What in the world is wrong with me?

[Dazy08]

I've been experiencing severe fatigue since April of this year.  I have some fatigue throughout the year, but nowhere near as bad as it is now.  I've noticed that it usually gets worse, or at least becomes problematic, during the spring and on into the summer, and then I usually start feeling better some time in the fall.  In addition to fatigue, I also have joint pain and stiffness (mostly in my legs) that is usually worse in the morning and gradually gets a little better, but still persists throughout the day. I have muscle weakness in my arms, and my hands feel clumsy- I tend to drop things and I feel like I have to concentrate to grab small things like change. Lately, I've also been experiencing migraines that last for 2 to 3 days.  I used to get a migraine every now (they would be worse in the summer), but now they occur more often.  I've probably had 3 or 4 in the last couple of weeks.  I have memory problems.  I've been having visual problems...pain upon movement (usually in the left eye but sometimes in the right eye as well), I have static vision and everything in my periphery seems to be moving (this has gradually gotten worse over the last week), flashes of light in my periphery, and some flashes of light when I move my eyes (brighter and in the center).  I saw my opthamologist, who said my eyes were healthy and everything looked fine; my prescription hadn't even changed in the 2 years since I last saw him.  He said I could be experiencing complications from my chronic eye, which I have dealt with for the last 4 or so years (usually worse when my allergies act up).  He went on to say if it's not the dry eye that's causing my visual symptoms it could be a migraine variant.  Regarding my other symptoms, I saw a general practitioner who tested for vitamin D deficiency, lyme disease, and a couple other vitamin deficiencies.  Everything was normal, with the exception of a slightly low level of vitmain D, but he said it wasn't low enough to explain my symptoms.  So, he sent me to a rheumatologist, who tested me for lupus, sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid abnormalities, anemia, and some other stuff.  Everything was normal except my TSH level, which was elevated.  He said this could indicated an underactive thyroid, but he wanted to confirm so he did another test looking at TSH and free-T4.  I got the results today, and both were normal.  So my rheum. decided to put me on an antidepressant to see if that helps the fatigue and he'll see me in 2 months.  I had been against just trying a medication to see if it worked, but after all this I might as well.  But in the back of my mind, I keep thinking could it be something neurological?  Or is it just in my head?  Should I get a second opinion and/or see a neurologist?  Help!

[bigsissie]

I don't know about my c-reactive protein levels but I do have a lot of joint swelling as well as hands, face and feet. I have started to weigh myself everyday and can literally gain five pounds in one hour from swelling and the joint pain is horrible. I would call your doctor and as for a copy of the test results so you can post them on the thyroid forum just to see what they say. Here is a link to a autoimmune checklist. It may help with getting a diagnosis or at least narrow some things down for you.  http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/autoimmune-checklist.htm     I do think that you should at least get a second opinion. Do you know what your TSH was elevated at on the first test? The way my thyroid works is it flares up and then goes normal flares and normal which makes it so hard to catch. I have Hashimoto's by the way. I can go from hypothyroid to hyperthyroid also with stretches where I am normal. It is very messed up making getting diagnosed hard. I can look back and I have had to symptoms for years and went to the doctor for them but my thyroid was never caught until February. I think I may have had a miscarriage in august and this caused the flare up that got me diagnosed. Best wishes to you.

Sissie

[Dazy08]

I haven't seen a neurologist yet, but it's something I am considering a lot lately, especially since I've been having a lot of headaches. The worst ones are associated with my eye pain. I actually thought about MS after doing some symptom research and have kept it in the back of my mind, even more so after all of these blood tests keep coming back normal. I'm kind of afraid of bringing it up with my rheumatologist because I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell him how to do his job, especially since I practically badger him with questions about my symptoms. On the other hand, he never has an answer, and I kinda feel like it's my time that's being wasted. He is getting paid after all, and I get nothing but more pain and questions.

[Dazy08]

My TSH levels were retested on tuesday. I got the call on wednesday that TSH and free T4 were normal. I started the antidepressant which I totally regret because apparently I am extremely sensitive to it. I didn't think that would solve my problem anyway, I should have followed my gut. I had forgotten to mention that my c-reactive protein was also elevated at .8 mg/dL. My rheumatologist said it indicated inflammation, but he wasn't concerned about it. Is this something you have seen with your thyroid disease? I'm beginning to wonder if I should find a new doctor. Thanks for your help.

[Dr Sharma]

hi there. Your neurologist needs to rule out multiple sclerosis, a chronic demyelinating disorder also. MS is a chronic demyelinating disorder where the disease phase is characterized by active phase and remissions. It has multiple symptoms and signs and is a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are loss of balance, muscle spasms, numbness in any area, problems with walking and coordination, tremors in one or more arms and legs. Bowel and bladder symptoms include frequency of micturition, urine leakage, eye symptoms like double vision uncontrollable rapid eye movements, facial pain, painful muscle spasms, tingling, burning in arms or legs, depression, dizziness, hearing loss, fatigue etc. The treatment is essentially limited to symptomatic therapy so the course of action would not change much whether MS has been diagnosed or not. Apart from clinical neurological examination, MRI shows MS as paler areas of demyelination, two different episodes of demyelination separated by one month in at least two different brain locations. Spinal tap is done and CSF electrophoresis reveals oligoclonal bands suggestive of immune activity, which is suggestive but not diagnostic of MS. Demyelinating neurons, transmit nerve signals slower than non-demyelinated ones and can be detected with EP tests. These are visual evoked potentials, brain stem auditory evoked response, and somatosensory evoked potential. Slower nerve responses in any one of these is not confirmatory of MS but can be used to complement diagnosis along with a neurological examination, medical history and an MRI in addition, a spinal tap. Therefore, it would be prudent to consult your neurologist with these concerns. Hope this helps. Take care.

[bigsissie]

I would get rechecked on the TSH and have your free T3 checked it is what causes the symptoms. I am new to thyroid disease but I do know that it is hard to get diagnosed and get treatment. The ranges that they use to test TSH, T4 and T3 vary from lab to lab. If I were you I would start calling thyroid specialist in your area and ask if they treat based on blood test alone or if they treat the symptoms also. You may also get more help if you post this in  autoimmune. Keep trying, I didn't know anything about thyroid disorders until I was diagnosed. I have since learned more but not nearly enough. I am on medication now but still have all the symptoms and am looking for a new doctor for treatment. If you post on the autoimmune post your test results if you have them. Best of luck to you.

Sissie