Ouch

[mistressofmuses]

Periodically I get this really annoying mystery pain. I don't know if it's arthritis; could be - it often starts near joints, but often spreads to other areas that aren't near joints. The type of pain is like they hyper-sensitive pain that comes with a fever, where touching the skin hurts. Really, I guess it's just an unspecified neuropathy.

Anyway, that's been a thing today. I woke up with the spot between my first and second knuckles on my right hand hurting, and just about wanted to cry when I washed my hands and the towel rasped over the skin there. As the day went on, it spread down into my first finger, and a little bit into my wrist, and also the outside of my upper arm.

It just sort of dully throbs, until it sometimes just spikes to an agonizing level, and then fades into the background again.

An online acquaintance once mentioned that they had something similar happen to them (though more with random skin patches, less with joints I think), and were diagnosed with an iron deficiency. For a while after that I took some iron supplements, but I think I must have run out, because I can't find them. (It's been a while, and I can't remember if I finished the bottle or just forgot to keep taking them.) I haven't had any real bad episodes of the Mystery Ow for a while, though I don't know that I noticed that for sure coinciding with the supplement. We had red meat a few days ago, and a spinach salad tonight, so I don't feel like I *should* be terribly iron deficient, but maybe it's time to start that up again.

Frustrating, because typing hurts, but I have so much I wanted to do tonight!

Comments

[olivermoss]

Oof that sucks. Have you looked into things that help with iron uptake? Everyone I know with iron deficiency takes something like apply cider vinegar so their body can adsorb iron, rather than taking iron supplements.

[mistressofmuses]

That's a good thought! I hadn't really thought of it from that side. I haven't looked into things that help with absorption, so I'll have to do that. I did find my supplement bottle hiding behind some other stuff on the counter, so I'll keep taking those too, and maybe think about adding something else to help uptake.

[sleeplesspotato]

That's too bad. :( I haven't experienced anything similar so I don't have anything to add; closest thing was when I injured my wrist last year and was unable to type for several days. Iron deficiency makes me think of anemia, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Hope you're doing better now. It seems like something serious enough to go to a doctor for, though the doctor might not find anything if the symptoms aren't present when you go for a consultation.

[mistressofmuses]

I have had anemia issues before, but the neuropathy thing is definitely weird. If it hadn't been for the friend mentioning their issues with it, I never would have connected the two. (And no proof that's my issue, but with the history of anemia and the fact that the supplements maybe coincided with an improvement, it seems plausible.)

It mostly quit - woke me up once overnight, and then was mostly gone by this morning. I *should* go to a doctor at some point anyway; it's been YEARS since I had a checkup. I just got insurance last year a little bit before the pandemic hit, and hadn't found a PCP before all the medical facilities basically closed to patients.