janice wrote:
[vbcol=seagreen]
Does it hurt less, if you eat smaller meals, spread out through the day?
J
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| janice 2005-12-20, 1:05 am |
| I feel nauseated if I eat a large meal. I have been trying to eat small
meals throughout the day. I go through periods of weeks where I have
absolutely no appetite at all, even on prednisone. I figured the eating pain
thing out a long time ago. I never realized the pain in my back could be
related. I just assumed it was just there on top of my many numerous joint
and muscle pain.
What I find is odd though, is since I have had this and I get low grade
fevers almost daily, I have not had a cold or flu in years. I don't
understand how my immune system is doing so well despite my other problems.
I had a sinus infection and it lasted only a day and a half. If I get
something like a cold or flu, it does not last more than 2 days. Could the
enlarged spleen help me in this?
Janice
"J" <noluck@anon.anon> wrote in message
news:43A75F42.9ED70872@execulink.com...
> janice wrote:
>
>
> Does it hurt less, if you eat smaller meals, spread out through the day?
> J
>
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| julia 2005-12-20, 10:59 am |
| SPLEEN PAIN, DISEASES, Infection, ENLARGED SPLEEN
Hypersplenism/ Enlarged spleen
Hypersplenism is a type of disorder which causes the spleen to rapidly
and prematurely destroy blood cells.
Causes & symptoms
Hypersplenism may be caused by a variety of disorders. Sometimes, it is
brought on by a problem within the spleen itself and is referred to as
primary hypersplenism. Secondary hypersplenism results from another
disease such as chronic malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, or
polycythemia vera, a blood disorder.
Symptoms of hypersplenism include easy bruising, easy contracting of
bacterial diseases, fever, weakness, heart palpitations, and
ulcerations of the mouth, legs and feet. Individuals may also bleed
unexpectedly and heavily from the nose or other mucous membranes, and
from the gastrointestinal or urinary tracts. Most patients will develop
an enlarged spleen, anemia, leukopenia, or abnormally low white blood
cell counts, or thrombocytopenia, a deficiency of circulating platelets
in the blood. Other symptoms may be presents that reflect the
underlying disease that has caused hypersplenism.
An enlarged spleen is one of the symptoms of Malaria, Cirrhosis of the
liver, leukaemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, polycythaemia, etc.
Spleen enlarges when called on to remove massive numbers of red blood
cells, defective cells, or bacteria from circulation. Splenomegaly
occurs in about 10% of systemic lupus erythematosus patients.
Sometimes, it is caused by recent viral infection, such as
mononucleosis.
| |
| Nicole H 2005-12-21, 1:05 am |
| could you have mono? it causes an enlarged spleen.
one doctor i used said mono is very common with autoimmune disease. who
knows
"janice" <janwood63@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:K4rpf.9066$ic1.1715@edtnps90...
>I have been lurking for a while and this is my first post. My biggest
>problem lately is spleen pain. It was quite sore a few months back but I
>went on prednisone as well as methotrexate as they thought I had rheumatoid
>arthritis. I have since seen a rheumatologist and she said it was
>definitely not RA but rather Lupus. My joints are very sore and have
>difficulty moving around. I am tired all the time and spleen pain is back
>and I think it has a lot to do with not being on as much prednisone. I am
>weaning off and take 2.5 mg every other day this week and reduce by another
>pill each subsequent week and in three weeks I will be off. I can only
>imagine the pain I will be in once I am off.
> Need your input,
> Janis
>
| |
| aishae 2005-12-21, 11:08 am |
| Hi Janice & Welcome. . .
I just wanted to tell you a bit about my experience with "Spleen" pain. . .
Before I was diagnosed with SLE I had many of the symptoms you are
describing.
~Tired all the time
~could only eat small meals
~Spleen pain, or pain in the center of my ribs
even had aching joints, but never put them all together. . .
my situation was much more serious than I had ever realized, however. I had
@ that point a what the Docs were calling"Bulky Spleen" which was actually
from enlarged Red Blood Cells (RBC) due to Lack of RBC's as I actually had
what is called "Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia" and in my case my Red Cells
had become enlarged and my spleen had been working overtime actually. It
concerns me that you are decreasing your prednisone @ this time, and I agree
with janers. . . you should call your Doc A.S.A.P. and I see you have BJ
posting as well. Take it from Her and Me you really need some blood work to
be done. . . and have it explained to you very well and then follow it
carefully. When I had "Spleen Pain" I also had an RBC @ one point which read
4.1 a "normal person " may have a much higher number . . .somewhere around
an 8.1 which just meant , in my case, I was walking around with like 1/2 of
the blood in my body than I should have had, which also meant my body was
starved for Oxygen too as your Red blood cells are what carries oxygen
through your blood to your organs, tissue ect. . . well in my case. . . 2
transfusions later, and spleen pain was better. BUT, I was also on enough
Prednisone to make anything and everything feel better @ 60 to 80 mg /day. .
.. it took me almost a year before I was (or my Blood counts were) able to be
on a dose less than 20 mg. . .a very slow process. . . I am glad BJ posted
to you as when I first came to this group, she was such a BIG help to me in
such a desperate time. . .she is very WISE and knows about BLOOD problems
with Lupus. . . we , I think , in this group, have had the most problems
with our blood. and both of our blood problems are very complicated. . . I
am not trying to make you nervous but you DO need to bring this to your
Doc's attn.. . .let me just ask you. . .do you have any headaches? or how
about pounding in your ears? like your heartbeat?. . .
I will keep track of you posting . . .and get that phone call in to your
Doc. . .and soon. . .before you decrease any more Pred. . . ok. . .
Again WELCOME & Keep us posted,
--
~'Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter,
and those who matter don't mind' - Dr. Suess
~Dream as if you'll live forever; Live as if you'll die today. - James Dean
~The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not
protect you.
~HUGS~Aimee~
Someone you know has lupus. 3 of every 10 Americans Know Someone With Lupus
Help find the cure. www.lupus.org
"janice" <janwood63@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:K4rpf.9066$ic1.1715@edtnps90...
>I have been lurking for a while and this is my first post. My biggest
>problem lately is spleen pain. It was quite sore a few months back but I
>went on prednisone as well as methotrexate as they thought I had rheumatoid
>arthritis. I have since seen a rheumatologist and she said it was
>definitely not RA but rather Lupus. My joints are very sore and have
>difficulty moving around. I am tired all the time and spleen pain is back
>and I think it has a lot to do with not being on as much prednisone. I am
>weaning off and take 2.5 mg every other day this week and reduce by another
>pill each subsequent week and in three weeks I will be off. I can only
>imagine the pain I will be in once I am off.
> Need your input,
> Janis
>
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