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Neurology (Expert Forum)
Fatique & pain
This forum is for questions and support regarding neurology issues such as: Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Autism, Brain Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, MS, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, RSD, Sleep Disorders, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury
Fatique & pain
by waterlilly, May 26, 2007 12:00AM
I came down sick in Septemper 2006, flu, bronchitis, head cold, pneumonia(broke a rib coughing), fever, diarrhea, vomiting, Ihad everything at once. 3 months later after two rounds of antibiotics and a yeast infection I was finally able to function fairley normally. At the end of my illness I developed anxiety and a severe rash, the Dr. put me on a medrol dose pack, which made me impossible to be around, the rash finally cleared up in about 10 day's but left some permanant marks. I now suffer constantly with chronic fatigue and an achey body. Some days it is hard to get out of bed, writing a simple bank deposit slip is difficult. I sometimes feel like someone wrung my arms and legs out like a washrag. I have muscle spasams and stiffness to the point where stairs can be a challange. My eyesight has changed dramatically, some days it is ok and other times things get fuzzy. I have been tested for lupus since it runs in my family (mother, daughter and a cousin) but so far the blood work is ok. I have to re-do my Cardio lipid antibody which was inconclusive and my CK was slightly elevated. When I get overheated I get this tingling sensation all over my body and I sweat a lot more on my left side. I was diagnoised with thoracic outlet syndrome in 1992 after stroke like symptoms and have since developed raynauds syndrome on my left side. I am getting very discourage and despreatly looking for answers because my lifestyle is being seroiusly interupted.
Thank you, Waterlilly
Thank you, Waterlilly
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-SH, Jun 23, 2007 12:00AM
First of all, keep in mind that I am unable to diagnose you because I am unable to examine you, this forum is for educational purposes.
The recovery from a serious illness can be time consuming and if you were bed-bound for several weeks then it can take months before your strength returns. However, some of the symptoms that you describe are concerning for possible multiple sclerosis including the fatigue, one-sided body numbness, and the transient visual disturbances. I would recommend that you get an MRI of the brain and cervical spine with contrast and visual evoked potentials to evaluate for MS. I would also recommend that you see an ophthamologist to get a dilated eye exam and test of your visual fields and color vision (these can be abnormal in optic neuritis-which often occurs in MS patients). If the above test are not conclusive then you may need a lumbar puncture to evalute for signs of inflammation (IgG index, Tourtelotte, and oligoclonal bands).
I hope this has been helpful.
The recovery from a serious illness can be time consuming and if you were bed-bound for several weeks then it can take months before your strength returns. However, some of the symptoms that you describe are concerning for possible multiple sclerosis including the fatigue, one-sided body numbness, and the transient visual disturbances. I would recommend that you get an MRI of the brain and cervical spine with contrast and visual evoked potentials to evaluate for MS. I would also recommend that you see an ophthamologist to get a dilated eye exam and test of your visual fields and color vision (these can be abnormal in optic neuritis-which often occurs in MS patients). If the above test are not conclusive then you may need a lumbar puncture to evalute for signs of inflammation (IgG index, Tourtelotte, and oligoclonal bands).
I hope this has been helpful.
Before you buy into the hooey about no tests confirming the existence of that condition either, your research is seriously out of date! There is now an international consensus criteria that has been adopted (the US CDC is a little slow on this) that you can look up online, just google for Canadian Consensus Criteria ME/CFS.
Commonly run tests like CBC, etc. turn up normal in the CFS patient. However, sometimes MRI will show non-specific lesions. PET scans and SPECT scans are sometimes abnormal. Viral titers for EBV, CMV, and/or HHV-6 are often out of range, along with other illnesses that the healthy person's immune system normally holds in check. Immune system abnormalities are common, such as low NK cell activity and counts, and something wrong with an RNaseL pathway (some immune system thing I don't understand). Frequently, cardiac abnormalities are found -- tachycardias, etc. These clearly are not normal test results.
It is true that there is still no single test that can definitively indicate ME/CFS. Everything else should still be ruled out, like MS or Lupus. (Which, by the way, at one point MS wasn't thought to be a "real" disease either because nobody knew the test for it. Just ask the people suffering from it if it was real!)
The tests I mentioned, taken together with symptoms, then lead to a diagnosis of ME/CFS. The frustrating thing then is finding doctors who know how to treat it and help you feel better.
It is worth noting that I have no medical background or training whatsoever. As always, trust a doctor and not some anonymous person on the internet. But please get up-to-date with your understanding of the current research on CFS and fibromyalgia, especially since you work in the medical field. Experts have long been saying that the debate over whether these are organic illnesses is over.
Waterlilly
I am a woman 54 years old, suffering from Arthritis, Rheumatism, Tendonitis, and now doctors say Fibromyalgia.
My symptoms are: When reaching for something, or banging my arms, I have immediately muscle cramps soo bad this morning i cried, i feel helpless to think that i will have to live the rest of my life in pain. I have been a preschool teacher for 15 yrs. Children are my life. I cant see myself not being able to do my job like i want and should.
Besides the problem in my arms, my hips, shoulders, legs have arthritis in them. I have constant pain in the flat of my back., problably due to my spine which bone density scans have diagnosed with Osteosporosis, I would like to know if anyone else has pains like mine and what are they doing about it? I wake up stiff and sore every morning. I look young still but my bones my doctor say are like an old football players bones. Help me if u can. Thank you.
I don't know the reference to "ME"/CFS. Is that myalgic encephalitis? British or European nomenclature? I do know that CFS here in the US is going by CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune-Dysfunction Syndrome), but has been exploring a new, better name.
I agree that some research online to the more traditional research sites will help ease your doubt. I, too, practiced medicine during the "chronic mono", "yuppie flu", "chronic