HI there, i am new here but am desperate for answers. I have been ill for 5 years and am nearly 23. i cannot work and have severe depression as a result. I have been diagnosed with ME but i keep getting this tight, burning, pain in my ribs/middle back and chest. it makes it hard to move or breathe. sometimes the chest pain is so sharp i worry its me heart and have gone to a&e once to be told it was a muscle strain. yet it keeps happening and it scares me to death! im so exhausted and fed up of being brushed aside. i feel my gp doesnt know what else to do with me. i was looking for a way of describing my pain to the gp when i came across the MSHUG and its exactly likr that! now im worried about how to deal with my gp. im scared and in pain and i need hellp!
My other syptoms are as follows:
headaches, leg pain and weakness, arm weakness, joint pain in fingers/knees and hip, sensitivity to bright lights, fatigue(i sleep most afternoons as i cant keep my eyes open), anxiety, nausea, cant concentrate’brain fog’-someties i cant even form a sentance as my mouth doesnt seem conected to my brain, wheat intolerant, and the list could go on…
All blood tests have come back normal. I have not been sent to any specialists, not even an ME one. i went to a rhumatologist but she couldnt find anything wrong either.
could this be MS? shoulod i approach my gp about this? if so, how? i worry they will think im being a nusance…
thanks in advance and im sorry this is a long post
I am also new to this site and haven’t got a final diagnosis yet, so not qualified to help with symptoms but many of mine are similar to those you described. My heart goes out to you though with your fear of going back to your GP. I have been pushed from pillar to post for 3 years before by coincidence my optician and physio realised there was something wrong and to cut a long story short they insisted on referral but I was also fed up and intimidated by going back to my GP but I am now a lot worse physically with few answers. Admittedly I never even thought of MS, kept telling myself it was me being soft. My advice would be to make an appointment and take your theory and proof and let him / her disprove it. It may at least get you referred to someone who can do tests.
brand new to this site,my wife suffers from MS,and its hellish to see, a lot worse for her obviously,but the only advice i can give anyone in the initial stages of investigation,is to fight and argue your case until someone who is qualified and sympathetic gets you the treatment and advice you need and deserve. And dont apologise for long posts,its a complicated confusing thing for anyone to try and contend with.
Be well and ive seen people on here will always give you time and or advice if needed,or just a shoulder if you need to vent.
This is just a guess, but I wonder if your GP has assumed ME + depression + anxiety + being young is the explanation for all your symptoms rather than considering that there might be something completely different going on? If this is the case, then you need to somehow break through that status quo; make him/her reassess you with a completely fresh approach.
If I were you, I would prepare a concise medical history - a single page with approximate dates, symptoms, results - make an appointment with your GP and, very objectively, firmly but calmly, talk through this and ask how/if your current diagnoses can explain everything. If the GP is certain that there is nothing else going on, then (politely, but firmly) ask that this be confirmed by a specialist. If the GP is uncertain that there is nothing else going on, then (politely, but firmly) ask for a referral to a neurologist. If the GP refuses the referral, then you can ask to see a different GP at your surgery or you can get yourself a new GP. (It can be almost impossible to get anywhere if you don’t have a GP that supports you so changing surgery can be a necessary step.)
There are many potential explanations for your symptoms so do try and keep an open mind. Hopefully you’ll get some answers soon, but in the meantime, do try not to worry.
