Somatization, Histrionic Bpd

[desperate husband]

Hello, my wife has been recently diagnosed with the above after being ill for over 2 years with physical problems after birth of 2nd child:  weight loss of over 50 lbs in matter of couple months, extreme nausea-gravol taken nightly, dizziness, eye pain, muscle pain & aches, tingly/numbness, fatigue, itchy skin with sores that appear on back of leg and on scalp, shakiness, like the chills or seizure-uncontrollable, diarrhea one week constipated next, stomach pain, mild fever ongoing for 3 months, goes then comes again, forgetfulness, confusion, wek feeling-feels like "rubber", symptoms are worse in evening, stuttering type speech at times, faint feeling-fuzziness flu type feeling.  She had a seizure during labor-unknown cause, susprected stroke after labor, but ruled out-couple months of persistendt right sided numbness, stabbing pains that would come and go, slurring, drooping of face on r side and severe pain in r arm-whole arm turned blood red and seized.  Seen 2 neuro's, had mri & ct scan of brain, xray of chest, tons of blood test inlcuding aids, lupus-esr, thyroid, liver, etc, all come back fine.  muscle & nerve tests fine.  After 45 min of speaking with my wife, mostly concerning her past of being abused child-molestation, rape, beatings, history fo past drug and alcohol addiction as teenager,e ct this woman decided she had bpd histrionic personality problem and somatization disorder.  45 minutes!  She said she is not clinically depressed.  My wife has overcoem many problems, beat addictions and extensive counselling and is now told this.  NO ONE IN THE family agrees with this DX and we are feeling lost.  My wife is now convinced she is mentally ill and we are scared something worse is happening physically and that she could be in danger due to this dr saying she has mental disorder and now no one will check inot it further.  meanwhile she is getting worse and I am very worried.  Please, could you tell me if this is really a possiblity, does it really present this way, where can I go for more info and how can we fix this?  I am told somatization is rare and not mcuh is known, I think this is just quick way to dismiss my wife because no one knows what is really wrong.  Sorry for the length, I ahve no where else to go.



Desperate husband

[HFHS M.D.-SW]

Dear Desperate husband,



It must be difficult to see your wife undergo so many problems



From the information that is provided, it is difficult to say whether the symptoms are secondary to a psychiatric disorder or a medical disorder.



It is not uncommon for a person to suffer both. For example, stress or depresssion may worsen a person medical symptoms  



Some of the symptoms that your wife is experiencing may be seen in somatization disorder or hypochondriasis.

A combination of medications and psychotherapy may help your wife cope with her numerous symptoms, regardless if they are medical or psychological.



Before coming to a psychiatric diagnosis, it is important that you continue to be evaluated by a physician to rule out any medical disorders that may be contributing to the symptomatology.





Best Wishes,



HFHS M.D.-SW

[desperate husband]

Thanks for your comment, it is appreciated.  Unfortunately, I am still at a loss and confused.  Is it possible for this DR to make this dx in 45 min?  My wife is not bisexual, never has been and does not fit a lot of the other "stuff" that the info I have found states she should have.  I cannot find much on sommatization, If anyone is reading this and knows where I can get info and maybe some help please, please write back, I really am desperate.  The Dr. has given up and decided it ie easier to go with the dx and the mental Dr. referred to her to weekly meeting with local health nurse-no help and my wife is deteriorating! I won't leave email address as want to protect wife's privacy. Sorry if I sound ungrateful, I'm not, like I said, just stuck.  Thank you again.

[Christine]

Dear Desparate Husband:

Who said that your wife was bisexual?  And why did you state this?  Is there some literature that states that somatization goes with bisexuality?  Just confused here by your last post.

Christine

[lisa]

Have you thought about both of you seeing a therapist, while continuing further medical tests and investigation?  This might be helpful for your wife and for you in trying to help her and yourself.  It sounds like you wife may have both mental and physical issues going on and some professionsl help/support could be beneificial for both kinds of problems and for both of you.  I would also seek a second or third opinion from another doctor about her physical problems, for safety sake and for your own peace of mind. Don't exclude or give up on either a phsical or mental cause for your wife's problems, keep investigating and trying all the options.  Good luck.

[Husband]

Thanks for the comments, I mentioned the bi-sexual thing as the literature I have read states that this is one of the many things that are part of the borderline personality disorder (questioniong sexuality). I have no problem if someone is bi-sexual, just stating she does not fit this or  many of the other things I read she should have symptoms of, we have been together for over 8 years, there is no problem in the marriage -another symptom she should have according to waht I have read-relationship roblems, etc.  My wife does have a colored past, everyone has a past, she has done well for everything she has gone though, it is as though she is being punished for it in some way.  I'm just concerned that this Dr. is going on only her past and not her accomplishments at overcoming it.  It is frustrating.  The same goes for the histrionic dx-inof read says hsse wants to be centre of attention, relatioship issues again, scared to be alone, etc, my wife is shy, does not draw attention to herself, etc.  Sommatization-physical ailments feel real but are result of mental issue-this concerns me as well, is it just convenient to say this so they don't feel "dumb" for not figuring it out.  I have no idea about this kind of stuff, I have little luck getting inofrmation on it, the stuff I have found does not make sense and like I said before, I feel lost for her.  She has given up and decided it must all be in head, refusing to see family Dr for any medical problems now as she doubts they are real at all.  As for seeing Dr and mental health person at same time-well family Dr doesn't bother with her anymore-it's "all in her head", mental health woman is a public health nurse and no help, this is small town with limited resources, once other Dr's get her file-they read the Dx of mental condition and tell her they will not investigate.  Wait listed for 2nd opinion from another mental health Dr.  We are on 3rd Gp, 2 neurologists, 2 internists, 2 sychiatrist/psycholgist, 1 cardiolist, wait listed for gastroentologist that is only taking her because family history of celiac disease and the fact we begged him.  Meanwhile, she is so nauseated she can't eat mcuh, she shakes so much she cannot move, she is too sore to walk at times, she drops things, I'm scared when she drives by herself, she has forgotten what she was doing, goes into weird trance like thing and then snaps out of it and forgets what she was doing, loses time, there is too much to list, she basically looks as though she is dying when she has one of these spells and no one can help.  I am VERY concerned for her health, I'm scared that my wife is dying and these Dr's are doing nothing but watching.  I realize that it is possibnle for this to be mental, but I canot see how it can all be mental.  I am trying my best to help her and support her.  I don't know how people can deal with this day in and day out.  I was hoping maybe someone would read this and know something about these disorders and send me to where I can find info, I am new to this internet thing and mental conditions.  I am alos hoping maybe someone else out there is going through something similar and has some ideas as to what to do, how to help.  Thanks.

[GP]

I am not saying your wife has Lyme but look into it. Most of her symptoms I have experienced or heard of Lyme patients experiencing them



Look at the www.Lymenet.org site and contact them for a support group who will refer you to a physician who is familiar with this disease. I was dismissed by my doctor as your wife was, and through my own research found out I have Lyme - I was lucky and tested positive lots don't because of the nature of the spirochete that causes it. Read up on this. Post on the Lymenet forum. Good Luck - don't leave any stone unturned.

[HUSBAND_THANKS : )]

GP-Thank you so much!  I read the info from where you directed me and looked at the rashes. This sounds exactly like her problem!  She had one of those rashes on her leg and one on her rear, 1st was on rear-we thought it was fire ants! She was sore with it and itchy.  The leg ones are small and come and go, same as ones she gets on her scalp.  I am going to phone the Dr right away, maybe this will solve our problem, just have to figure out how to convicne him now.  Will post results if we can get the test.  Thank you again so much-I am so excited, weird, I grabbed my wife and brought her right to the computer, she even thinks it is possible.  Hope you get better soon.  



Grateful Husband

[GP]

Please don't rely on her Dr. for treatment - read up undertreatment can cause LOTS of problems. Most doctors don't fully understand this problem and cause more problems with treatment. Testing isn't always conclusive. If your Dr. didn't recognize this at first please post on the LymeNet forum and get help there. Good Luck!!!!

[Husband-for GP]

Hi again, she went for some tests this morning, IgG and IgM and something else-can't remember.  Dr thinks it might be that-but wants to wait for test results, he said that she would have large arshes all over her body if she had it for this long and says we are not in typical Lyme area.  Where would I find the Lyme Net forum? - I'm new to this internet stuff.  Do you know where I can get more info?, there is no support group for our province and I am not sure where to go next.  Thank you so very much for your help, I am VERY grateful.

[GP]

Lymenet is at www.Lymenet.com. When the home page appears, click on "Flash Discussion" to the right. Post your name and an email address. Lots of nice people will help there are a few wonderful nurses who post quite a bit. Lyme has been reported in almost all if not all states and she could have gotten it up to 14 years ago - it can lie "dormant" in the body. Your doctor is totally wrong about the rash all over her body. SHE NEEDS A DOC WHO DOES NOT THINK SHE'S NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Luck and God bless you and your wife - she sounds like a tough lady who over came a lot in her life she needs to have a doctor who doesn't blame her for being ill!



See ya on LymeNet!!!