What's wrong with me?

[HyamBarber]

Hi everyone, please bear with me and be patient, i could talk litreally for days and days about the multiple issues wrong with me, but I'll do my best to break it down and keep it as short as possible, i know i need to see specialist docs, and that's underway, in the meantime, i would appreciate some feedback on what the hell is going on with me. Im seeing a rheumatologist in just over 2 weeks, i have been to the docs countless times in the past 15 months, need to get to the bottom of this and fix myself up. Here goes.

I am 19 years old, a male, and from the UK, specifically, England.

It all started in October 2010. In the last week of sepetember, i was away on holiday with some friends in Cyprus, on a 3 week vacation, on the last week, only I feel really ill out there, and i had severe sickness and diarheaa, even when on the beach i had to go to the toilet and make myself sick for litreally 30mins flat. I was told by a pharmacist out there it was due to change in climate.

So, in october 2010, i started working with my father, just doing some painting, i noticed i starting experiencing low back pain, i initally thought this was just me not used to the work and i pushed through expecting it to get better, but it never want away, it was in my sacrum area if you would like specifics.

I used to workout and lift weights and run to keep fit also id like to point out, but never had an injury or trauma to cause any of these events.

In January 2011, whilst i was working out, i noticed my neck started to hurt really bad, deep right in my cervical spine, i took it easy, but again this seemed to get aggravated whenever i tried training and i went to the doctors to get it checked, they ordered x-rays, but they came back normal.

During the couse of the year, my neck started to get progressively, slowly worse, it become weak and i found it difficult at times to look down and read a book, sleeping on the back of my head, and still to this day, i sleep on my side because of it.

In the summer, i was staying away on vacation, the mattress was really old and i woke up with BAD low back pain, so i decided to go for a walk, within 20mins, both my achilles tendons starting aching bad, i rested for the pain to ease up, then made my way back, used anti-inflammatory gels, and this seemed to solve the problem.

So i would occasionally get this problem.

In around july 2011, i tore my lateral meniscus of my right knee, i have no idea how, i got up from a push up position and just could not straighten my knee, i got it MRI scanned in October to get it confirmed. My knees had previously been hurting for years, the tendon in the inner side of my knee, had always been aggravated, even at the age of 15, i got it checked in the past, but apparently it was fine, both knees this was.

I went on holiday in september 2011 to Teneriffe for a week, long walks and all, but nothing too bothersome, i would occasionaly need to rub an anti-inflammatory gel on my heels and knees, but i was pretty muh ok for the whole holiday.

I started further investigating what was wrong with me, researching and going to the docs back and fourth, Ive had blood tests and i can't even remember some of the stuff Ive had tested for. I do remember having 2 blood tests in the past (FBC - Full blood count), one time i was anaemic in iron, so was given iron supps, 420mg daily. My levels raised back up, but what a concern from the doctor was, was a slightly low platelet level (thrombocytopenia), i had it tested twice, the later session, it was better than previous, from research, i know co-infections of lyme - babesia can cause this, yet at the time i had no idea, even what lyme disease was. I was referred to haemotology for investigations, and the consultant diagnosed me with "chronic ITP", and discharged me stating i had nothing to worry about as my platelet level was only just under the normal range.

Now before i went on holiday to Turkey in october 2011, i had been obesessing about what was wrong with me, i was convinced i had AS (Ankloysing spondylitis), 2 doctors, a chiropractor, and an osteopath, all believed this was not the case, it spoiled my holiday, and i developed bad psychomatic issues, such as anxiety and depression. Ive had ESR tested and that was low, Ive even had my lumbar spine MRI'ED but the doctors have no concerns as it came back normal. I eventually got this off my mind and started to wonder what was going on.

I noticed in August, and this was only from thinking about the past, that for about 2 weeks, my eyes were bothering me. They were really watery and i was continously blinking, constantly, i saw an optician and she said they were fine, this was before i went to teneriffe, and the problem went away.

So around novemember-december 2011, i started experiencing more problems, i started getting a dull ache in my left distal bicep tendon, i was referred to an osteopath for the low back issues, the tendon pain started also occuring in my right bicep tendon and progressed to a lot of cracking (crepitus), when i straightened the elbow, the osteo initally thought it was just growing pains along with bad anxiety, but recently advises i get checked out by a rheumatologist, but ultimately, he feels i'll be fine.

Now, in december 2011, i had agonising pain. I woke up one night with severe back pain, 3am, my whole back was hurting badly, i took some pain killers, sprayed deep heat on my back, tried sleeping on a heat pack, but it was too bad to get back to sleep, so i went to A+E. I was given more pain killers but they didn't do a thing, i was seen by a couple of doctors, one said there was some swelling, but couldn't spot anything wrong, as i had good mobility, and nothing seemed obvious to aggravate the pain. The next doctor i saw said she felt it was muscular, gave me a muscle relxant and more pain killers, during my time at A+E i had an uranylisis and an x-ray on my chest (which would show my spine), both came back fine. Within 8 hours the pain started go away. On this day i had severe diarhea and vommitting. I even had diarheaa, litreally 5mins before seeing a doctor, he examined my bowel and back and i told him i had litreally just had diarhea in the toilet and said my bowel was fine, and im just after pain killers to become a drug addict - made me furious!

[HyamBarber]

I get real confused. Sometimes for brief periods i feel fine and feel "perhaps im ok", but more often then not there's times i don't feel fine at all. The tendon pain comes on from no where and no pain killers that ive used seem to touch it. There's no swelling or nothing, but i feel it's coming directly from the tendons. Along with this type of pain, there's often clicking within the tendon/joint, for example, when my bi tendons are aching up, i feel i need to straighten my elbows and hear the cracking sensation.


Im tired of having no answers, i will request a lyme test from the GP on friday, but it's so irritating, i feel like i need to grab and pinch the tendons at my elbow. It's normally noticeable badly in one part at a time, at least that's how Ive noticed it. For instance, last night i had bad pain in the tendons of my feet and heels, at least i feel it's coming from the tendons, i just am real tired of this.

Ive been offered chances to work, but physical work i don't feel i can do right now, even though i sould be able to, young male, and i explain to family members i can't do that work, and it annoys them as they think im not helping myself and what not, it just needs to end, seriously.

[shellbell98632]

i have all those migrating symptems with muscle twitching...been to neuro and rhumy with no luck...ug and many more strange things..I to now suffer from panic attacks slash goraphobic..and spend way to much time looking at diseases...but I have to keep looking because the doctor wont...now i am looking into Small brain vessel disease...yah bob lol  good luck

[milesrf]

Some links on Lyme disease:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease

http://www.medicinenet.com/lyme_disease/article.htm

Lyme disease risk from dogs 'higher than thought'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16706942

http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/arthritis-lyme-disease

http://www.lyme.org/front.htm

At your age, Lyme disease looks like the next thing to test for.  At least it appears to be treatable.

I'm not familiar with whether those pain killers also work for Lyme disease, so you might ask you doctor.

[HyamBarber]

Ive had the pain for a while, i am quite young for a heart attack being 19. Ive read Lyme can cause migratory pain that moves around, i just don't get it, i mean, the tendon pain in my elbows, both elbows, never goes away when it arises, hot bath, pain killers, nothing works.

The pain killers i have are solpadol (co-codamol 30mg/500mg paracetmol) and dicoflenax 50mg used to work when i had neck pain back in october, now i take them for my tendon pain in my arms. It doesn't touch it or help at all, i have a knee op tomorrow but im more worried about everything else and it being something incurable, it's becomming overwhelming.

[milesrf]

One cause of pain that moves around is a heart attack.  Not everyone gets the chest pain symptoms.  Not the only cause, though.

Is there a medical school within the distance you can travel?  If there is, you could call them and ask if they're training any doctors who might be able to handle some of your problems.  Medical schools often offer free medical care except for expenses travelling there and back, for those who volunteer to be treated by their students.

[HyamBarber]

BAD IMSONIA last night, got maybe 3 hours sleep