Symptoms on one side of the body

[RustyJ]

I am a little curious. I have ME. I have some symptoms which predominantly affect only one side of my body. Does this indicate a localised issue or some peculiarity of the immune system.
For example I get keratins on my eyeballs (Thygeson's Keratopathy), very rare, cause unknown. They irritate my eyelids like grit in your eye. Mostly in my right eye. I always have an enlarged gland behind my right ear. Contrarily I get migratory joint pain, swelling, heat (ankle, knee, wrist) mostly on my left side. Pain lasts for about 24 hours in one joint then moves onto next joint. My doctor looks at me as if I am mad when I try to explain it.
Does anyone have this asymmetry? Can anyone offer an explanation?

My apologies if this has already been discussed. Perhaps someone could point me to thread. Cheers.

 

[camas]

My paresthesia is always a little worse on the right side of my body. Sometimes it's quite pronounced. In my case, I assume it's a brain issue? Doctors always look at us as if we were mad.:Retro wink:

 

[RustyJ]

Camas, if your paresthesia is caused by nerve damage or vascular dysfunction in a particular area of the brain, maybe that would explain the localised response. But if my symptoms are immune related, then I would have this would have been a system-wide response.

 

[Merry]

I also have symptoms on the right side predominantly also. Sore throat often on the right side only. Pain in blood vessel up the right of throat, right eye, right ear, etc.

Some expert remarked on this right-sidedness. Dr. Cheney? Can't remember where I read this or when -- years ago.

 

[Lesley]

I get left-side migraines, grind my teeth on the left, stuffy nose on the left, I have large veins visible on the back of my left leg, my left ear rings, and more. At one point I had tingling in my left arm and leg, which lead to concern about MS. You are not alone!

ETA: Sometimes my left ear gets hot and red. Very strange!

 

[willow]

The right side of my body usually has worse symtoms than the left. e.g. sore throat, swollen glands, sinus congestion, bizarre sweat, sore, stiff knuckles. Despite my left leg being run over my left leg seems dominant in some ways.

With head/brain pain and pressure on my skull there's distinct areas on left and right that are not mirrored on the other side.

I saw a craniosacral therapist who said it was a particular trait of mine that there was a lot of left/right balancing required.

 

[Mithriel]

It is common in ME for symptoms to be worse on one side.

I think immune dysfunction can cause things like cytokines to be released with associated problemsfor the entire body, but they also allow infections such as Coxsackie B and EBV to flourish and interfere with systems more on one side or the other.

Mithriel

 

[Wonko]

I generally get symptoms on my right side first - generally if they also affect my left side then I know life is going to be fun for a while

I use it as an early warning system - ie if only minor issues on right side only then slow down and rest when convenient - but if any symptoms on left side then stop and engage in serious rest for a few days even if symptoms have gone

 

[laura]

Nice to know I'm not the only one... Thanks for starting this thread! For me it's the left side of my body that seems more vulnerable to symptoms. I've always wondered about the cause of that.

 

[RustyJ]

I generally get symptoms on my right side first - generally if they also affect my left side then I know life is going to be fun for a while

Wonko, glad you mentioned this. I also have that experience. If my symptoms travel to my left side it is an indication of a more severe episode.

Something else to ponder. The majority of responses in this thread refer to symptoms on the right side. I wonder if this correlates with being right handed, left? brain dominated etc.

 

[laura]

Something else to ponder. The majority of responses in this thread refer to symptoms on the right side. I wonder if this correlates with being right handed, right brain dominated etc.

I get left-side symptoms and am left-handed...

 

[Mithriel]

I am right handed, but my left side is much, much worse.

However my symptoms in general are mainly neurological and my left leg is weaker and less controlled, the left side of my mouth droops and my left eye is very painful with bad vision.

My right arm hurts more because I use it all the time.

Mithriel

 

[garcia]

I am a little curious. I have ME. I have some symptoms which predominantly affect only one side of my body. Does this indicate a localised issue or some peculiarity of the immune system.
For example I get keratins on my eyeballs (Thygeson's Keratopathy), very rare, cause unknown. They irritate my eyelids like grit in your eye. Mostly in my right eye. I always have an enlarged gland behind my right ear. Contrarily I get migratory joint pain, swelling, heat (ankle, knee, wrist) mostly on my left side. Pain lasts for about 24 hours in one joint then moves onto next joint. My doctor looks at me as if I am mad when I try to explain it.
Does anyone have this asymmetry? Can anyone offer an explanation?

My apologies if this has already been discussed. Perhaps someone could point me to thread. Cheers.

Skim-read this thread. Didn't see any explanations.

My CFS was symmetrical until 2006, when I caught Chlamydia Pnuemoniae (Cpn) from a sick relative who came to stay. The Cpn completely destroyed my life, doubled or trebled the severity of my disease virtually overnight, made my disease progressive, gave me a whole host of symptoms I'd never had before (severe inflammation, severe cognitive dysfunction, neurological issues, arthritis etc.), and more importantly for the purposes of this thread broke my symmetry.

Why would it do this?

Well the Chlamydia life-cycle is such that it infects a cell as an elementary body (EB), a non-metabolising, neatly packaged infectious spore. Once it enters a cell this turns a normal cell into a chlamydia-producing factory and your hijacked cell will then pump out more chlamydial-EB's, so that more cells can be infected. Well EB's as tiny as they are (and they are tiny), still have a mass, and are still subject to the force of gravity.

Before I was infected with Cpn I had gut issues, in particular pain in my splenic flexure (left side of body). So I used to sleep on my left for the majority of the time.

As a result my Cpn infection is very-much (but not entirely) left sided. I'd estimate it was 70-80% left sided. I know which parts of my body are infected because I get localised inflammation there. So Left side of head (left brain?), left eye, left throat, left neck & left foot predominate.

So there you have it folks, an explanation as to how asymmetric symptoms can arise. Namely co-infections such as Cpn, gravity & sleep position.

And for my next trick I will explain how to reverse a life destroyed by negligent family members. I thank you.

 

[JustJack]

Giving in...giving up

My ME/CFS started on the left side. I have frozen left toes, cannot stand on my left foot, cannot walk without assistance except sliding on my wood floors around the house. Weaker overall on the left side and because of this, I have now pulled internal muscles/ligaments in my right hip because of favoring the right side, have pain in shoulders etc., form being unbalanced. While I had relapsing/remitting CFS I would get strong all over, but once going into a crash, the left foot was the very first telltale sign and by the next day I would be bedridden, 1 day. The crash would last 4-6 months. Now I am two years permanenlty disabled and housebound mostly. No ability whatsoever for much of anything except struggling to take care of my house and feed my husband...I am determined no matter what.

Tests for MS did not show anything all this time, neuros looked at me and told me to take antidepressants. I do feel the neuro weakness coming from right side of my head. The rest of it, the OI, heart problems, no sustainable ability, digestive problems and cognitive lapses are whole body.

Perhaps in my case, since my initial infection led to mono and Guillian Barre, I have tough neuro problems. The Guillian Barre started on the left, ended up totally paralysed from the waist down, partial waist up and left side of face.

After almost 30 years building to the point I am at now...I don't even push for tests or anything...it feels like there is no hope now at 57. I don't have my life, friends, career...nothing except this computer and my TV being my window to the world.

Funny, for years I tried with doctors and now have no fight left in me. Feel like I am dying from the inside out from this and there is nothing that can stop it now.

How can you get treatment if you no longer have an income and can barely afford you co-pay...answer me that one. I can barely even come to this website anymore...keeping information in my head is too hard. You have to want to figure this out and I did for almost 30 years...left, right, whatever...the virus is winning. The damm virus is finally winning and ending my race.

Sorry to put such a damper on this, but without real treatment and doctors recognizing this...I have no hope period, so most of the time there is no point in going on and on about how I feel. I feel bad all the time. Now I am trying to just life day to day with no ambition, no vision of a future...no hope. This is where is comes to, it beats you down until there is not even curiosity left. I am not one of the lucky ones and instead of concentrating on this DD killing me everyday, I try to just live, just live and cope. From how I feel now...all the struggle for years, all the denial, all the doctors, all the supplements, everything I have read, done, participated in...none of it can stop it. This illness is taking my life. Tell me how you solve that.

Concentrating on CFS/ME daily is frankly a waist of precious time now. I try to be happy, that is all, just as much as I can for as long as I have. This is a terminal illness and I finally know that. All any of you can do if you are young still and have strength, fight for those of us who have to finally give up, give in, stop fighting and find peace with it however we can.


JJ

 

[jewel]

Just Jack-- What a rough road you have been over, and are still on. A close relative had Guillan-Barre, and it is a terrifying illness. To have that + ME/CFS is more than I can begin to envision. I'm heartened that there are many researchers who are now interested at least in XMRV, possibly also in ME/CFS by association. That will take the pressure off of the long-term patients, I hope. That said, I do agree that those that can donate time, $, or engage in advocacy, should do so. I do not know if a cure or good treatment for long-term mangagement will come soon enough for those of us in the 50+ age range. I certainly hope so! Please take care,

RE the thread topic: I'm right handed with more right side symptoms. J.

 

[Sean]

Some expert remarked on this right-sidedness. Dr. Cheney? Can't remember where I read this or when -- years ago.

Melvin Ramsay mentioned it (as "muscle weakness".)

"The greatest degree of muscle weakness is likely to be found in those muscles which are most in use; thus in right-handed persons the muscles of the left hand and arm are found to be stronger than those on the right."

MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS : A Baffling Syndrome With a Tragic Aftermath. By A. Melvin Ramsay M.D., Hon Consultant Physician, Infectious Diseases Dept, Royal Free Hospital. [Published 1986]