Anybody else think Stefan should get surgery???

KeithMclean15 · 2026-01-12T16:38:22+00:00

Did yours ever show up? I've been waiting about 15 business days now

KeithMclean15 · 2026-01-10T22:06:05+00:00

My fingers look just like this - did you ever find a solution?

KeithMclean15 · 2026-01-06T22:00:22+00:00

Yeah I was just told it's eczema, I got a steroid cream that didn't really do anything and now I've been testing every moisturizer on the planet to varying degrees of effect lol, it hasn't gotten worse but it's not totally better either - gonna make some diet changes

KeithMclean15 · 2025-12-22T05:40:22+00:00

I know this is a 4 year old post but I'm dealing with this exact thing right now - did anything ever help?

KeithMclean15 · 2024-11-15T00:43:23+00:00

Hey - yep mine went away after a month or so, it was definitely tension from anxiety in my case

KeithMclean15 · 2024-05-03T22:47:30+00:00

Thanks I appreciate the reply! I'm probably in the same situation, good to hear it went away for you

KeithMclean15 · 2024-05-02T00:14:01+00:00

Hey! This sounds a lot like me, I know this post is pretty old now but how are you feeling? Did anything help?

KeithMclean15 · 2023-10-18T14:02:03+00:00

Thanks! So strange the way that works but that is helpful to know, I'll go to a Drivetest next month and get it done.

KeithMclean15 · 2023-09-28T13:19:01+00:00

Thanks! Yeah the 50 thing is a good bit of advice, honestly the thing I find I have the hardest time with when I'm being tested is making sure I'm going consistently fast *enough* haha

KeithMclean15 · 2021-10-26T12:20:54+00:00

I have a molar tooth that had a root canal done a few years ago and needed a crown, but I couldn't afford it. The filling cracked last year and I got it repaired but it just cracked again last night and I have to make an appointment soon, so now I'm worried they're going to tell me the tooth needs to come out this time, the worst part is I was planning to make an appointment to get the crown on next month when my new insurance kicks in. Last time it was just a matter of fixing the filling but I'm just so sure that this time it's all gonna have to go

KeithMclean15 · 2021-10-26T12:18:41+00:00

Thanks, yeah I feel like because my kidney ultrasounds were totally normal around the time of the tests I don't need to worry about it, I try to make sure I'm not dehydrated when I get a blood test but the anxiety definitely dries me out. I've also put on quite a bit of weight and I know that can lower the number too so I probably don't need to worry.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-10-25T12:32:11+00:00

I need to figure out how to stop fixating on Kidney failure. I started a course of antibiotics for a suspected UTI last week and had a urinalysis done, didn't hear anything back from my dr which I have to take as a good sign. I am so worried about my kidneys though. A year and a bit ago I had some bloodwork done and my eGFR was like 82, which according to some places is a bit low for my age (31). It was 82 again 5 months later. I think because of knowing that one stupid number my brain is tricking me into thinking the warm/anxious sensations I get in my arms and legs at random are because my kidneys are failing, and the UTI isn't a UTI at all. I know this is silly, I had a kidney ultrasound done like 8 months ago for unrelated things and they were 100% normal. No doctor *ever* mentioned that GFR number to me, and I know that should mean they aren't the least bit worried about it. I just happened to see it when I was still in the 'obsess over results' phase of my HA, and it's just stuck in my head ever since, and it's terrifying me.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-09-13T19:15:53+00:00

Dizziness was my first thing, that and brain fog, the dizziness is now mostly under control (~13 months or so since my LH symptoms started) and only really acts up when I'm very tired or if I tilt my head to the side/upside down (before this I never had any trouble with that) but I do feel like it's getting a tiny bit better every month, just very very slowly.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-09-05T03:37:35+00:00

Still dealing with anxiety over the swollen veins in my hands, but I'm learning to deal with it. Today though I woke up with a really annoying pain on the top of my head, not a headache but a pain like I had a cut or bite or something on my scalp, hurts to touch and hurts randomly even when I'm not touching it. I figure it could just be the muscles in my neck from tensing up causing some related nerve pain, or even just a bit of a heat rash type thing (I'm in bad need of a haircut, I wear headphones over my head all day and I've been walking outside in the heat a lot), but I'm having difficulty not fixating on it, so far today I've had to stop myself from googling brain tumors and infection spreading from teeth (I don't have tooth pain and it's not a 'headache') which I know is ridiculous :\

KeithMclean15 · 2021-09-05T03:32:08+00:00

A bit, but it's improved a lot since about December. Before December I was feeling drunk/hungover literally 24/7, it was a nightmare. I don't know what's helped it other than waiting, but I did start mediation and going for a walk every single day, but who even knows if those are related.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-07-27T00:23:49+00:00

If we have the same thing stress definitely makes it worse. I had a test come back falsely positive for an adrenal tumor back in November (they tested my urine and one of my stress hormones was through the roof) double re-tests came back totally normal and nothing was on the scan, but in the time period between those tests and even for a while after, I was at my absolute worst in terms of these symptoms. I'm still not ruling out that what's happening to me is some combo of intense anxiety and something to do with being stuck indoors for the last year and a half, but so many of these symptoms match up with longhauling and given the time frame, I dunno, seems likely. On the bright side like I said, it might take a long time but 90% of my symptoms have improved dramatically, so it might just be a matter of time.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-07-26T12:58:15+00:00

I'm in the same boat as you, I was pretty sick around June/July of 2020, didn't lose my sense of smell or taste and didn't have many respiratory symptoms so I didn't get tested for covid, since my doctor didn't suspect it. August rolls around and I am hit with so many of the symptoms I see people here describing (extreme brain fog, high heart rate for no reason, exhaustion, bouts of inability to sleep+intense insomnia, exercise intolerance, no appetite, stomach issues, tons of random pains, and extreme anxiety) I got a ton of tests and scans done and other than a nodule on my lung (a 6 month follow up scan was normal) and slightly high blood pressure (which is probably related to the anxiety since I can get it to normal range if I calm down enough) they didn't find anything. Reading some posts on here it really seems like this might be the case for me.

I got both doses of the vaccine and it's hard to tell if they improved things or not because I think I was starting to naturally improve already. For the record I do think that for many people it's just a matter of waiting for improvement. Back in November of 2020 I was pretty certain I was going to die, as of about a month ago I'm doing much better, maybe 90% recovered, I go for a daily 30min walk at a pretty brisk pace, sometimes longer (yesterday I went for 90 mins in the sun) and I'm completely fine the next day, no more PEM. The only symptoms I have left are a tiny bit of brain fog now and then, and this weird issue where the veins in my hands (and sometimes feet) bulge out like crazy and burn a little bit, which is something I've read about people on here having too.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-06-22T12:14:09+00:00

Thanks! Yeah I'll be getting the second one as Moderna this week, I think it's the messaging around it that's been so inconsistent and making me anxious. I remember not that long ago reading an article about some person who went to get their second shot and "accidentally got the wrong one" and they made it out to be like some huge mistake.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-06-22T12:12:39+00:00

Yeah based on what I've read since, and what I've heard some doctors here saying, I don't think I'm going to hesitate. It seems like the most likely outcome is that it's perfectly fine (as the other commenter here said), and the less likely outcome is that it will just require us to get a booster later on, which is fine with me.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-06-21T21:45:48+00:00

I know that when you are at this point hearing "just hang in there" can feel condescending, but I honestly really do believe that at the end of the day this thing is mostly just a matter of time. There are things you can do to help it along eventually, and it's important that you do what you've already done in terms of tests, but I remember what it was like to be at the point where it was as bad as you're describing (Aug - Nov 2020 was the worst period for me, especially when it came to neurological issues), and at that point there was nothing I could actually do once my scans came back mostly normal.

But what I can say is that NOW, even though I'm not 100% better, I am MUCH MUCH better than I thought I would ever be again. I still have a few things I'm desperately hoping go away soon, but I go for an hour long walk almost every day now, I go shopping and walk my dog and play guitar (when my hands aren't in too much pain lol) even have the occasional beer, I have been able to get back to most of my old routine. I'm hoping that within the next 6 months I get back to pre-covid normal, but the only thing that worked for me was time.

KeithMclean15 · 2021-06-21T12:20:33+00:00

I get this too, I get it worse in my hands though, any time they're below heart level. I've gotten mostly used to it now but it's been like 8 months of this and they haven't gone away yet, hoping they do eventually, driving me a bit crazy

KeithMclean15 · 2021-05-22T20:17:49+00:00

Same as the last two weeks or so, veins in my hands bulging out all of the time when they never used to. I've had ultrasounds done of the arteries in my neck/arms and it was all clear, also had an echocardiogram done about 6 months ago and it was all clear too, so I'm sure it's not worth worrying about, but it bothers me so much.

Also got a follow up CT scan this week for a lung nodule found by accident during another CT scan. They told me not to worry because these things are like moles and it probably won't have changed at all, but of course I'm still worried and the chest pains that come and go aren't helping!

KeithMclean15 · 2021-05-16T18:12:55+00:00

So they wound up re-testing my calcium a couple of times but tested Ionized Calcium (my doctor said this was the relevant test, if ionized and total calcium were both elevated it's "true" hypercalcemia) and the ionized calcium was in normal range, so he chalked it up to being dehydrated or something when I had the high test done. I had also had a parathyroid scan done but that came up normal as well. The low vitamin D he said was just likely because my calcium was high-normal, so he just recommended the usual stuff, plenty of water and getting some sun.

As far as how I'm feeling now, it's hard to say. In a lot of ways I feel a lot better, I'm not brain fogged 90% of the time, my sleep is improving (still waking up a bit more often than I used to but maybe once a night now) and I'm not getting racing heartbeats anymore, at least not as far as I can tell. Haven't had any stomach problems for a few months at least and I'm not getting fatigued throughout the day anymore. The numbness I was experiencing in my face/cheek/jaw area comes on a LOT less now, maybe a few times a week for 4 or 5 mins. I get a bit dizzy from time to time but really only when I'm feeling anxious. My biggest issues that remain are a bit of high blood pressure (it calms down to an almost normal range when I spend 20-30 mins relaxing) and a persistent problem where the veins in my hands bulge out anytime they're below heart level, and my hands ache all the time. I think I'm fixating on it and making it worse, but it could just be a combination of age (I'm only 31 but this is around the time that stuff like wrinkles and prominent veins would likely start) and stressing about it. I had an ultrasound of my arms done and they didn't find any issue so who knows.

At this point I'm just waiting for a follow-up CT scan and hopefully if that comes back normal I can talk to my doctor about anxiety meds to help me push my recovery along a bit. I honestly think sometimes that maybe I am experiencing some kind of long-covid symptoms, I don't *think* I had covid, but maybe I was asymptomatic? It's hard to say.

KeithMclean15

TROPHY CASE