My arm feels numb after covid. An AVM was found only some days ago

Hello, friends!
I’m new here.
Has anyone had similar symptoms? How do you manage them?
I was diagnosed with an AVM in my right elbow only some days ago and right after that I caught covid, after which my symptoms started increasing rapidly. The local pain spread through my whole arm and especially my hand and today my whole arm feels numb and as if there was a lack of blood in the hand.
Before that my arm problems was taken as chronic miositis but the recent MRI scanning showed that I have an almost 6x2x2 cm AVM and my bone and muscle are moderately swollen.
I’m home with covid and can’t find any information how to help this symptoms and why everything is developing so rapidly. For example, the visiual swelling on my arm is twice as big as it was before covid.
Thank you very much :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:!

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Hi and welcome!

I think this is definitely speak to the specialist asap/gp if you haven’t got a consultant yet.

Hopefully it is nothing serious, but I would say better safe than sorry (it sounds like a specialist question).

Sending get well vibes for the covid!!

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Thank you very much!
The thing is that I haven’t had contrasted tomography yet but I’ve resent my mri conclusion to the ultrasound specialist who is quite good and saw me last year and now he doubts my diagnosis is the right one because according to him it looked nothing like an AVM a year ago. I must be cursed :grimacing:

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Welcome Lena, I’m just lending support as I have no knowledge of AVM/covid relationship. Best wishes, Greg

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Hi Lena!
You are the first person I’ve ‘met’ with the same diagnosis as me!
I have an AVM in my left elbow and went through many many misdiagnoses. I’ve also had covid 3 times and haven’t noticed a change so I can’t comment on that but my AVM causes numbness in my arm due to it pressing on the ulna nerve. Perhaps you have the same issue?

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It may be true, because it’s aching, too, and the pain keeps coming out here and there, hardly ever in one place. If it wasn’t for my condition or was in a different place I would suspect nerve inflammation, tbh.
Have you had any treatment? Embolisation or whatever?

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Hi Lean, and welcome! I, like Greg, can’t help with any similar experience, nor have I heard of a COVID/AVM connection but one never knows! I have never heard of a viral/avm connection, but once the body’s immune system fires up to fight the COVID, who knows the impacts. This of course is a complete lay person.

Certainly worth discussing with a health care provider. Take Care, John .

I thought this may be connected because covid causes inflammation in vessels and thrombosis, and l already have superficial vein thrombosis. Actually, my arm feels better today.

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Great to hear its feeling better! Very interesting, it certainly could be related, if there is swelling in a knot of vessels. I have some reading to do! John

I have to say, this makes a lot of sense.

@Lena most of the people on this forum have an AVM somewhere other than you. However, you posted in exactly the right place to ask your question because we have a group of “extremity” AVM people who have their AVM in their arm, leg, hand, foot, etc and go through much more closely the experience you have.

Welcome on board and I hope we can continue to help you, and you may very well help others.

Very best wishes,

Richard

Thank you!
What is interesting is that my best ultrasound doctor messaged me yesterday that he’s really doubtful about my recent AVM diagnosis because he doesn’t see why it would cause thrombosis in the superficial veins. I am going to have MRI with dynamic contracting once I get well and have a blood test done and hope it will give a much clearer picture.

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The COVID could absolutely be triggering the symptoms!! (I’m no doctor so this is just based on my personal experience and opinion.) My AVM is in my brain but it was discovered while I had strep throat, a bacterial infection that gave me a wicked fever and increased my white blood cell count severely. This triggered a seizure that sent me to the emergency room, thus diagnosing my AVM. I know COVID is viral as opposed to bacterial, but I think the weakened immune system, and like you mentioned inflammation of blood vessels, could most definitely be contributing to your symptoms. As for the numbness, I can confirm that this is a symptom i experience as well. Like i mentioned earlier, my AVM is in my brain, however it’s located in my right frontal lobe right near my left side’s motor and sensory strip. I’ve been experiencing numbness and tingling in my left side for my whole life that comes on randomly for a few hours and then dissipates. Definitely talk to your doctor if it’s something that doesn’t clear up within a few days. I’m not sure if this really helped at all but I really related to your post and I’m overdue for my first post to this forum!! Welcome and I hope you find as supportive a community here as I have :slight_smile:

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Thank you very much for your reply. Yeah, no doubt it was covid related because I’ve recovered now and the pain is gone, too.