Melissa
I am replying to the person whose 35 year old husband was diagnosed with rheumatic fever. I am 31 years old and after 4 doctors and over 15 different test from head to toe I was diagnosed. I am now taking a provalactic penecillan shot monthly. My symptoms were as followings: Strep throat, joint pain that migrated, nodules on my ankles and knees, abdominal pain, rapid heart rate, a dull ache in my chest. I have had 2 echocardiograms on my heart and an ekg and everything is normal. I initially had strep throat in Feb.98 and then another in March 98. These symtoms have gone on since then with a general feeling of tiredness. I just am starting to feel normal in the last few months and my last echo was just last month. I don't know if this will help you or not but I would be interested in asking your husband some questions. I would like to have someone to compare notes with because doctors don't seem to want to diagnose this disease. It is suppose to be a thing of the past with anti-baotics and they don't seem to know what to make of it. Actually I kept telling the doctors that my symptons seem to point to rheumatic fever but they didn't seem to listen. Finally, the last doctor I asked her to get her books out and look it up. I had more that enough symptons to be diagnosed with this and she agreed. Anyway, feel free to E-mail me and I can go into more details if it would help you. Melissa