Hi all, I’m new here and I’m not really sure if I’m in the right place as I don’t have a diagnosis but I feel really alone in the process. Despite having amazing family and friends they just can’t understand how hard daily life has become for me, I’m only 17 and an aspiring lawyer sitting my a level exams in may time this academic year. My symptoms started abruptly in January and have not improved since then only gotten worse. They include mainly lower back pain but it has affected my whole back, persistent numbness in my legs and arms, tingling in my whole body, pain in my legs, muscle spasms, loss of bladder control, fatigue, and mental health issues secondary to this. Since January I’ve practically had to teach myself how to do basic tasks such as walk as i couldn’t coordinate myself whatsoever and this was a really vulnerable time for me seeing all my friends doing what I wanted to do. I am yet to have an appointment with a neurologist on the nhs and I’m really struggling to continue with my daily life as I’m at a 7 minimum pain wise daily, I haven’t had any effective pain relief since January when I was first admitted to hospital and I’m really unsure of what my future holds anymore. I’m considering resitting my exams next year so I have more time to process everything but I already feel like I’m behind my peers and don’t want to fall even further. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated and thank you for reading.
Hi Jamjam.
You are so smart and I admire you already. All the advice I can give you is to listen to your body and self care. You know what is best for you, and please don’t compare yourself to others. Life is not a competition.
Regarding your exams, simply do what you can. There is always next year if necessary.
Wishing you the best.
Thank you for your kind words, it’s honestly refreshing hearing advice from someone who gets it. Hoping your well yourself 
Hi Jamjam!
I’m really sorry to hear of your experience. It’s hard to deal with an any age, but at 17 it seems so unfair. I really hope you get your appointment soon and move quickly to diagnosis and treatment. You sound like you are doing everything you can at the moment and that’s amazing!
It’s totally understandable that you want to keep up with your peers, but your health and wellbeing is so so important and so keep listening to yourself and make the adjustments that are best for you.
Keep us updated and I wish you all the best!
Hi,
Have you tried going back to your GP to ask about pain relief while you are waiting for your neurology appointment? That might make life easier in the meantime.
As regards the idea of falling behind your peers, I wouldn’t worry about that. I know you’ll instinctively compare yourself to others. But in real life, there are lots of people who have some issue along the way and take a bit longer to get where they want to be.
But I used to work in law, and guess what: the more mature students made the best lawyers. They had more life experience. They were better able to listen and empathise with their clients. They had first hand experience of injustice and a determination to fight back. Plenty of people qualify as lawyers in their late 20s, 30s, 40s, sometimes as a second career… so perhaps you are not “falling behind” your peers, but rather “falling ahead” of them?
Hi thank you everyone for your advice, I have been to my gp multiple times and have been prescribed nortriptyline and gabapentin which didn’t help. I was prescribed codeine which helped slightly at first but gp refused to prescribe after been on it for almost 2 months due to its addictive nature which I totally understand as was needing higher doses towards the end. Heat helps slightly but not always convenient so currently soldering through but it is getting towards unbearable so if anyone has any suggestions I will be grateful.
I’ve decided to arrange a meeting with the progression specialist at my college to discuss all my options regarding higher education and also what support is available.
Once again thank you everyone for your advice it’s really reassuring hearing from all of you and knowing that other people can relate to what I’m going through.