New Man in pain all over no diagnosis Help!

Bones, joints and muscles
1

Hi I would like to introduce myself I'm Jeff and I am 42 years old.

I have been in pain now for seven months and getting nowhere with my GP.

It all started following an acccident at work when i injured my back impacting on the spine. Prior to this i was fit and healthy, working and enjoying sports regularly.

Excuse me if I go on now but I am at my lowest point.

Basically it started with constant pain in the impact region and pain in the left groin. When I walked any short distance which can range between on a good day 50 yards in pain but bearable pain to just just a few steps on a bad day pain would become more intense in my groins and travel down my leg sometimes including pins and needle sensations right down to my toes. Pain would be that intense I am unable to walk any further. I have trouble eating my stomach is bloated and sore and i am unable to not go any longer than 2 hours without the need to urinate. IBS started and when i need to go i have to go!

Private sessions from work with physiotherapist were unsuccessful, as he was treating me for soft tissue injury. I went weekly for 7 weeks then he advised he would give me a good workout. Upon manipulating back I heard a pop sound and left leg went into tremours. After this he stopped the tremour and sent me home. From that evening for about week i was in agony. Prior to this all symptoms were from impact area downwards within an hour i was getting pains all over my body, outbreaks of pinching sensations all across shoulders, nerve pains in back of head, side of face, pains in head quite severe, tingling in tongue, soreness and pain in arms and hands. Bad pain throughout the back, shooting pains to groins and feeling as though sides of ribs were being squashed. When i eat all the front of my body feels as though it is contracting and going into spasm. All this pain without moving anywhere.

Following week returned to private phsyio who said if it happened as severe again to go to A&E then he discharged me saying there may be a different reason for pain not soft tissue.

Returned to GP (who is still to examine me to this date) who reluctantly referred me to musculaskeletal clininc. Physio there said i showed classic signs of herniated disc. Referral for MRI and consultant.

Seen registrar who advised no disc problems and referred back to GP as from my symptoms they were unable to assist and GP would need to refer me to another dept.

Gp in the mean time has tested me for MS, Diabeties, ulcers, and now for prostrate cancer and kidney/liver problems, treating symptoms individually instead of looking at the whole picture. I have asked for referral to neurologist but he refused and keeps refusing. Symptoms are now getting worse i dont have a day without pain. I dont move from home through pain, struggle to climb stairs in home. Gp is dismissive and even told me as there was no diagnosis i should just go back to work and if i cant do the job to just sign on! I still suffer from all the above symptoms having good and bad days.

Having read symptoms of Fibromyalgia and case studies i suggested to GP could this be condition i am suffering with. He said it cant be caused by a fall and he cant understand how all my symptoms can be connected. Orthopedic registrar recommended referral to pain relief clinic GP has just dismissed this.

I am desperate now and would like your help and opinion to help me manage to live as active as possible and hopefully return to work. Also i would like some help with GP.

Thanks for listening and taking time to read.

Regards

Jeff

2

Awww Jeff I do feel for you. I finally had my diagnosis this week after years of problems but with the support of an amazing GP. I can only tell you what I would do if I were you and walking in your painful shoes. I personally would be looking around the area and asking peoples opinions about the different GP's. I would make it my number ONE priority to find myself a new GP, perhaps one who has an interest in Rheaumotology, your local health authority should be able to help.

I have found the support here from Linda, Lizy, and Tess fantastic. I come on here and moan away and they haven't booted me off yet :lol: Keep coming on and :lol: alking and I'm sure you will feel better just for knowing that people understand and believe you, I know I certainly did.

3

Why Oh Why does this keep happening to me? There is nothing naughty in my post :cry:

4

Hi Jeff

I'm Lizzy and am 44 with 4 kids. I'm sure everyone else will introduce themselves shortly. Win I'm interested to see what you have said now.

I'm so sorry to hear about all your suffering. Firstly if I were you I may consider a change of Doc. You are definately not going on. This is a place to come and disscuss how you feel, by sharing and knowing that we are all suffering similar things. It does help. Have you any thyroid problems in the family as this can cause pain. Stress and worry can also be a cause, I am on anti-depressants which have deffinatley helped with the pain. Could you not get work to refer you to a pain management clinic, just a thought.

Will chat some more later. Take care and try not to worry too much.

Lizzy

5

Hi Lizy

Glad to meet you.

Have had thyroid tested and its fine.

I am looking in to changing GP but most practices in my area will not take you on unless you have no GP already in the area.

Work OH have been good, they are writing to GP to ask for referral to neurologist just to rule out any nerve problems.

I have my low days probably more than high's. I think it will take some time to get used to the condition. Will speak again to GP to ask for pain management clinic referral.

Hope you are ok speak soon

Jeff

6

Hi

Win can't see anything that should upset the moderater it must be just one of those days.

Jeff you don't say what meds you are on to help you with these problems.

Just for interest for you to think about, I take Normacol which is a fibre that helps with the IBs you can get it on prescription or buy it over the counter. Sleep is a very important part, you need to go into rem sleep and when you are in pain this tends not to happen. To help with this amitryptaline(spelt wrong i think) is normally used at a dose of about 10 to 20mg a night. This is a form of anti-depressant that helps you sleep and also helps with the pain. The dose is too low to deal with depression. For me this didn't agree with me so I use a similar drug. Having spent 3 years with no relief I went back to my Gp and asked for the dose to be high enough to deal with the anxiety/depression as I came to the conclusion how I felt was making matters a lot worse. When the higher dose kicked in my pain was so much better and also my sleep improved. One of the main things you will be told to do is gentle exercise and paceing. Other things I use for pain is paracetamol and my tens machine. I also try and get out to meet up friends even when I'm bad as you would be amazed how much that helps. As for the bladder part can't help you as I haven't found a solution for that one, but just thank your lucky stars your not a woman rest assured I can tell you stinging nettles are twice as bad in that area.

My rheumi says if you have enough nights with no proper sleep you can develope fibro. So your back problem could have help to contribute to your problems.

What I do know is keeping positive is the most important part and chatting on here helps. I also think keeping hold of your job is very important no matter what your doc thinks, if not only for your self esteem.

As for docs I have tried lots of ways to get help from my doc, as he is a bit like yours. Firstly I tried suggesting what I thought was wrong and he didn't like that at all. I tried going for every little problem, I think I went about 8 times one month on the hope that he would get fed up and help.(I was never rude or lost my temper just calm) I have tried just crying and that didn't help, he just got impatient with me. So in the end I paid to see a specialist and got a plan of action and that was the first break through someone had told him what to do, part of the problem was he had no idea how to help me. That was fine it solved some of my problems, but I still had a bunch of other problems. Last time I went to see my thyroid specialist I wasn't feeling well at all and he could see how upset I was and do you know what he did, he wrote to my GP and suggested that I needed the following help and that he was going to see me in 6 months to see how it was going. When I went to see my Gp he gave me exactly what I have been asking for for the last 3 years. Counselling and proper treatment for my anxiety/depression.

The health service doesn't seem designed for one person to look at a whole picture rather than just one part of the problem.So i try to do it myself.

I hope this helps.

Lizzy

7

Hi

Hope everyone is ok

Glad to know there are others out there willing to listen and share.

Managed to go out to the shop today, the fresh air was a blessing. Although paying for it now. I am trying to do more but pain is overwhelming at times.

Doc has only just in the last 4 wks put me on amptriptyline at 25mg a day, when I went last week he increased the dosage to 50mg. He is not treating any other ailment at the moment. Due back at GP on 18th but I feel I will need to go before then. Will contact local health authority this week or should i say the other half will to try to see how we can change GP as I mentioned earlier so hard in my district if you are registered with a GP already.

Wife is getting me a tens machine tomorrow, thanks for the tip.

Yes Lizy I do count my blessings I am a man when the need arises for the loo!

Look forward to chatting soon

Jeff

8

Hi Jeff

I hope you find the tens machine helps. My children hate it because it makes my body twitch and jump around. I quite often use it in the evenings as it does help me relax so I do get a slightly better nights sleep.

Lizzy

9

Hi Jeff and Everyone!

Hi Jeff I am Tess I have sent you message on the other name PACING if you would like to have a look at it. It was quite long so to type all over agan.

I hope things are getting sorted for you now.

Win, Linda & Lizzy hope you are all ok to. Sent you message like Jeff on PACING thread.

Tess

10

Hi Jeff,

I am 44 with no kids, (couldnt have any due to endometriosis), but have a cat and well she is adorable... My partner of course is too, he would hate I left him out !

I understand the frustrations you have with your GP, I had one Gp at my surgery say that it was a new condition and rare!, the other GP said that he had not heard of it, and told me to go on the internet and look for myself.

However another GP a young one, knew what it was, and gave me loads of information on it, and referred me to exercise programs, (PACE here in Wales), and my Pain Consultant who diagnosed me, referred me to Pain Management Course, which was a 3 week residential course in Brecon Beacons in wales, beautiful scenery and relaxing.. however the course was hard work, but rewarding, I have learned how to manage my condition more, in regards to PACING, and saying NO I cannot do that I need help to do that,,,

The residential course was like being in big brother, you shared a house with 10 others (male and female adults), and they all had pain conditions. We had such a good laugh, but each day was a classroom sessions, up early in classroom at 8.30am, and finish at 4.30pm. During the day you had an exercise program, this was light, and progressed over the three weeks, relaxation sessions, physio, occupational therapy for home tasks, medication reviews, oh and lunch and tea with cakes were included during the day, but the evening you cooked yourself in the house, all staff went home, and you were left there till morning, it was seriously like big brother,,,without the cameras...! We had to hide the drink bottles before morning though!

I would print out from here the information on FIbromyalgia, and take it to your GP and say lets go through this, and see what I have got and tick the boxes,as you go along, and then maybe this will help him realise what you have, and offer the support and referral to exercise or pain management course,

Find if there is a support group near you on Fibromyalgia, (although some support groups are for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that have Fibromyalgia sufferers attending that one, so check), there are loads of men in our support groups in wales, so dont feel alone.

we are all here to support one another, and feel free to rant and rave here, I have 2 ears to listen and one mouth to talk,!!

xxxx gentle hugs xxx