What is wrong with me???

[firemanswife21]

I am a bit lost here. I am a very heathy active 21yr old woman, always in good shape and a great out look on life. I have always been very smart and quick thinking, enjoy life to the fullest. I got married and moved to yuma az with my husband, we had a miscarriage shortly after, then I had a very hard time finding a job. We had to wait and live in someone elses house, for a opening on base housing. So you could say it was a very stressful couple months. Everything calmed down and about a month later I layed down on the bed at 9:20 pm while talking to my husband on the phone, and when I went to get up it hit me like a ton of bricks.Every muscle in my body felt like I worked them out for hours. I had never felt that sore in my life. Mainly in my inner elbows, shoulders, lower back, and thighs. In the morning I was really quiet stiff and a bit sore. During the day I got normal feeling again. This went on at nights for a weeek. I kept waiting to get the flu or a cold or something, but it didn't happen so I went to the doctor when it presisted through the day. He ran a Lupus test and a Arthritis and my magnesium. I was negitive for lupus and had no inflammation, and my magnesium was within normal boundrys. That was 2 months ago and it has moved to a very serious constant pain. It varys. Some times it is a burning sometimes it is stabbing and sometimes it is a dull deep aching . It will hurt in my muscles, and joints and deep in my bones. Some days it's better than others. It can be a short pain or it will last for hours. Over this time I have lost so much muscle strenght also. My hands hurt to bad to hold a plate to wash it. I cant hardly write b/c the small muscles it takes to hold a pen kills me.
For the last month now it has what I call...gotten into my brain. I can't form conclusions with simple problem solving tasks. I cant find words, or think straight. I love playing Sudoku (number game) and sometimes I can't count to 9! I had to quit my part time job because it wore me out too bad. I would be so tired and fatigued I couldn't get out of bed! I can't get a full nights sleep. I wake up tired and sleep in late. To top it off, I now have an intolerance for heat. Not just sun heat, but shower water heat. It makes everything worse. Then if it 's too cold, I stove ;up and can't hardly move. I have also gain about 22lbs. I'm only 5'2" so it's a lot. I've been the same size for years but now I feel huge! I think I might be getting depressed some days. I feel like there is no hope and It's all in my head.

My symptoms are painful and frustrating. But whats worse is all of my test results came back normal! We tested for Lyme disease, rhumatoid arthritis, lupus, a brain MRI, EMG. All normal and clean. the EMG came back completely normal so no nerve or muscle damage. Its not ms like my neurologist suggested, no lesions. The lyme test could be a false negative, because I know the test is not 100% and they didn't do the western blot test to confirm. But maybe they only do that if it is positive. I dont know. I have a friend with the lyme disease and she went undiagnosed for 30 years. Her symptoms are very similar to mine. I grew up on 100acres in oregon and there were lots and lots of deer and racoons and opposums and all kinds of animals. My sisters and I rode horses and camped out side most of our childhood so if I got bit by a tick at some point, if I never got a rash my mother would have never known. She didn't check us everyday, she was pregnant most of my growing up as I am the oldest. My friend got 2 negative tests and one positive. But hers took 3weeks to get results and mine took 24 hours. I keep thinking of Lyme Disease but my doctors keep pointing to Fibromyalgia.
I do not have any tender points and I took Lyrica for some time and it did nothing. I am currently taking Tramidol for the pain non stop and Soma at night for a muscle relaxer. It is just not doing the job. I dont know if the drugs are not working or if they are not strong enough. It varys so much that when I skip them for a day I notice no difference. I need help. I dont know if you can have FM with out the tender points and if it hurts your bones. And I dont know if I have a thyroid problem. Like hypothyroidism, it can cause the same type symptoms but my T3, Free T4, and TSH were all normal. The test was done before I got any symptoms so maybe it wouldn't show up.

Please give me any information you can.
Thank you

[patsy10]

Welcome to MedHelp.  Your story is very familiar to me and probably many people here.  I don't know whether you have lyme or not but my suggestion is to find a lyme-literate physician and get an evaluation.  

Regarding  fibromyalgia, the diagnostic criteria states you must have 11 out of 18 tenderpoints for a diagnosis of FMS.  So you don't sound like you fit the requirement.  Sadly, when doctors don't know what is wrong they often give a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.  Also, fibro is not a disease.  It is a syndrome, or group of symptoms without a known cause.  So even if the diagnosis is valid with the tenderpoints etc...you still don't know what you have.  My "official" diagnosis is FMS and I had 14 out of 18 tenderpoints but my problems started after 3 bullseye rashes.

[firemanswife21]

Thank you for your insight! That makes me feel better that you hurt in your bones also. There isn't anything you read that says the symptoms include pain in your bones but I've had a few people with lyme that also have said that also. I really suspect lyme now.
I can not remember ever being bit by a tick. I grew up in the forest and all I did as a kid was play out  side and ride horses.Our horses got ticks I know and so have our dogs, I remember my mom rubbing vasculine and telling us that if we ever got bit we have to get the head out too. lol
But I know I have a ton to bug bites. I just know my mother never found a tick.
This was definately triggered my stress. That I am 100% positive of. I was majorly stressed for a while and I have always had a very strong immune system and when It dropped from being stressed I knew my immune system was weak. I could feel it.

Thank you for your help!

[firemanswife21]

I have never smelt burning toast when there is nothing burning. Sorry.

[margypops]

I dont want to start a new thread to ask this question but has one of the symptoms any of you guys get is the smell of burning toast, I know that sounds mad but I woke is morning to the smell of burning nothing is near me burning... no other house .My ankles feel so stiff in the morning I cant get down the stiars well...

[gorbybelle]

have you had any 'tick bites' or rashes? I have suspected 'lyme' for some time - in the beginning I had similar symptoms as you describe except mine was mostly from waist up - I would get 4 weekly - flare up of symptoms - where everything would get a lot worse.

to cut a long story short - I recently took anti-biotics - I had what is known as a 'herx' - worsening of symptoms thought to be caused by the 'lyme' bacteria being killed of and causing high toxicity in the blood

I mention this because during the 'herx' I felt exactly as you describe above - I could not get out of bed for 3/4 days - felt like my muscles/bones everything was hurting - my body basically 'shut down' my ability to function - previous to this I had been very depressed - crying several times a day - very anxious and stressed about a 'lump' that had appeared at the base of my neck - what I am wondering is as you have been through a lot -before symptoms started - ie;miscarriage - no home - etc; could this be 'stress related' - also if you were infected - even years ago - a lot of people believe that 'stress' can cause your immune system to become over-loaded and so an earlier lyme infection could become activated.

maybe your body is telling you to stop for a while.  - of course at times like these 'anxiety' can take over - which only makes everything feel worse.


I was told - when my symptoms first started that I had fibro. - but I don't have the 'tender points'

If you suspect 'lyme' then you should find a lyme literate doctor [LLMD]

that is what I would have done - if I had known about 'lyme' at the start of my problems.

the 24 hour test you had - is most likely not at all reliable.

you will get plenty of good/knowledgable advice here

best wishes

gorbs