Question for the diagnosticians!

So, my dad hasn't been feeling well lately, and it's honestly becoming quite distressing to watch. 😢 The real issue is that his doctors seem completely stumped; he’s already gone in for a second round of extensive testing, yet they haven't managed to pinpoint anything specific.
His symptoms include:
- Pain in his neck, back, ribs, and occasionally his muscles... it's hard to describe because it constantly shifts. One day it's just his neck, then it moves to his ribs, or sometimes it hits everything at once—or nothing at all.
- The pain flares up intensely during sudden movements, but once he settles down, it almost entirely subsides.
- The intensity is significant. My father is an incredibly resilient man who has always handled discomfort without a word, but this time it's different; he's actually groaning in pain, and even just turning over in bed is a massive struggle for him.
- He has a history of stomach issues, but lately, he's experiencing extreme bloating immediately after eating anything.

Medical findings: So far, the only things the physicians have identified are a slightly dilated aorta and a hiatal hernia.
He has undergone two complete sets of blood work, and every single result has come back perfectly normal.

There was some suspicion regarding a pinched nerve, but unfortunately, nothing has provided any relief.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you.

Love?

Look, just tell us everything they actually did to him. What kind of diagnostic tests are we talking about here? You already mentioned the blood work, but what else? I'm guessing an X-ray from Reagan... what else?

mistyhound2 said:Can you list everything they actually did to him, like all the diagnostic tests? You already mentioned his blood work, but what else? I assume he had an X-ray... what else was there?

X-rays, an EKG, and honestly, I'm not entirely sure of the full list; he spent several days undergoing various tests.

Angina pectoris?

It could be something rheumatological. Hard to say for sure until you get all those blood and urine results on the table...

I’m no MD, but my gut tells me we might be looking at some kind of rheumatoid issue... Honestly, you probably need to cough up more data for those doctors—like, hand over all your lab results and test findings

frozenbear21 said:It might be something rheumatic, though it’s hard to say for sure until you lay out all the bloodwork and urinalysis results.

Every single blood test and urine sample came back within the normal range; there isn't anything suspicious at all.

The only detail I neglected to mention earlier is that he deals with chronic bronchitis, but thankfully, that hasn't been an issue lately.

Based on my own experience, I doubt it’s rheumatoid arthritis. That usually shows up on a blood panel, and if it were actually angina or something related to the heart, we would have caught it by now with standard tests. My hunch—and this is just a guess—is that it’s likely osteoarthritis. You get those bone spurs that cause irritation, or maybe a pinched nerve. If it were a nerve issue, the pain would probably be more constant and sharp.
To confirm a pinched nerve, you'd need a CT scan, though an MRI is much better if the scan actually picks something up.
The symptoms described point more toward osteoarthritis.

Symptoms:
- Pain in the neck, back, ribs, and occasionally the muscles. It fluctuates; some days it's just the neck, sometimes just the ribs, and other times it's everything or nothing at all.
- The pain spikes during sudden movements, but once things settle down, there's almost no pain at all.

Jamie Clark74 said:Based on what I've seen, I don't think it's rheumatoid arthritis, because that would show up clearly on a blood panel; if it were angina or a coronary issue, we would have caught that through testing by now. In my opinion—though these are just assumptions—it is most likely osteoarthritis. That leads to bone spurs that cause irritation and pain, and if a nerve were actually pinched, the pain would be more constant and sharp.
To confirm a pinched nerve, you need a CT scan, though an MRI is even better if something shows up on the initial scan.
The symptoms listed point more toward osteoarthritis.

Symptoms:
- Pain in the neck, back, ribs, and occasionally the muscles... the pain fluctuates; some days it's just the neck, sometimes just the ribs, and other times it's everything or absolutely nothing.
- The pain intensifies during sudden movements, but once things settle down, there is almost no pain at all.

Fresh update on the tests:
The doctors basically sent him on a wild goose chase with all these different tests, initially suspecting something with his lungs. It turned out there's a tiny shadow, maybe half a centimeter, on the lungs, but the doctors have since clarified that this couldn't possibly be causing this level of pain.

Now, the pain has become constant, and he’s started having leg pain to the point where he can barely walk.
Regarding the test results, his aorta remains significantly dilated and his heart is enlarged, though the EKG came back fine. From the blood work, the only thing elevated was his sedimentation rate.
Lymph nodes look okay.
The pain has become so unbearable that even over-the-counter painkillers aren't doing anything.
On top of that, he's dealing with stomach issues now—bloating, bowel problems, it's all hitting him at once. 😢
He isn't losing weight, and his appetite remains normal.

Tomorrow, he is finally heading in for an MRI and a full CT scan, and he's seeing a rheumatologist, an internist, and a cardiologist. I finally managed to convince him to go through a private clinic to get everything done at once, because if he waited for the public system, he'd be stuck on a waiting list for weeks just to get these scans.

I honestly think it’s worth getting a closer look at the spine just to be safe. You want to make sure there isn't anything going on there, especially since that shadow near the lungs might actually have nothing to do with the vertebrae...

Illness can be brutal. I just finished six weeks of physical therapy on both sides, and now, for the last ten days, my right arm has been completely useless. I’ve got two issues going on at once: osteoarthritis and bursitis in my shoulder, plus tendonitis. I've been waiting seven days for an injection, so I'm finally heading in tomorrow. To make matters worse, I have pinched nerves at C7 and T1. My arm feels like it's on fire, and the pulling sensation in my fingers keeps me up all night. There isn't much in the way of pain meds that actually helps me.

Your father is going to have to deal with the painkillers too, which aren't great because they cause their own set of problems. It would honestly be easier if it were just a spine issue, because those pains don't just vanish instantly—they linger. But hey, I guess I'm just being optimistic.

I'm just sitting here typing with one hand since the other is totally out of commission. I had an MRI back on February 14th, 2006, and there's just no fix for this. I even went to the ER in the middle of the night only to have them tell me, "Yeah, we know we can't help you."

Keep us posted. All the best, Jamie Clark74
I really hope everything turns out okay with your dad... things are about to get interesting.