please help with diagnosis -- getting desperate
->
->I'm wondering if someone can help me diagnose an illness (or
->combination of illnesses.) I've been to see nearly a dozen doctors in
->the past year and none of them have been able to find the cause of all
->these problems. Unfortunatly alot of the symptoms I have seem to be
->fairly generic and are present in many illnesses.
I have many of your symptoms and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. If your
brain MRI comes because normal, and no other diagnosis can be found, I suggest
you consult with a rheumatologist or a neurologist who is familiar with
fibromyalgia and has experience with treating patients that have it. You may
also try to find someone familiar with that and also with chronic fatigue
syndrome (CFS), as sometimes people have both problems, and the symptoms can
overlap.
->I've been on and off several varieties of antibiotics over the past 5
->years or so for acne and a nearly year-long bout with what may have
->been prostatitis (I'm now told I have a strictured urethra.)
I have chronic prostatitis.
->About 1.5 years ago I started having problems with what I thought was
->carpel tunnel syndrome- pain and mild numbness in the hands, wrists
->and arms. I had the nerve test done and it showed a "very very mild"
->case of CTS, which the doctor didn't think merited surgery, and he
->prescribed wrist splints and ibuprofen. Now the pain has gotten quite
->debilitating at times, and I've lost a great deal of dexterity in my
->hands. I have trouble just opening a doorknob on a bad day. So I
->went to have the nerve test done again, thinking surely it would show
->some fairly serious CTS, but again the test came back showing
->virtually no compression of the nerves.
I have the above problem also. I've learned to open doors with both hands to
avoid the problem. When it was real bad, I avoided closd doors!
->Now I'm getting worried because I'm also starting to see a similar
->paralysis in other parts of my body, e.g. when walking, talking, etc.
->Numbness and tingling in extremities when slight pressure is applied.
->Random muscle spasms (feels kinda like an electric shock.)
This I don't have, but I assume a neurologist has been conulted. By the way,
fatigue, muscle spasms, and neurological problems sometimes can be a sign of
lack of magnesium (or too much calcium). You might want to try taking a
supplement. Some people with CFS report similar symptoms I believe.
->Headaches. Usually feels like a sinus headache- whole head aches,
->including forehead, eyes, nose, jaw and ears. Eyes feel lots of
->pressure. (I've also been through about 5 eyeglass prescriptions in
->2.5 years.) Occasionally I'll also get sharp headache pain that feels
->confined to specific areas. One ENT thinks that the ear pain at least
->might be due to TMJ, though he couldn't diagnose this for sure.
TMJ is a common symptom of fibromyalgia. TMJ can cause eye pressure (I get
that) and ear aches. It can also make you feel like you have swollen glands.
A TMJ dentist would be able to diagnose it.
->Dizziness, severe vertigo, general confusion and malaise. Insomnia.
->Memory & speech problems.
Insomnia is a classic problem associated with fibromyalgia. In fact, treating
the insomnia by taking medication (usually low doses of an anti-depressant or
something similar) will often help relieve many of the other symptoms.
->Ringing in the ears. Occasionally the ringing becomes quite bad and
->one ear seems to "turn off" for a few seconds.
TMJ can cause ringing in the ears.
->Pain in the abdomen, lower back, and chest. Becomes very aggravated
->if I wear pants that aren't loose-fitting.
Fibromyalgia is diagnosed by finding if there are tender points on the body.
These points are all over the body and thus can cause pain in the places you
mention. I now have to buy close that fit loose also.
Good luck, and p.s. There are news groups/mailing lists which discuss
fibromyalgia and cfs. See alt.med.fibromyalgia and alt.med.cfs.
Mark London
