Sphychosomatic Illness??

[shawnie31]

Well I am full of questions and left feeling a little hurt following my dr.s appt yesterday. My PCP is suggesting I have a sphychological assessment done to rule out the possibility of any sphychosomatic illnesses. I'm still very confused  by all of this. I have been doing some reading this morning and basically sphychosomatic illenesses are mostly stress induced illnesses.

Well that doesn't make me feel any better. Can any of you share your thoughts on this and if you've had similar experiences. I have been open and  honest with my PCP and telling her that I am open to anything as long as we can figure out what is causing me to not function. The last time I went over my symptoms with her was roughly in March. So I asked her if she would like me to list them to her again starting with the most bothersome to the least.

Leg weakness/heaviness
Arms feel heavy
Pins & Needles feet, hands, face and scalp
Numbness to feet, legs hands, arms, face and head
Very tired all the time
Lightheaded (no vertigo since last summer)
Hot/Cold/wet water sensations to head, thighs, upper back
Can't focus on anything, difficulty following a conversation
Frequent urination, leaking urine (been tested no infec. bladder is not prolapsed)
Spelling my name wrong (I really have to focus when I write it)
Calf muscles almost always feel tight
Theirs a few more but these are the main ones...

So after I went over these again with her and asked her do this sound like a sphychosomatic illness to you. She said well many of those symptoms are similar for sure. Ahhh, I feel sad right now. I will bounce back up soon I know. I said I would remain positive to anything. I will anxiously be awaiting the other neuro's opinion but I will not put all of my hopes on his hands in case I don't hear what I want to hear.

Please send in your thoughts on this it would be so appreciated!!!

Shelley :)

[shawnie31]

First to Babyatlas, I'm really not sure if stress can cause white matter spots to show on MRI. I haven't read any of this anywhere yet.

Deb, yes all testing has been done B12, thyroid, rheumatoid factor, Fibro was ruled out a few months ago. As for the Crohn's that was a real issue a few years back when they kept on blamming my pelvic pain on Crohn's when really had been suffering with Endometriosis for 7yrs until I finally got my hysterectomy. The gastro specialist said when he last gave me a scope prior to my hysterectomy that he couldn't see any Crohns... So did it just misteriously get up and walk away?? I have never had any other issues with my bowels since the hysterectomy..(touch wood).

Thanks for all your feedback I knew that I could get some info not being embarassed about the psychosomatic thing.. I will go ahead with the eval. which will apparently take a year to have it done.

I will see if the effexor will help me cope with things in the meantime.

take care,

Shelley

[Deb61]

Some of your symptoms may be rheumatological in cause.  It almost sounds like fibromyalgia or reactive arthritis, and the reason I say this is because of your Crohn's disease which often is accompanied by arthritis and/or fibromyaligia.  Have you seen a rheumatologist?  Forgive me if you've mentioned this before . . . I had a long break from the forum and missed a lot.  I also assume that you've had blood work to rule out thyroid disease as well because it can cause brain fog, lethargy, joint aches, neurological symptoms, and pains, etc. . . .

If you've not seen a rheumatologist, I think that your doctor has probably jumped the gun with telling you it could be psychosymatic.  I think often times doctors want to say psychosymatic when they can't find a cause for your problems.  Autoimmune diseases don't often fit in nice little categories and cause an array of symptoms that could be this or that or may not show positive on this or that test.  I may get flack for saying this, but that has been my experience . . .

Deb

[babyatlas]

this is a good post.  i have heard the words psychosomatic thrown around a bit lately too - not by my neuro yet.  

shelly, have you had MRI, bloodwork or other testing done to see if there are any signs of MS other than your symptoms?  just curious if doctors use this term if there is other evidence, besides personal symptoms.

so, here's a question for ya, could someone psychosomatically put lesions/white spots or the like on their own brain?   i have "white matter disease" and i am wondering if it possible for my stress, worry, etc to have put those spots there....and if so, can i get rid of them.

i don't mean to hijack your thread - i was just thinking about the same thing and thought i would tie it in.

good luck in your additional testing.  it sounds like a wise decision, per LuLu, to either rule it out or start treating it if that is some/all of the cause.

most sincerely, R

[Lulu54]

Shelley,
The great thing about hanging out here is that we really do understand!  So go ahead and schedule that eval and get it out of the way.  

be well,
L

[Wobbly]

Hi there... lulu is right, there are alot of members here that have heard the same answers from one of their many Dr or Neuro...and have gone and see a pysciatrist to talk and get some information on this.  

take care and hang in there
wobbly
undx

[shawnie31]

You are absolutely right !!! I know I said I want to know whatever it is and caring on from there either it be in my head or in my HEAD..

Your post made me smile. I just wanted to say my thoughts to someone who can understand..This forum family is great for understanding that's for sure. This is such a difficult time for many to wait..

Thanks for your post, I couldn't have said it better myself!

Have a great day!

Shelley

[Lulu54]

Hi Shelley,
I can understand why this has hit you so hard - but I want you to look at this another way.  Your PCP is NOT doubting that your symptoms are real, and wants to remove that psychosomatic question from your records once and for all.

Many of our community members have heard the same thing from their doctors and did the psych eval just to quiet the doubters on their team.  It is one of the most useful visits you can have while you are looking for a dx because it removes the doubts.

On the flip side, psychosomatic illnesses can also be very real and manifest itself with very real physical symptoms.  If this is what is causing your problems, wouldn't you want to know this as well and begin treatment asap  ?  

Funny with the MS limboland, the symptoms are either in your head or they are in your head!  :-)  It really makes sense to find out this up front and remove all the questions.

I hope this all makes sense to you,

my best,
Lulu