Where do I start.
I seem to feel as I am a hypochondriac.
I guess maybe I should start with the fact that I have just remembered about 6 years ago my GP (at the time) said she felt I had a mild version of CFS.
I was tired all the time, and only kept on going for the fact I had a 4.5 year old and a 2 year old.
Well its now 6 years on. And I am falling apart completely.
Back on the 2nd January this year I had a car accident. I was a little stiff the next couple of days but I was fine, so the next time I went to my doctor (we had moved so this was a new one), I let him know about the accident, didn't want any tests as I was fine.
Then on 3rd March 2008, I injured myself at work. I was helping at another store. They were doing a refit so I was working overtime helping do the refit.
I was picking up some boxes and putting them into cages to move them to the new area, and the top box started to slip, so any ones normal reaction is to jerk forward to catch it, which I did, and instantly felt a pop in my back. I kept "working" well kind of for the next 5 minutes, but the pain just got worse. I went to the supervisor and let him know. He filled out all the appropriate paperwork and I left, going straight to the hospital. Where they gave me 2 panadeine forte's and left me sitting there for 4 hours. I sat there with my elbows on the armrests not wanting to move as it caused pain.
When I was finally called in by the Doctor, he poked my back, asked me to lift my legs and said he thought it was just a muscle strain and gave me the next day off. And said 1. If it got any worse to come back to the hospital or go to my local doctor tomorrow, and 2. If I wanted to, he could do another test and stick his fingers up my bum to see if I was numb. Well I politely declined his offer, although now maybe I should have said yes,and maybe I wouldn't be in so much pain still, maybe they would have done more tests there and then.
I went straight to my doctors on the Monday and was told to rest it and to come back if it didn't get any better. It didn't and after about 2 weeks, when I was not getting any better, he decided, that he was going to refer me on to someone else. I got the referral and rang around. I was advised that if I got an MRI before the appointment, that would speed up the process a bit as I wouldn't get to the appointment and be told, there was nothing we can do until you get an MRI done. blah blah blah, long drawn out story. 9 months on now I'm single (hubby left in June) and still in pain!
In September, the Dr decided I must also be depressed due to my back and maybe anti depressants may even help my back pain, so I started Lovan in September, and I don't think anything has changed since.
I have posted all the results of the MRI back in April 2008 and the 1 and only answer I got was that it could be MS, didn't think much about it until about a month ago, when suddenly all these symptoms that I have seem to point to MS.
I went to my GP that I had been seeing for my work cover, and his reply was. Well if next appointment it's not any better I'll look into referring you somewhere else. (Seems he likes to refer people instead of helping with the initial diagnosis)
I felt this was not a good enough answer, so booked myself into another doctor, at another medical centre. After yet another hours wait. I got in to see him. I wrote a list and told him all my symptoms (here they are)
*Exhaustion
*Headaches - constantly
*Pain Everywhere - especially still my lower back where I am injured
*Numb feet - most of the time
*Burning Pins and Needles in my thighs
*Getting the shakes in my hands
**Muscles Spasms - Arms, legs, stomach (Almost like when I was pregnant and the baby would kick) and fingers and thumbs, and tics in my face
*Memory Loss - Both short and long
*Word Recall - I loose the word I am trying to say, or just say the wrong word completely (I'm even having problems typing now.)
*Stammering, while trying to think of the right word.
*Incontinence - I had a vaginal sling put in back in 2006 but it's back
*Insomnia - most of the time
*Constant Yawning
*No sexual drive when I was with my husband (Separated in June, a little to do with my back injury and not being able to do much housework, and what I have just mentioned)
*Foggy Brain
*Half my bum and half my stomach are always icy cold
*Work is too much for me, come back home completely exhausted after 4 hours working.
*Had vertigo, spent 2 days at home in bed, vomiting every time I moved, and my eyes were going crazy moving from side to side. Now a month on and "attacks" of vertigo are getting further apart.
*During hot weather I absolutely melt, my face goes as red as a coke a cola can, and I have no energy what-so-ever.
*I am starting to drop things, like pen, mugs of coffee, etc
*I seem to have no strength left. I used to be able to open the "hard to open jars" now I have to leave them.
I* have the sound of blood whooshing in my right ear all the time, and especially when it's quiet, it's deafening, I can stop it by holding my finger to my neck.
*My Eyes always hurt. burning sensation when I blink and tears when I yawn.
He did a full blood count most things were OK, but here are the results that showed something is up.
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)
Oct 21, 2008
ESR 44 mm/hr
normal range 0-12
C-reactive Protein (CRP)
Oct 21, 2008
CRP 15 mg/l
normal range <10
Liver Function Test
Oct 21, 2008
GGT 46 u/l
normal range <30
When I got the results, he suggested that it was probably all nothing but maybe it was Chronic Pain Syndrome. And that the high results were probably due to the inflammation in my back (8 months on, and still so high?)
I said that my shakes were getting worse, and now my daughter had started noticing it a lot more. So he sent me off for a CT scan of my brain. It came back clear.
Does a CT even show up MS lesions, or was that a complete waste of time.
He also sent me off for my hearing to be tested, and put me on antibiotics for my right ear and vertigo, hoping that would help. Hearing test came back with right ear fine, left ear blocked. Audiologist laughed when I said I have problems with my right not left.
And he sent me off to have my eyes checked. My prescription in one of my eyes has changed since my last test 2 years ago (It's been the same for over 10 years) (I have astigmatism but now I must wear my new glasses more often)
I have now noticed my shaking is still getting progressively worse. My memory is getting worse, I even took a wrong turn taking the kids to school the other day, the same route I have been taking for 2 years, twice a day! I seem to be inhaling my drinks more frequently this week instead of drinking it, and coughing and spluttering.
I know this it probably boring and really long winded, but can anyone help even by letting me know what I should be telling my doctor to do for me.
Thanks for taking the time to read my entry. I hope you made it all the way to the end without falling asleep!
PLEASE HELP!