rheumatic fever

[sweetbaby]

hello m new here..i’ve sum questions to ask…m a student and my age is 18 i suffered from rheumatic fever and some medical specialist Dr. treated me and after some time i was ok my reports were negetive … but nowadays m not feeling good again but my reports are still negative …i feel like as if my brain is not working properly. i cant do my work, cant concentrate on my studies, anything.i’ve pain in my legs my arms head icant breath properly somtimes.. i want to know which Dr. should i go to check myself coz from last 8 to 9 months m going to some psychaitrist and he’s giving me some medicines but m not satisfied with that thing..can u ppl help me. suggest me some Dr. whether i shld go to a rheumatologst or the psychaitrist is ok for me. reply as soon as possible plz

[Maz]

@sweetbaby wrote:

hello m new here..i’ve sum questions to ask…m a student and my age is 18 i suffered from rheumatic fever and some medical specialist Dr. treated me and after some time i was ok my reports were negetive … but nowadays m not feeling good again but my reports are still negative …i feel like as if my brain is not working properly. i cant do my work, cant concentrate on my studies, anything.i’ve pain in my legs my arms head icant breath properly somtimes.. i want to know which Dr. should i go to check myself coz from last 8 to 9 months m going to some psychaitrist and he’s giving me some medicines but m not satisfied with that thing..can u ppl help me. suggest me some Dr. whether i shld go to a rheumatologst or the psychaitrist is ok for me. reply as soon as possible plz

Hi Sweetbaby,

Nice to meet you and a warm welcome to the RBF discussion forum.

Just wondering, but with the breathing difficulties you are experiencing, were you diagnosed with rheumatic heart involvement? If so, the American Heart Association recommends prophylactic treatment for at least 10 years or until the age of 40…sometimes for the duration of one’s life depending upon severity:

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/0201/p346.html

“Continuous antimicrobial prophylaxis provides the most effective protection from recurrences of rheumatic fever. Because the risk of recurrence depends on many factors, physicians should determine the appropriate duration of prophylaxis on a case-by-case basis while also considering the presence of rheumatic heart disease. Patients who have had rheumatic carditis, with or without valvular disease, are at high risk of recurrences and are likely to have increasingly severe cardiac involvement with each episode. These patients should receive long-term antibiotic prophylaxis well into adulthood, and perhaps for life. Patients with persistent valvular disease should receive prophylaxis for 10 years after the last episode of acute rheumatic fever or until 40 years of age, whichever is longer. At that time, the severity of valvular disease and the potential for exposure to GAS should be determined, and continued prophylaxis (possibly lifelong) should be considered in high-risk patients.

In the United States, an injection of penicillin G benzathine every four weeks is the recommended prophylactic regimen for secondary prevention in most circumstances. In certain populations, administration every three weeks is justified because serum drug levels may fall below a protective level before four weeks after the initial dose. A three-week dosing regimen is recommended only for patients who have recurrent acute rheumatic fever despite adherence to a four-week regimen. The advantages of penicillin G benzathine should be weighed against the inconvenience to the patient and the pain of injection, which causes some patients to discontinue prophylaxis.

Successful oral prophylaxis depends on patient adherence to the prescribed regimen. Patients should be given careful, repeated instructions about the importance of compliance to the dosing regimen. Even with optimal patient compliance, the risk of recurrence is higher in patients receiving oral prophylaxis than in those receiving injections of penicillin G benzathine. Therefore, oral regimens are more appropriate for patients at lower risk of recurrent rheumatic fever.”

Is the psychiatrist you are seeing aware of your rheumatic fever history and the potential of PANDAs (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus), which is a syndrome caused by chronic strep infections that can cause a myriad of psychological issues due to the infection affecting the brain?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/432046

http://www.pandas-syndrome.webs.com/

If so, your psychiatrist may be able to help you with the therapy (as described above on the AHA site) or your rheumatologist.

If your psychiatrist or rheumatologist is unwilling to help you, then if you let us know where you’re located, we can send you a listing of physicians who use antibiotic therapy for rheumatic diseases in your state.

It’s very important to have your heart checked with rheumatic fever as the heart can be affected and must be treated. Would also be good if you could read The New Arthritis Breakthrough, by Henry Scammell, because Dr. Brown discusses how his rheumatic fever patients would often test negative for the infection, as the body “walls off” the infection very quickly. This is why it’s important not to rely upon testing for acute infections and for treatment to be given in any case.

With long-term penicillin therapy, it’s very important to ensure one is taking an adequate daily dose of probiotics, to ensure that yeast overgrowth doesn’t occur.

Does that help, at all, Sweetbaby?

[sweetbaby]

thanx for the reply yes that helps me alot. am in pakistan, Islamabad at the moment. i never go to a rheumatologist should i go to him??

[Maz]

@sweetbaby wrote:

thanx for the reply yes that helps me alot. am in pakistan, Islamabad at the moment. i never go to a rheumatologist should i go to him??

Yes, you could try a rheumatologist, but would also suggest seeing a cardiologist and being sure to mention your history of rheumatic fever. A cardiologist should treat with prophylactic penicillin therapy if you have rheumatic heart involvement.

We also have one Antibiotic Protocols (AP) physician listed for Peshawar if you are close or able to get to this city and can’t find help in Islamabad. I think it’s a two-hour drive. He has a free arthritis clinic on Sundays between 8am and 6pm and sent a request to this foundation to add him to our provider list. I have no info on what type of doc this is, however you could try calling and asking for more info. Would you like me to send you his contact info, Sweetbaby?

[ablegirl]

Sorry sweetbaby, do not mean to hijack your thread but I have been meaning to post a question myself about Rheumatic Fever. I have RA, which I do not think is caused by Lyme, just a feeling as I haven’t ever been tested for it or any other co-existing pathogens. I have only recently, last couple of years made the connection with infection and RA. Interestingly, my Mother had Scarlett Fever as a child which turned into Rheumatic Fever. She was quarantined and pushed round in a wheel chair for a time after that before making a full recovery. I think she had some heart damage as she struggles to walk up hill, breathless but has led a full and illness free life, she is now 69 and very well for her age. It has since struck me as to whether I have inherited this pathogen and is what lays behind my Rheumatic Disease. Not sure if there is a test to detect this or whether it is just a pathogen I will have to carry which will raise itself up from time to time anytime my immune system is rundown or compromised.

Sorry I don’t have any answers for you sweetbaby, I hope someone else has more experince to offer you some advice. The only positive is that my Mother recovered from this infection without any lasting debilitating effects.

[sweetbaby]

hello maz and ablegirl… m fine all of my reports r ok my ECG is clear but still i’ve these problems like cant focus on my studies, sometimes it feels like as if there is no oxygen, tiredness, weakness, gained alot of weight, etc.
my Dr.(psychiatrist), when i go to him he put some kind of iron cap on my head and check something from the machine and says i just have some stress and nothing else. and am not sure if this method r treatment is ok r not. i was a very good student before this disease but now i cant even write some lines. i wasted 2 years of my studies bcoz of this.i feel as if am a useless thing now cant do anything futher.. 🙁 🙁

[sweetbaby]

hello…

[sweetbaby]

where’s my reply ??? wrote 2 times but….what’s happening?

[sweetbaby]

i wrote here(on this thread) for 2/3 times but where r they going???

[lynnie_sydney]

sweetbaby – the first 3 posts from newly registered members require moderator approval before they are visible on the Forum. This is to stop annoying SPAM posts from making it through. The approvals are usually done very quickly. However, it is the Easter 4 day long weekend in the U.S. the UK and here in Australia – with many people out of town for much of the time. Your posts have now been approved, they are now visible and you will not need approval again. Hope this explains!

Be well! Lynnie

Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)

[sweetbaby]

thanks lynnie 🙂 i can see my posts now. thanks alot maz for the info. that was so helpful . i visited cardiologist today and he asked for an ECHO cardio test and its on wednesday hope everything will b ok. i have an appointment with a rheumatologist too. lets see what he says. i hope am going to the rite Doctors now. u ppl r doing a GREAT job 🙂

[Maz]

@sweetbaby wrote:

hello maz and ablegirl… m fine all of my reports r ok my ECG is clear but still i’ve these problems like cant focus on my studies, sometimes it feels like as if there is no oxygen, tiredness, weakness, gained alot of weight, etc.
my Dr.(psychiatrist), when i go to him he put some kind of iron cap on my head and check something from the machine and says i just have some stress and nothing else. and am not sure if this method r treatment is ok r not. i was a very good student before this disease but now i cant even write some lines. i wasted 2 years of my studies bcoz of this.i feel as if am a useless thing now cant do anything futher.. 🙁 🙁

Sweetbaby, have you had your thyroid checked recently with a simple blood test? Thyroid controls the body’s metabolism and can also cause feelings of “air hunger,” fatigue, brain fog, weakness and weight gain. Might just be worth getting a full thyroid hormone panel check, too, as an imbalance in thyroid hormone can be corrected. 😉 A lot of things can cause these symptoms, but it can help to rule out other things, too. Thyroid “overlaps” with rheumatic diseases are pretty common.

Happy to hear your EKG was looking good! I had a heart ultrasound a few years back when I was getting some heart irregularities and it’s just a good thing to have done in addition to an EKG so they can check blood flow pressures and see if the valves are functioning well. Interestingly, mitral valve prolapse, which is really common and most often benign, can also cause symptoms of anxiety and all the other probs you mentioned. Usually, the only course of action is to put a patient on a prophylactic antibiotic prior to any dental work (which kind of tells you how the heart can be affected by infections!). 😉

If you get the all-clear from the cardiologist and your rheumy doesn’t want to put you on AP, there is a physician in Peshawar we have listed who runs a free arthritis clinic on Sundays…we got his listing some years ago, so hopefully he is still around! If you decide to see him, then would be great to get some feedback on this doc so we can make sure he is still available for others in Pakistan choosing antibiotic therapy.

Let us know how your appts go, Sweetbaby! Really hope you can get this turned around so you can get yourself back on track in school.

[sweetbaby]

hello, all of my tests like ASO test, ECG,EchoCardiography are clear. cardiologist said that my heart and evrything related to heart is ok.now am going to a rheumatologist for detailed check up. and i’ll ask him for thyroid test.

[sweetbaby]

just read about thyroid disease the symptoms are same like rheumatic disease. how come we know if its thyroid problem r rrheumatic????

[Maz]

@sweetbaby wrote:

just read about thyroid disease the symptoms are same like rheumatic disease. how come we know if its thyroid problem r rrheumatic????

Hi Sweetbaby,

Really glad to hear your old “ticker” is okay! 🙂 That is very good news.

It is very easy to test for thyroid problems with simple blood tests. Ask for a full thyroid panel, including autoimmune antibodies for thyroid. The following link explains which tests are performed in a thyroid panel, but it’s good to also ask for “free” T3 and “free” T4, which give some indication of what amount of these is actually available for use by body tissues.

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroid-panel/

Autoimmune thyroid disease is a common overlap with rheumatic diseases and can produce similar symptoms, so it’s important for anyone with rheumatic diseases to check their thyroid regularly so that supplemental thyroid hormones, if needed, can be taken to bring these back into balance. There is lots of info on the web about thyroid diseases, but here is one site for you to read about the different types:

http://www.localhealth.com/article/autoimmune-thyroid-diseases

[Author]

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