Can stress really do all this?

[MathewLongman88]

Over the past six months, I have been experiencing migratory myalgia, arthalgia, numbness in the hands, stomach pains, cracking joints, lung pain (like you've just ran in cold weather), and cold extremities. Doctor's are stumped, especially considering my age (20), gender (male), and race (caucasian) and how I do not fit into the typical demographic of diseases like SLE, vasculitis, RA, amyloidosis etc. Several doctors have explained that the reason that people take so long to be diagnosed with these conditions is not because they have clear lab work but because the labs that DO come up positive are very unspecific (ESR, CPR, elevated ESR, ANAs, RA factor). But, in their words, I'm as healthy as a horse and my labs confirm that. They won't even refer me to a specialist.

Which leads me to a dead end known as "stress". I've had about seven doctors tell me "it's just stress, don't worry so much". But I can't find it in myself to believe that a couple of weeks of a stressful situation can cause this and that there isn't any other known medical reason for such symptoms. I mean, how can stress cause a cough? How can stress cause joint cracking? How can stress cause myalgia that jumps around the body, from muscle to muscle? I ask the doctors these same questions and they all respond with "I've seen it all". And I respond with "But all in the same person and all within a matter of months?"

Is this just a case of ego-mad doctors who, if they don't know what something is, just try to categorize it as "anxiety", to make themselves feel like they're doing their jobs? I, honestly, think so.

[M4Y0U]

Sadly, not every doctors understand the underlying causes of stress and I'm pretty sure none of them want to engage knowledge therapy with their patients. A biologist can understand stress more than a doctor can sometimes. With my knowledge in biology and neuroscience i was able to give you correct answers about the underlying causes. A doctor will more be qualified to give a diagnosis and offer a treatment based on his knowledge and beliefs. Of course he might be aware of the HPA ( hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal ) axis with his knowledge of the human anatomy but it is not his job to understand the mechanism of such system. Some doctors are more dedicated to their work and constantly extend their knowledge and look into different field such as deeper biology, neuroscience, nutrition, psychology but such doctors tend to be rare.

So don't be angered at your doctors they, in most of the time, only wish you best and they are often limited in staying in their field which is the medical field and the medical field is known to be good at giving diagnosis and treating patients with current western medical treatments.

This is why sometimes it will requires many specialist to address a problem. A single doctor can't do it all unless like i said he has a strong passion for knowledge and participate in other fields. Nowadays it is more and more common to see doctor that at good at multiple fields. Like a biochemist with good knowledge in nutrition tend to be extremely helpful to the medical field ( i have Dr. Richard Béliveau, PhD, director of the centre's molecular medicine laboratory, author of bestseller Foods That Fight Cancer, in mind ) especially in oncology. Dr. Béliveau is responsible of new cutting edge discoveries on tumors and blood-brain barrier, tumor vascularization ( angiogenesis ) and cancer prevention through nutrition ( nutraceuticals ).

Have a nice day,
M4

[MathewLongman88]

Wow, M4Y0U! What angered me most about the way the doctors dealt with me is that they simply said "It's stress. Have a good day." You, on the other hand, took the time to explain everything involved and how it, most likely, involves my problem. Thank you very much! I kept thinking that I was a medical oddity; that I had all the symptoms of a rheumatic condition and yet fell into that 0.01% of patients that are the "atypical of the atypical". It was driving me nuts.

I was at the end of my ropes, with these doctors, as I felt that they were so quick to diagnose me but never took the time to explain the intricacies of what was really going on inside my body. Now that you have, I think it will help me to better work with my doctors, instead of wanting to scream at them to give me some answers.

I really can't thank you enough!

[M4Y0U]

Hello there,

It's not a case of ego-mad doctors, they know what they are doing because they tested you. They are pretty good with everything that is physical.

Just the fact that you said your myalgia is migratory is, for me, a strong indicator of a psychosomatic condition.

Maybe a little knowledge about what is stress and anxiety might proves to be helpful for you and ensure you that you have no medical condition.

The easiest response to recognise stress is the immediate activation of what is called the sympathetic nervous system.  After receiving a stressful challenge and computing the right response, the brain rapidly activates nerves originating from control centres in the brainstem. These cause the release of noradrenaline in a variety of structures and of adrenaline from the adrenal glands ( situated just above the kidney ). Their release underpins the fight or flight response, the classical, immediate reaction that has to be made in response to danger.  We all recognise the initial tingling sensation, sweating, heightened awareness, rapid pulse rate, higher blood pressure and general feelings of fear that we all feel in the moments immediately after a stressful challenge.These changes happen because of receptors that are found on blood vessels, causing them to constrict and so our blood pressure to shoot up, and in the heart, causing it to accelerate and produce the pounding sensation in the chest known as palpitations.  There are also receptors in the skin causing hairs to erect ( goosebumps ) and in the gut causing those disconcerting abdominal sensations that we all sense as stress.  These changes are there to prepare us to fight or to flee and to concentrate blood flow to vital organs, the muscles and the brain.  Useful if you see a lion in the jungle and need to run away as quickly as possible! But evolution kept this mechanism and our stressful life is giving us a hard time.

When you are under stress for prolonged period of time, the fight or flight response becomes not useful as it used to be, it becomes your worst enemy. Stress can reduce your immune system fonctions because of what i explained above. Your somatic system ( muscles and bones ) is receiving more power than the visceral system ( digestive system, immune system etc ). Reduced immune system can actually results in hypersensibility of the lungs resulting into coughing. Extra power to the somatic system for prolonged period of time can results into myalgia, cracking joints etc.

You should start to work on you stress and anxiety since you are in top shape from the doctor's point of view.

One good place to start is talk therapy with a qualified therapist and lifestyle changes like physical activity and healthy diet ( proper intake of nutriments, vitamins and minerals )

If you need more information about nutrition and supplements or natural ways to fight anxiety just send me a message and i will be pleased to give you all the information you need.

Otherwise, other possible treatments include pharmaceutical treatments with antidepressants or benzodiazepines but i think there are many alternatives to try before jumping on the meds and doctors are good at prescribing meds anyway if you need.

Best regards,
M4