here's the thing,
I've been feeling like ****, a vague, undifferentiated ****, for about 10 months now. (I live in the states) And as soon as our insurance kicked in I set up an appointment w/ a GP, was diagnosed w/ Raynaud's & sent to a rheumy (I also see a psych). The rheumy & GP took blood samples on the 1st visit, told me how to deal w/ the Raynaud's, told me that if anything new came up to make another appt w/ the rheumy, sent me home.
(the bureaucracy of the healthcare system here means that you get about 5 minutes of face time with the doc, after waiting for 2 hours, so on those first few visits I lost my patience by the time the DR actually came in to see me.)
then I started getting fevers at night that would cause me to feel like I was freezing w/ no way to get warm, about 6-9 raynaud's attacks per day, no appetite at all (I eat a big breakfast with my wife each morning, then more or less forget about food (or am made sick by the thought of it) until 10-11 pm), the feeling that each part of my body weighs 200 lbs, spitting headaches, I awake about 10 nights per month, exhausted but not tired, I became very clumsy (dropping things, stepping on my own feet, hitting my head all the time, etc), difficulty breathing, pains in my chest, along my shoulder muscles (at my neck & at my arms), and pains in the ligaments behind my knees.
So I made another appt w/ the rheumy. this was about 2 months after initial visit, she told me my blood work looked good, that this was all in my head, I was imagining it & doing it to myself. very dismissive, she kept looking at her watch & the door during our visit (all 5 minute of it). She also told me that I have "a remarkably bad case of raynaud's" and that I should make another appt w/ the GP.
since she said it was all due to stress & that if I relaxed it would all go away, that's exactly what I did. (never mind the fact that a majority of these symptoms began while I was on my honeymoon, & quite relaxed). relaxation or not, I didn't feel any better. Everything is still happening to me (though to a greater or lesser extent on some days) So I decided to force the issue, to intentionally do the things I "thought" were making me sick to see if I still did or not. Then, whenever I was in the summer sun I couldn't look above my feet for the pain it gave my eyes, if I was out for more than an hour I would become very confused, forgetful (like going to the grocery store w/out realizing it & buying a bunch of things that don't make sense & that we didn't need), or not know where I was. My face began to burn & itch across the the bridge of my nose & on my forehead up around my eyes. there were days I literally couldn't think at all, but I didn't even realize it. I have become very snippy with people, biting their heads off for no reason (I'm a very patient & calm guy though).
so I made another appt w/ the GP. I talked to my folks about the family's health, one uncle has Crohn's, both grandfathers and one grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis, an uncle (on the other side) died at 57 of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
At this visit the GP took an EKG, and a chest x-ray, and prescribed albuterol and allegra because he thinks I'm developing allergies. then scheduled another appt in 4 weeks.
does this make sense to anyone?
I was able to obtain a copy of my blood work, turns out I did test positive for ANA antibodies, but to a small degree.
what's going on?
any help would be greatly appreciated
sorry this was so long & rambling
I've been feeling like ****, a vague, undifferentiated ****, for about 10 months now. (I live in the states) And as soon as our insurance kicked in I set up an appointment w/ a GP, was diagnosed w/ Raynaud's & sent to a rheumy (I also see a psych). The rheumy & GP took blood samples on the 1st visit, told me how to deal w/ the Raynaud's, told me that if anything new came up to make another appt w/ the rheumy, sent me home.
(the bureaucracy of the healthcare system here means that you get about 5 minutes of face time with the doc, after waiting for 2 hours, so on those first few visits I lost my patience by the time the DR actually came in to see me.)
then I started getting fevers at night that would cause me to feel like I was freezing w/ no way to get warm, about 6-9 raynaud's attacks per day, no appetite at all (I eat a big breakfast with my wife each morning, then more or less forget about food (or am made sick by the thought of it) until 10-11 pm), the feeling that each part of my body weighs 200 lbs, spitting headaches, I awake about 10 nights per month, exhausted but not tired, I became very clumsy (dropping things, stepping on my own feet, hitting my head all the time, etc), difficulty breathing, pains in my chest, along my shoulder muscles (at my neck & at my arms), and pains in the ligaments behind my knees.
So I made another appt w/ the rheumy. this was about 2 months after initial visit, she told me my blood work looked good, that this was all in my head, I was imagining it & doing it to myself. very dismissive, she kept looking at her watch & the door during our visit (all 5 minute of it). She also told me that I have "a remarkably bad case of raynaud's" and that I should make another appt w/ the GP.
since she said it was all due to stress & that if I relaxed it would all go away, that's exactly what I did. (never mind the fact that a majority of these symptoms began while I was on my honeymoon, & quite relaxed). relaxation or not, I didn't feel any better. Everything is still happening to me (though to a greater or lesser extent on some days) So I decided to force the issue, to intentionally do the things I "thought" were making me sick to see if I still did or not. Then, whenever I was in the summer sun I couldn't look above my feet for the pain it gave my eyes, if I was out for more than an hour I would become very confused, forgetful (like going to the grocery store w/out realizing it & buying a bunch of things that don't make sense & that we didn't need), or not know where I was. My face began to burn & itch across the the bridge of my nose & on my forehead up around my eyes. there were days I literally couldn't think at all, but I didn't even realize it. I have become very snippy with people, biting their heads off for no reason (I'm a very patient & calm guy though).
so I made another appt w/ the GP. I talked to my folks about the family's health, one uncle has Crohn's, both grandfathers and one grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis, an uncle (on the other side) died at 57 of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
At this visit the GP took an EKG, and a chest x-ray, and prescribed albuterol and allegra because he thinks I'm developing allergies. then scheduled another appt in 4 weeks.
does this make sense to anyone?
I was able to obtain a copy of my blood work, turns out I did test positive for ANA antibodies, but to a small degree.
what's going on?
any help would be greatly appreciated
sorry this was so long & rambling
