is this turning into cfs?

Posted , 6 users are following.

Hi i am a 22 year old female. I have never had any serious health issues in my life. The past 3 months I have been having on going symptoms and doctors cant find what is wrong with me. It started when one day I was getting abdominal cramps which were mild but annoying and also mild nausea. A couple of days later I started feeling tired, like I was about to get sick  but it wasn't to bad. A couple of days later I was having really bad pains in the middle of my back. The next day I woke up with extreme fatigue, I was dizzy, couldnt concentrate properly, felt weak, still nauseous. This lasted about 3 days,  went to the doctors and she said I had a viral infection except I never had a sore throat or cough or anything. I started feeling better after this but I never fully recovered. I still am fatigued every day still get mild nausea every now and again as well as mild abdominal pains every now and again the back pain is still very much there and can become very painful. I have also developed more symptoms, I have a hard time being in the sunlight, it irritates my eyes, I also feel like my vision is a little out of focus. I have also been noticing alot of reflux, which I have vomitted from. I find myself waking at night feeling a little frightened (hearts beating a bit faster, a little short of breath). My anxiety at the moment is also so bad because of this, I have had a lot of panic attacks recently. 

I have had blood tests to check my vitamin levels, thyroid,  espein barr virus,  full blood count. All of which were normal except vitamin d was low but I've been taking vitamin d tablets for 2 months now. have had an abdominal ultra sound which was normal. And I have had an endoscopy and colonoscopy which didnt show anything that would cause symptoms. I have gone to physiotherapy 5 times now, and I haven't seen any improvement In my back pain, which is muscular and mainly in the middle to upper part of my back.

I dont know what to do anymore sad I still go to work, but i never do anything after work, hardly get to see my friends because im just too tired. Does this look like it might turn  out to be cfs? Does anyone know what else this could be or what else I should ask the doctor about?

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    So sorry for you. It's hard to say . CFS is a diagnosis when every other avenue has been covered .. Very important to keep hammering at the doctors door as once diagnosed with CFS any other health issues can get missed . 

    A friend of mine developed fatigue from a viral illness from a stay in Dominican rebuplic and it took months for the hospital to detect it in her liver.. It wasn't till she went jaundice..she was treated with anti biotics and recovered... Another friend was attacked by a dog biting her face fatigue followed she had terrible back pains . She had a manipulation operation on her spine eventually and the fatigue lifted ... She had been told it was CFS but it obviously was spinal problems in hind sight. 

    My hubby has had ever test etc ..4 years of fatigue finally diagnosed with CFS. And then he got diabeties on top of CFS which got missed for months !!!!!!

    Just don't stop pestering your gp time is what will diagnose CFS. Fatigue is a symptom of a lot of illnesses. I hope you get to the bottom of it .. Might be worth cutting work down or stopping and going on e.s.a what ever is wrong with you it won't help to push yourself . To recover your body needs to heal .. I know it's defeat to consider signing on sick but it may be forced on you if you keep pushing yourself ...my hubby fought it for 2 years working and then got so bad he couldn't work ... Takes longer to recover the worse you get ...

     

  • Posted

    Sounds as if it could be M.E. See if your doctor can send you to an m.E. specialist.

    All the best

    Regards Alison

  • Posted

    CFS/ME is a diagnosis of exclusion. So if you've been thoroughly tested, with bloodwork etc., and everything comes up negative, then you may well have CFS/ME. Some of your symptoms that raise a red flag for this illness are, of course, extreme fatigue, dizziness, nausea, sensitivity to sunlight, blurry vision. Pain is also a common symptom, though I haven't heard about the type of pain you describe in your back. It's more typically joint pain and nerve pain. Can you find a specialist in ME? When I was in your situation, after 3 months of my GP telling me it was all in my head, I went to a specialist at UCLA. He reviewed my test results, and by asking certain question and doing a physical exam, he was able to diagnose me with CFS/ME. It took about 20 minutes. One real important thing--in case do you have this illness, don't push yourself. If you do, you can make matters a lot worse. On the other hand, if you get a whole lot of rest, there's every chance you will get better.
  • Posted

    Thank you all for your replies.  I will definitely keep investigating until I get some answers. Its just very Disheartening constantly going to the doctors and then being told your healthy, when I know my body and I know that what I am feeling is just not right. I know its only been 3 months but its been the longest 3 months, I cant imagine feeling like this for years. Im just hoping I can find a solution and it doesn't turn out to be cfs or m.e. because I understand it must be a hard thing for people to deal with for such  a long time.
  • Posted

    If you've excluded other illnesses through testing, your symptoms could be CFS/ME. Can you see a specialist in CFS/ME? This is what I did after 3 months' testing came up empty. He looked at the test results and diagnosed me within 20 or so minutes. The important thing is to get plenty of rest and not push yourself. If you can take off a while from work, do so. I was always a pretty hard-working, goal-driven person. That part of my personality did not serve me well.
  • Posted

    Hi Penny,

    Your endoscopy? did they take biopsies? and if so, have you have a Ceoliac screening via blood test?

    I understand how you feel about being stuck at home after work and not seeing friends, i find that the hardest part, me being so young and my friends being youthfull and enjoying themselves... Blugh.

    J

     

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