Guest guest Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 Hi, everyone. Been lurking for a while. I have RA and fibromyalgia, have been getting pretty good symptom control with Humira and MTX. I had vasculitis in the small blood vessels in my legs when I was first diagnosed -- it went away soon after I started on Plaquenil and hasn't been a problem since (2 years ago). My doc recently gave me permission to try stopping MTX because of the side effects (migraines, stomach upset, feeling stupid for 48 hours after I took it.) My RA symptoms didn't get any worse without it, but my blood tests got much worse (sed rate 93 vs 48 on MTX, CRP 34 vs 19). Coincidentally or not, over the past few months I've been having weird neurological symptoms -- memory loss, disorientation, fleeting visual halluciniations, severe vertigo. My doc ordered an MRI of my brain because I started having migraines that awakened me from sleep, and she said that's not the normal pattern. The MRI showed a few small areas that could be consistent either with a minor stroke or vasculitis. Needless to say, I am freaking out. She says it's unlikely that it's vasculitis because it's uncommon in the brain and because usually people who have vasculitis have severe, longstanding RA. But I can't see how I've had strokes -- I'm only 41 and have no risk factors (blood pressure and cholesterol are all very good, although I am severely overweight). I have an appointment with a neurologist in about 6 weeks. Has anyone out there had vasculitis in their brain? What were the symptoms? What treatment was ordered? I'm trying not to freak out, but I'm very protective of my brain! (Arms and legs are somewhat more expendable.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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