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25 year old male, odd neurological symptoms

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ian32540
ian32540

Hello all, this is my first post!

I would like to start this by asking the questions:

Is there "something" here?

What should I do?

For starters, I'm male, 25 years old, 175lbs (79kg), and 6'2" (188cm).

In December 2016, I developed a rash all over my body. I saw the doctor about this rash and she diagnosed it as pityriasis rosea. The rash cleared up after about two months, but by March 2017 I started to notice some odd neurological changes that I couldn't quite figure out. My symptoms were/are:

Mental fog/fatigue/slowness

Lost ability to do mental math

Flat voice/affect

Emotional blunting and anhedonia

Fatigue

Poor memory and ability to focus (worse than baseline)

At this time I was taking Adderall for ADHD and depression and there was a lot of stress going on at work and home. The Adderall treatment started in September of 2016 and the medication worked well until the onset of the above symptoms; I am no longer taking it because it does almost nothing to my ability to focus, raise my mood, or clear my head. My psychiatrist thought it might be that PTSD was triggered and was causing my psychological symptoms.

More recently, within the past three months, I started noticing numbness in my right hand, pins and needles feeling all over my body, random muscle twitches and spasms (not painful), and minor balance and coordination issues. My vision might also be deteriorating, but I haven't had this checked.

The onset of the physical symptoms prompted me to see a neurologist, and she ordered an MRI to check for MS at my own request. She was also unconvinced something underlying was going on and came to the conclusion, like the psychiatrist, that I had overlapping psychological issues combined with carpel tunnel and physical changes related to aging. 

However, I have this nagging feeling at the back of my mind this isn't the case. HHV-6 and HHV-7 have been associated with the onset of many neurological diseases, including MS and CFS. In addition, pityriasis rosea has been associated with HHV-6 and/or HHV-7 reactivation. Most importantly, my neurological symptoms appeared within a month of the rash disappearing.

So, for the more opinionated part. I'm trying to not look at who I was with "rose-colored glasses", but my entire personality has changed. I was exciting, loud and vocal, outgoing, intelligent, quick, and charismatic. And, to be honest, also reckless, overly-emotional, and kind of a jerk and know-it-all. Now? I've lost all that, good and bad. I can't string a coherent sentence longer than ten words, people always ask me to repeat things because I talk so quietly, and I have no emotions to get worked up about. 

Should I try to investigate this further? Should I contact the HHV-6 Foundation and ask for their opinion? I have been thinking about ordering a lab test from PersonaLabs that tests for IgG and IgM antibodies for HHV-6. I have Kaiser insurance, so trying to get them to do anything that doesn't get me out the door immediately is difficult.

I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this and look forward to your responses!

0 likes, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • terrie27149
    terrie27149 ian32540

    Posted

    Wow! It is still so hard for me to belueve how our medical system is with lack of empathy as well as a continuing ambition to investigate ppl strange symptoms we all are having of late. S omthing is going on with neurological issues of ppl and we can't get the medical field to listen. I so hearthly agree that you need to further yr investigation. You hear the term physician heal thyself, well anymore, we must all be our own advocate. It may get expensive, but u have to in order to get to the bottom. Or keep going to othr drs u til u find one that will listen and tell them all u told us..That ,to me, is not normal..first step, call the foundation for sure. Nothing to lose there ad see what they suggest. They may can give you a list of drs that take these symptoms seriously..take care and I pray for you that you get yr answers soon.

    .

  • ana85762
    ana85762 ian32540

    Posted

    Mine started after taking antibiotics. Alot of ppl complain about these horrible symptoms and doctors love to blame anxiety for it. I find it odd that ppl with lyme complain about the same so at the end it all comes down to medecine but still don't understand what's going on I feel like my brain is damaged plus 100 other symptoms

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