Fatigue, joint pain, sore skin, chest pains, shortness of breath... What's wrong with me!?

Posted , 5 users are following.

I've been back and forth to the doctors for the past 9 months because I generally feel very unwell. I frequently have chest pains (almost like a stitch, and sometimes shooting pains) my joints ache- mostly in my hands, I get short of breath even when I'm relaxing, I feel tired all the time and my skin is painful to touch. Across my face, neck, arms and torso my skin to touch feels bruised.

Im starting to feel like I am losing my mind! I have always been very healthy, I eat well and I exercise often (though haven't been to the gym since December due to a doctors orders) I am a 28 year old female with a healthy bmi.

So far I have had blood tests to rule out arthritis, been prescribed pills for acid reflux (which did nothing), I have been prescribed "propanalol" for anxiety, another doctor suggested that I may have torn a muscle in my chest and suggested rest and just before this covid 19 outbreak I was sent to the hospital for chest xrays that came back clear...

No-one seems to have a clue what's wrong and I feel really silly explaining all of this to a doctor because i feel like they may just think I'm being over dramatic!

I know that something isn't right and it's really getting me down- please if anyone has any knowledge of what this could be, I'd Be very grateful!

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Edited

    I have some of these symptoms and have for 5 months now, general unwellness, fatigue, chest pains, joint aches (among others) however i have not experienced my skin feeling painful to touch. i am also a 28 year old female that was relatively healthy before hand. i was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome. i was also given propanalol but i havent taken it much. i had a brain MRI and heart ultrasound as well and alot of blood tests before the nuerologist diagnosed me with CFS. they also thought it may have been an autoimmune disease at the start but my blood tests were fine. hope this helps! however i am really not sure about the bruised skin feeling sorry so it could be something else entirely

    • Posted

      Hi Samantha, thank you so much for your reply! Although I don't wish pain on anyone else, I am glad to hear that there is someone else that understands. I don't really know anything about CFS (going to look into it now) I hope that having a diagnosis means that you can move forward! I will perhaps make a suggestion to my doctor and see where that gets me.

      Thank you again, all the best for you

  • Edited

    Have they mentioned fibro myalgia or costiocondritis

    • Posted

      Hi alexandria, I am aware of fibromyalgia- because my mother was diagnosed with it years ago, I have put this idea to the doctor and he didnt even answer my question, he just started typing on the screen and then did a few tests (blood pressure etc)

      I've never heard of costiocondritis... I will look into it though thank-you! Anything I could rule out is a step closer to a correct diagnosis!

      Thank you so much for your reply.

  • Edited

    hi hun hope this helps. the sorness of the skin deff sounds like fibro the feeling of bruises all over your body is a bring red flag fatigue is another sign you should deff go see a specialist for this anxiety is also related . they might start you out on a med called gabbapebten sorry my spelling is horrible I get fibro fog and can't remember things .

    • Posted

      Thank you so much lindsey, I'm definitely going to be going back to my doctor once this lock down is over. It's infuriating because each time I go they think it's something different! I've been reading more about fibromyalgia- my mum deals with it so well that I don't think I ever truly realised how many symptoms there are/ can be. Thank you so much do your advice, I do appreciate it

  • Edited

    Hi kirsty.

    Have you had your vitamin D levels checked? D deficiency can lead to joint pain, shortness of breath and fatigue. if you do get it checked by a doctor, make sure you find the actual value out - dont just let them fob you off with 'its fine/in range'. a lot of doctors 'normal ranges' are really low. From what I've been reading, you want to be over 50ng/ml (150nmol/L). you can also get a private test done from an online company for around £30. It's well worth checking. Nearly every cell in the body has a vitamin D receptor. It's vital for so much, and yet routinely ignored by doctors.

    There is even a school of thought that fibromyalgia is often just a vitamin D deficiency. after all fibromyalgia just means muscle pain. It's a symptom rather than a cause. There must be something causing the pain, a root cause... why not vitamin D?

    • Posted

      Hey John, thank you for your message. Vitamin D.... Its a worth a try! I'm willing to check everything at this point, though I do routinely take my supplements and I used sunbeds? I'll look into it!

      I'm hoping for a simple answer to be honest!

      Thank you 😊

    • Posted

      If it's a multivitamin supplement you're taking, they usually only have 5-10ug of D in them. this won't be enough to reverse a deficiency. For reference, I'm currently taking 225ug (9000iu) to treat my deficiency. In any case, you're just guessing unless you actually get it tested and get a value.

      Sunbeds apparently aren't great for producing D -and the skin cancer risks outweigh any vit D benefit from them!

      All the best. keep us updated if you do get it checked

      John

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