no better

[emmie]

i wonder why i feel no better, in fact am considerably worse since before christmas. I have been back to the doctors, but they seem stumped, and i am left in pain. Various tests have proved negative, but something is attacking from all sides, and now have awful pains down both legs, from top down, this supposedly started out as a viral illness, but it's into a 5/6th week and feel wretched. Stomach area goes into overdrive, lots of swishing noises, then pain comes around left side of abdomen down to pubic and sides, kidney area. Doctor has theories, IBS, but seriously don't think so. They ask you what they think it is, what am i supposed to say. Throat sore again, and feel have no energy, nose keeps on running, and feel just pummelled. Have a test soon to check for excess acid, but feel like one of those people, cases, who limp on without any clear cause.
It all sounds so wimpy and moaning, i know when i speak to the doctors that what it seems like,

[Noraq]

I'm so sorry you don't feel any better EM10...and I wish I had some helpful advice..Just keep 'at' the Medics...until they get this sorted out. xx

[emmie]

thank you, if only the pain in my legs would go, kept me up most of the night.

[rowanwitch]

Might be a generalised over response from your immune system after a virus Probably time to ask for a referral or at least your GP could do bloods for an immunology profile. Severe joint pains can follow a viral infection ...a kind of reactive arthritis and if you have been taking lots of ibuprofen for the aches and pains it can upset the gut of some people I get cramping pain and severe diarrhoea if I take it regularly for more than 3 days

[divegirl]

Hi Em, so sorry you're not feeling any better. I know its long shot but have they thought of Lupus? Joint pain, stomach trouble can be symptoms.

Lisa x

[emmie]

not joint pains, but tops of legs downwards are aching, as though deep inside, pulsating, so difficult to explain, not taking any ibuprofen, in fact stopped all meds as I am supposed to do a test tomorrow, which had been put off from early december, to stick a small tube down nose to stomach to check the acidity of the gut to see why i get constant acid reflux. This is like a high level flu, only x it by 10. I am more worried about the pain in abdomen, rounds sides, it seems somehow to be linked to the swishing swirling in the lower abdomen, the sort of feeling you get when you are really hungry, which i am not. Every drop of water i drink is going straight through, or that's what it feels like, and that's what it looks like in loo, not cloudy, absolutely clear, no colour whatsoever. And i'm still thirsty, no matter the amount of liquid i drink.

[emmie]

I have tried to work it out, but come back to nothing, i have seen doctors, and had chest x ray, as i had been coughing so much, which has stopped.
They said it's clear, as was blood test for liver, thyroid. Never felt as bad as this, and being offered anti depressants by one doc didn't help.

[pastafreak]

Could it be ME-chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

[China Doll]

I wondered about CFS as well pasta. Certainly the leg pain, bowel problems and pain in the abdomen sound like a lot of the symptoms my consultant mentions on several of her patients who she sees in her chronic fatigue clinic. She's a paediatrician though so I have no idea if it's the same for teenagers (who we see) as it is for adults).

[Robinia]

Just a suggestion....I had/still have all of those symptoms, not all at the same time, I've always said it was like a bad army that was marching from one area to another and attacking it. It took a long, long time of eliminating everything else and I was finally sent to a rheumatologist who took about half an hour to diagnose fibromyalgia. It's a similar thing to CFS and some say both are side by side. There's no 'cure', it's all down to self management and some days/weeks are easier than others
Hope you get some answers em.

[emmie]

Robina, that was diagnosed years ago, and as far as i can see, tell hasn't caused these problems in recent days. I have been sneezing like a drain again, with pains that are shooting down my legs which started a few days ago, and feel totally washed out. This all started early december with awful earache, and has progressed to this. I actually thought it was starting to ease off, but the last week has me wondering what the hell is going on, intermittent diarrhoea too. I have left a message for gp to phone later, but quite frankly i am totally lost, and so are they.

[pastafreak]

There is some comprehensive information on CFS here -

http://www.bupa.co.uk...onic-fatigue-syndrome

[LoftyLottie]

I must say this sounds very much like CFS to me as well. As a sufferer I know exactly what it is like. The link Pasta has supplied is good. Luckily I am much, much better these days and my first real bout was 25 years ago and I really felt so dreadful and the doctor, I think, had me down as a hypochondriac. There are a lot of links with IBS and pain in the limbs is common, as is twinging muscles, sort throats, extreme tiredness (and I mean EXTREME).

It reoccurs when I am rundown or after a cold or stomach upset, and the only thing I can actually do is sleep for England. You can't fight it. It is very similar to Fibromyalgia and I have recently had talks with my doc. about whether I have fibromyalgia or not (I have trace rheumatoid and osteo arthritis so difficult to say!

Hope you get sorted out soon Em. It is so miserable for you. I think with CFS and Fibromyalgia the only way they can be 90% sure is to rule out everything else.

[emmie]

LL, Back in 1994 had very similar leg pains, became breathless and couldn't walk far, and felt terrible, and that continued on for almost three years, my GP had much the same response as you, so i went private, but that took 4 goes before a doctor suggested FM. I have gone through the cards now, menopause symptoms, and all the really bad things you can think of, which is not the way i wish to go on. I will suggest it to the doctor, but the pains around my back and kidneys was really getting to me, imagining all sorts of nasties, and that is where i am stuck.

[emmie]

a friend of my mum has had CFS for years, and it has taken all her patience, effort to get the medical profession to take her seriously. If that's what this turns out to be then heaven help me, as they already think i'm a hypochondriac.

[pastafreak]

A quote from the BUPA link...

CFS/ME is recognised by the Department of Health as a genuine, long-term debilitating disease. However, it's still poorly understood because there are no known causes and a wide range of symptoms.

Tell that to your doctors.

[emmie]

Pastaf, i am sure they know, I also have the leaflet someplace for Fibromyalgia.

[emmie]

I have even wondered, and this isn't a suggestion that's what is going on, but after i came back from a trip in 1994, a short while later fell ill, and that's when i was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia, We had travelled all around the Greek Island, and one island area had the worse infestation of mosquitoes the locals could remember. I was bitten so badly that i looked like a pin cushion, and even now i come up in large welts if get bitten by flea or else. This is the third bout i have had in around 18 months, so you can see why i didn't want it to linger.

[LoftyLottie]

Doctors are far better at understanding it now Em. When I suggested to the same doctor some years after that first dreadful bout (it followed an extreme sinusitis infection which knocked me for 6) that I suspected ME then he agreed that I was properly right. He said it often attacked working professional women who also had a family and were living a stressed lifestyle.

The only trouble is that there are several illnesses which all come under the same umbrella and cause the same symptoms - even depression. I have to take antianxiety/anti depressants on a regular life long basis and they do help.

Just remember another symptom I had, I always felt as if I was in a dream and walking on cotton wool - I could walk no further than about 25 yards when it was at it's worse. I imagined all sorts of dreadful illnessnes, but 25 years on here I still am!!

Take care xx

[LoftyLottie]

'probably right'

It also caused problems with my memory and I found difficulty finding the right words. I am still much the same!! ;o)

[Eve]

A nasty bout of a virus can make you feel unwell for quite a while. I remember after being hospitalised with viral pneumonia I felt ill for a quite a while after that and things like glandular fever and fatigue syndromes were mentioned. My cousin later got diagnosed with it after she had a very bad period of problems.

I had a lot of scary symptoms after ending up in hospital with what they thought originally was meningitis but thankfully the lumbar puncture was negative and they said it was a nasty similar virus thing and my brain had been swollen. I was investigated for MS, mini strokes and other things but all clear :) Thankfully things settled down after a while though it took quite a bit.

It's likely some symptoms related to diagnosises I've had since (inflammatory arthritis, secondary fibromyalgia, vitamin D deficiency, menieres and bile acid malabsorption and being investigated for inflammatory bowel disease related to the arthritis - or vice versa) but having a nasty hit of a virus or illness can hit the body hard, especially if you have underlying conditions.

At least with diagnosises I can separate things now to target what to help how (and get taken more seriously when asking for help rather than getting the "hyperchondriac" look), it's horrible when you've got so much going on and feel awful and can't find any kind of resolution or help - can be so overwhelming and I do feel for you.