Hi everybody
ive been scanning this forum for a couple of weeks now and thought it was about time I posted something.
I’m 22 years old and was diagnosed with optic neuritis a couple of weeks back when the vision in my right eye went all grey and foggy. I’m a worrier so I always Google any symptoms that I have so led myself to believe I had glaucoma but when I was told optic neuritis after googling it and seeing it goes away on its own I was much more at ease. I skimmed past it being a symptom of Ms because I had experienced no other symptoms.
Fast forward to now and I’m having more and more symptoms each day. My left arm went totally numb at the top and now has a constant dull pain though the numbness has now gone (or I’ve just forgot what it feels like for my arm to feel normal) I’m also always tired and have pains in my neck and the bottom of my back. The most uncomfortable thing at the minute is the pain in my legs. My left knee feels like it’s being pressed against a hot surface and is constantly burning but isn’t hot to touch. The pain does seem to just stay in the one leg but I’m terrified of losing feeling in my legs as I go on holiday in 3 weeks to Florida for 3 weeks.
I know that diagnosis can take a long time and I’m planning on heading back to the doctor (I suffer quite badly with anxiety and the thought of going to the doctor makes me want to cry) but I’m wondering if any medication to make me feel better will be able to be prescribed before I go on holiday? I feel like my normal life has been took away from me and I’m now so worried about the future as all this is happening to me before I’ve even been diagnosed.
can anybody offer any advice? I’m too embarassed to talk to anyone I know about what may potentially be wrong with me.
Hi Becky
I’m sorry to read about what is happening to you, it sounds a frightening time.
Can I suggest you ask your GP to prescribe you Amitriptyline? I have found it really helpful in managing my burning pain which I get in my legs and scalp and this medication is also prescribed (though at a much higher dose) for anxiety, so may help you on both fronts. It does make you drowsy when you initially start to take it (which can help with sleeping) and you ideally need to take it 12 hours before you need to be fully functioning again (this was great advice I received on this forum), so I take my tablet around 7pm in the evening.
I think your holiday will be a good distraction from what is going on so enjoy it!
Jane x
Hi Becky
I take Gabapentin for neurological pain which my GP prescribed before I had even seen a Neurologist, and Amitriptyline which was added later to tackle electric shock like pain that was keeping me awake most of the night.
See your GP as soon as possible, with a short list of symptoms (worst one at the top), get a referral to a Neurologist and something for the pain - then head off for what I hope will be a fantastic holiday in the sun (which will help).
Thanks to both of you! I had a chat with my boyfriend last night about how I’m feeling and what I think could be wrong so I feel a bit better about that. Had a really bad day today, feel so sluggish and achy and as if I have weights attached to my finger tips!
Ive come home from work sick so I’ll be going to the doctors tomorrow morning to get checked out, praying I can be prescribed something to making me feel like I’ve got a bit more life in me! X
Was the GP appointment helpful Becky? Hope you’re feeling a little better today.
My only advice would be to push for a Neurology referral in fact insist on it. From that you should then be in the right hands. Folks on this site are wonderful and will support you.
Trev
Hi Becky,
Glesslyn141 has extremely limited experience in ANY of these matters, feel free to browse ALL my responses to her and all others I have made - hers being the ONLY negative one I have ever received or made. You will find her initial sentence to be strangely similar to mine, as with many of her responses to people on here.
Personally, I cannot take Gabapentin due to adverse side-effects (it being the cheapest on the market of it’s kind) - I take Pregabalin. I’m not in a position to recommend any drugs as, I’m not your GP or a Nuerologist. I don’t know what other meds you may have to take and it’s entirely on an individual basis because we’re all different.
As Theresa and Wobbly suggest, I would definitely push for a Neuro referral.
All the very best,
Manda
[quote=“Mandymoo”]
Hi Becky,
Glesslyn141 has extremely limited experience in ANY of these matters, feel free to browse ALL my responses to her and all others I have made - hers being the ONLY negative one I have ever received or made. You will find her initial sentence to be strangely similar to mine, as with many of her responses to people on here.
Personally, I cannot take Gabapentin due to adverse side-effects (it being the cheapest on the market of it’s kind) - I take Pregabalin. I’m not in a position to recommend any drugs as, I’m not your GP or a Nuerologist. I don’t know what other meds you may have to take and it’s entirely on an individual basis because we’re all different.
As Theresa and Wobbly suggest, I would definitely push for a Neuro referral.
All the very best,
Manda
[/quote] Can I just echo what Manda says. Everybody is different and, as I’ve often said before, Dr Google is a s*** doctor and should have been struck off years ago! Going to a doctor and saying “I have got X. Write me a prescription for Y, NOW!!!” is a sure way of getting them to discount you. It’s a 2 way process. You know what your symptoms are. Explain them simply and unjudgementally as you can. The GP is a trained professional who knows what route those symptoms start you on. That said, as a completely untrained unprofessional I would be surprised if a GP didn’t refer you to a neurologist.
BTW Becky, who diagnosed your Optic Neuritis? What follow up did you get?