Hello all.
I’m sorry if this isn’t the right place for me, but I’m looking for some support and advice. I am severely bipolar but at the moment, well managed. A few years ago I came down with what I thought was chronic fatigue syndrome, which I battled through, and the fatigue was so severe it actually developed into panic disorser, a sort of trauma response to the feeling of tiredness. Since then my energy levels have been non existent and I am hugely exhausted by talking. I assumed it was just the after effects of a nondescript fatigue episode, made worse by mental illness and stress.
In January, I experienced the worst pain of my life. I assumed it was a toothache, some sort of mind-altering world shattering toothache!- and it cleared up in a week or so.
I have been sensitive to both heat and cold these last few months, sometimes being so cold I need to stand in a scalding hot shower but it makes no difference, and so hot that I feel like I’m burning.
Then I developed shingles, without a rash. A kind of sunburn pain that hurt under light touch, that wrapped itself around my torso and up my chest.
Now I’ve developed trigeminal neuralgia. I don’t have the severe pain yet, but numbness, burning skin, crawling sensations and a feeling like something is being dropped into my ear.
I can’t take any medication for this as I am on bipolar medication, and the only med that I was cleared to take is gabapentin - which broke me out in hives. I’m in a state of high anxiety as I feel like things are snowballing and I don’t know how to stop them.
I’m here because my doctor asked me if there was a history of MS in the family. I didn’t tell him any of the fatigue or hot/cold feelings because I didn’t feel like they were relevant. Since looking at the symptoms, a lot of them really could be due to my stress and anxiety, but one really stands out. When I bend over to pick something up, occasionally and not always, an uncomfortable/almost pleasurable/bizarre feeling spreads into the back of my arms. It’s not pain or cramp, it’s just highly unusual.
Anyway, please can someone give me some hope about the TN. Reading through some of your posts breaks my heart, you are all so brave while I’m falling to pieces, haha.