Hmm, where do I begin. So I'm a 32yo female. I've had every cough/cold/flu/virus going since my late teens. I can get up to 6 or 7 a year on average. So my immune system is weak to say the least.
Doctors have always said, I'm just unlucky. Great help!
But for the past year or so I've had symptoms of acute fatigue, insomnia, aching limbs (especially one arm and both hands), terrible back ache, blurryness in one eye, exhaustion so bad that I can't move for hours and end up in tears. Short term memory loss, my libido is out the window and my brain rarely works with the simplest tasks. I've been to a few doctors with multiple bloods taken, and they came back with a Vitamin D deficiency. Despite taking the Vitamin pills for 6 months now. There's been no change. Yet my symptoms are getting worse, especially my brain function. I'm not depressed, despite feeling horrendous all the time. I do get low. But that's understandable I think. Felt awful for a long time now, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere. Then Thursday I was rushed in to hospital with suspected Stroke, which turned out to be Bells Palsy. So it's a laugh a minute here at the mo?
Anyway, I've come a little to the end of my tether and don't know where to go from here as I don't feel like my GPs ever listen to me. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated...
I'm a vegetarian, so I already take plenty of Vitamins Vegi/Iron/VitaminC but I will start taking Zinc, as I heard that helps the Palsy too.
I've changed GPs twice. But as my bloods flag up Vitamin D, that's all they are concentrating on. Despite many of the symptoms not matching up. Beyond frustrating.
After these bloods, I'm going to push for a neurologist.
Your GP doesn't sound very helpful, but I'm finding fewer and fewer UK GPs are these days.
A competent GP/Neuro will take a full medical history from you including your current symptoms, take a brain MRI to look for lesions, take a lumbar puncture to look for proteins/oligoclonal bands and full blood work. I don't know what your dose level of Vitamin D is but, if you're still deficient despite this, you can actually buy it high dose on places like Amazon or eBay. Hope you find answers, I did have a few cases of tonsillitus when I was a child so that may have been the beginning. Who knows..
hi, i'm sorry that you're on this awful treadmill, unfortunately it can take a long time to get a diagnosis of ms, IF that's what it is. your gp's sound about as much use as a chocolate tea pot!
i was diagnosed with it in 2004 and know how awful ms can feel, i've got to say that your symptoms do sound like it could well be ms, sorry. i know that coming up with the money (approx. £150-£175), is hard for most of us, but if you can get one of your rotten gp's to refer you, it's WELL worth seeing a neurologist privately, just for a proper examination. you get about an hour, they should take a comprehensive medical record, do a comprehensive set of neuro. exams (checking reflexes, balance etc) and talk to you about your experiences and symptoms. when i didn't have a clue what was wrong with me (i'd fallen on ice, this had triggered a huge relapse), out of desperation, i saw the colleague of an orthopedic consultant i'd seen who just dismissed me as having nothing wrong with me. he ran through the tests and immediately sent me for MRI's of my central nervous system (on the NHS), he also referred me to a good neurologist, who i'm still with (all NHS). seeing the ortho dr speeded up the whole process, i know that some will say that it's wrong to queue jump, but when it gets desperate and nobody is helping, well!
just a note of caution, only take vitamin D as directed by your gp, while it doesn't happen often, it IS possible to take too much, making you feel really horrible, at best or, potentially damaging your liver worst at.
i hope you get the right help really soon, take care.
Have you had your vit d retested since you started. Some people needed really high doses if they have trouble absorbing it. The main thing is, is why is your vit d low?
Neurologist appointment is needed I'm suprised they didn't refer you to one from the bells issue. As it screams problems. You are within you right to ask for a ref to see one. But challenge your gp ask why this is happening and what clinical proof they have to back it up. Tell them your not comfortable with that desision and feel like you would benefit from specialist.
