HCV tendon, muscle, joint problems

[Dee1956]

Hello, I was cured of HCV 18 months ago, I am very happy for that.  For several weeks I have been trying to see if there is a connection between the HCV virus and tendon, muscle, joint problems.  A year before I was diagnosed with HCV I had a tendon snap in my toe. all I was doing was walking.  I have also had problems with tendons in the elbow pre-txt.  I have had severe back problems with the sacroiliac joint.

After finishing tx I developed plantar fascias which I realize is also a tendon.  It took 6 months to heal.

For the past 6 months I have slowly  been experiencing, bicep, tricep and shoulder pain which also could be tendon, ligaments, muscles, not sure.  I am going to a specialist on Monday to hopefully get an MRI to see what is happening in my shoulder.  It is suspected that I have torn the labrum which is inside the rotator cuff as well as  some of the tendons in the rotator cuff.

Today I stood up to do an exercise to help the shoulder pain and my low back popped out of place and now I can barely walk.

I am trying to see if others have had problems with this.  I remember reading others stories years ago about similar problems.  While I understand that age has a lot to do with these things.  I am interested in finding out what I can do to help myself.  Due to my low platelets from cirrhosis I do not want to try surgery until I have exhausted everything else. i.e. does HCV cause a problem, or cirrhosis? Does tx aggravate these problems.  Are there vitamins or supplements that we might be deficient in that might help?  Does cirrhosis play a part?

I am sorry to sound so low, I am lost and trying to find my way. Just trying to find a way to help myself.  I had hoped that once I recovered from the tx I would have a chance to start over, get in shape, live my life free of the virus that plagued me for 30 years.

I would appreciate any responses, studies, information.
Thank you
Dee

[can-do-man]

While I agree these type of tears are really common with sports players they also happen to many as we age from years of lifting kids or doing things that consists of a lot of over the head lifting. A MRI will tell if it is a complete tear or just a partial. I know of a few people that have had the surgery and none of them would want to do it again as rehab is really tough... Also keep in mind these things can heal on their own.

I would have a serious talk with my doctor about having surgery done and also if it is not a complete tear would they can do it the arthroscopic way.

[ActingBrandNew]

Hi Dee,

Im sorry to hear your sealing with the pain. You asked what you can do to help yourself so I will throw out some ideas. I have a torn retinaculum. I know its different than a torn labrum but in my research on non-surgical ways to fix my issue, the problem your dealing with came up. Have you heard of PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma" injections? Its where they take your blood, spin it in a machine and do some other hocus pocus to it, and then inject it into the damaged tissue. Check out the link below.

http://www.scoi.com/platelet-rich-plasma.php

Besides the PRP injections, they have stem cell injections as well. Thats where they harvest your bodies own stem cells and inject them in the problem area. Below is a link to a women who went that route for the same injury you have. (Torn Labrum)

http://www.regenexx.com/2013/03/so-how-is-that-shoulder-labrum-stem-cell-patient-doing/

I saw my orthopedic doc yesterday and we discussed a PRP injection for me. Insurance doesnt cover it so I would have to pay out of pocket. He charges $500 an injection. So, I just wanted to give you some non surgical alternatives that you could consider and research further to see if they might be an option for you.

I wish you the best of luck and hope you feel better.

[Dee1956]

Thank you both very much for your kind posts.  I did not think the fall was bad enough to tear anything.  It didn't start to hurt for a while then last week it got very bad.  Bo you made me feel much better about dislocation.  I believe it can happen just like you said.  Today I was trying to do an exercise for my shoulder and my back went out.  Talk about feeling like a broken doll, that is me.  I am hoping I can find something to help.  As Id always says, treat each event as a seperate problem in order to get the help you need.
Funny thing I am starting to feel pain in my other shoulder, just small twinges and it could be the strain of favoring it.  I have never played baseball or basketball or any other sport that would cause an overuse injury :) I will know more after I get the MRI.

I also thought about posting this on the cirrhosis side to see if anyone has experienced something similar.
Thanks again
Dee

[his3707]

I can relate Dee.  Ever since treatment I have felt like my joints could pop out of place especially my hips and knees. and back.  one or other joint feels like its grinding most of the time.  I never had these problems before treatment.  I cant stay in one position too long while sleeping either.  The pain just seems to grow.   I dont know for sure of course, but I feel like mine is a lasting sx of treatment.  I had bone pain so bad on treatment that I had to take tramadol.  YUK!  didnt really help much.  It just flares up here and there and moves around.  very annoying!  Im thinking a bone density test is in the very near future for me also.   I have also been taking a joint supplement lately.  

[BoceprevirGal]

  I hope you are able to rest, Dee. Come to think of it, I did sustain a fall, a week or two before my clavicle dislocated, but it had been hurting for a couple years. I thought it may havwe been due to the fact that I was double-jointed, when I was younger~
   I was doing weel, grinding fesh flax-seeds for awhile, and that may help somewhat. But I have recently slipped into a gloom, mentally, so I stopped Vitamixing. I still do the D3 5000 iu's daily, but after a couple weeks of it, I skip it for a few days, worried a bit about a build up effect, not that there is any scientific fact in that, I just like to do stuff moderately instead of zealously.
    I had researched surgery options for my s/c joint dislocation, and had read that if itoccurs spontaneously, then surgery doesn't tend to help it.  The Dr in the ER looked at me like I was a nut, when I told him all I did was stand up from the computer, and then it popped out.

[Dee1956]

Hello, thank you all for your responses. It means a lot that you responded.

I have tried to search for information about the tendon ligament muscle problems before when I had the plantar fascias I read about others with similar problems with tendons.
It may have nothing to do with HCV, I am just looking for something to help me while I wait to see the Orthopedic to see what is going on.
I don't want to start physical therapy if there is a chance it could make the problem worse.  I did that once before with a ruptured disc in my back.
It is suspected I have torn the labrum and/or  several tears in rotator cuff.  
The bicep is also involved. The fall that I believe caused it was not that painful.  The arm did not begin to hurt for several days and only when it was in a certain position.  This past week it has flared to pain just about all the time.  So much for the rest, ice, heat, ultrasound therapy :)
  There were many people a few years back that subscribed to vitamin, supplement therapy and I thought maybe they were still around; or maybe even new people that have had problems with the aforementioned.  I am SVR and I am grateful, trying to get as well as I can.  I cannot find much information about post tx for HCV.

I did find one study below that has a link but really just wanted to hear from my friends on here as to their problems or resolutions.  I am thinking of trying Glucosamine0Chondroitan to see if that might help me.

http://www.hepctrust.org.uk/Hepatitis_C_Info/Stages+of+Hepatitis+C/Symptoms

Again, thanks so much for all responses. I am having trouble the past couple of days with even typing due to the shoulder pain.
My best to all of you