Vlad
02-28-2014, 05:20 PM
Hi,
(First of all, I'd like to apologize in advance if this ends up too long. This is my first time here so be gentle :) )
Okay, so my name is Vlad. I'm 21 years old and for the past 3 months I've been going through severe bouts of health-related anxiety. Now first off, I'm not exactly one hundred percent healthy, having been diagnosed with IBD just over a year ago and taking pills on a daily basis (Which, I admit, gives me a slightly dramatic edge *oh god...) My father died of a heart attack by the age of 51 and my mother suffered from Hepatitis B for half a year before making a full recovery. Suffice it to say, I have some reasons to worry about my health...
Now that this is out of the way, here's my story...
For the past three months I was convinced that I had everything from Melanoma (weird moles taken for biopsy), lung problems (chronic cough and some bloody streaks in sputum - which the doctor connected to asthma), heart problems (chest pains that were somewhat relieved by the asthma inhaler I was given), circulation problems, a stroke (one-sided facial numbness. A CT scan showed nothing), MS and spinal cord injury/severe nerve damage (my current problem...)
Before I start focusing on my latest concerns, I just want to point out that my family's support for me ranged from non-existent to downright infuriating. And while I can understand how annoying I can get with my paranoia/hypochondria (Still living with my mother and brother), I can't help but feel that they are laughing in my face while I believe something really horrible is happening with me. My brother, who is about ten years older than me actually believes that I'm on my way to developing schizophrenia and ending up in a mental asylum, while my mother simply focuses on how my emotional outbursts (I'm an emotional guy, deal with it...) are affecting her mood. They keep telling me to get out more (which I do) and stop worrying about random crap that I don't have....
(Goddamit, all this and I'm still not getting to the point...)
Anyway, a little less than a month ago I've started experiencing a strong tingling sensation on the right side of my face which spread from my cheek to my eye. Also I've started noticing that I was walking a little funny. Going to my doctor, I explained the situation, and she sent me to the ER for a CT scan. The results turned out negative and I didn't seem to have any problems during the Neurological examination. Naturally they sent me home telling me there's nothing wrong with me... (A week afterwards I actually went to the ER on my own because I thought my symptoms became more severe and, after another check up, they said that nothing was wrong and gave me some pills to calm my anxiety)
Okay, so willing to put all my worries behind me I continued with my life....
One thing I have to add before I continue is that I work at this restaurant (Aw, who am I kidding it's the Israeli equivalent of Starbucks basically.) (I'm from Israel btw) for over a year now (saving money for education)... and my job is dish-washing and clearing tables after the costumers are done stuffing their faces with food (Sandwiches, salads, baked stuff and coffee....) And usually what I do is I take a huge ass crate and fill it with dishes and junk I gather from multiple tables that's actually pretty heavy, considering how many people we usually have there. Also there's a lot of bending involved so not really good for the spine (couple that with the fact that I keep a really poor, hunched back posture most of the time for as long as I remember and you've got a full story...)
Okay, so, as I said, with everything behind me, I continued with life/work. Unfortunately, very soon I've started noticing that my legs were tiring out really fast (and I'm used to standing/walking on my feet for 8 hours a day) and would often shake and feel weak/numb. (During my driving lessons I would have trouble keeping my right foot on the pedals for a long time). Another thing I've noticed is that I seemed to choke up during warm weather (not hot but warm) Working up about the situation again (though severely exhausted by this point :/) I went to my doctor yet again (who was severely exhausted by this point) and told her about the legs problem. Not understanding what was wrong she sent me to the Neurologist again (mostly concerned about the facial numbness I've felt at the time)...
The neurologist examined me and said that he suspected a demyelinating disease due to 'Bilateral pyramidal signs' 'Hypoesthesia of the face' (truth be told, it isn't really a problem anymore) and 'sensory level D3/4 and told me that I need to have an urgent MRI (of course by 'urgent' he means a month from now... currently 17 days left)
(sigh* sorry this is so long, I'm really confused about this)
Okay, some time later I've began developing new symptoms again (Hurray!) This time it was a tingling in my back that seemed to start in the middle and went up the neck (to be honest it felt more like an electric shock) and is usually triggered during physical exertion (work). Also I've began noticing that I bump into people more often and I sometimes end up dropping things (grip is still fine though my hands are sore)
A few days later, Urinary incontinence! (Come to think of it, I had it a few weeks prior to that, but it seemed to go away on its own *shrug) Anyway, it's usually just a brief leak and happens after sitting or doing some physical activity...) and it went on for some time before I went to a different doctor and she told me to test for UT infection...... this way today in the morning.... now it's nighttime and I can't even think of sleeping because now the tingling seems worse and affecting not only my right foot but also my pelvic region (I actually have a tingling/numbness sensation in my.... well.... anus region + mild constipation) and to top it all off, I feel like someones zapping me with electricity in my right arm and in the upper back (shoulder)....
I seriously can't take it anymore... I don't know what the hell is wrong with me (aw, hell, probably cauda equina or some shit like that....) and I feel like there's nothing I can do to fix this situation because everyone keeps convincing me that there's nothing wrong with me.. :(
Sorry if it's too long. I just don't know what to do... I feel like I need to be in the E.R right now and instead I'm wasting time on nothing...
(First of all, I'd like to apologize in advance if this ends up too long. This is my first time here so be gentle :) )
Okay, so my name is Vlad. I'm 21 years old and for the past 3 months I've been going through severe bouts of health-related anxiety. Now first off, I'm not exactly one hundred percent healthy, having been diagnosed with IBD just over a year ago and taking pills on a daily basis (Which, I admit, gives me a slightly dramatic edge *oh god...) My father died of a heart attack by the age of 51 and my mother suffered from Hepatitis B for half a year before making a full recovery. Suffice it to say, I have some reasons to worry about my health...
Now that this is out of the way, here's my story...
For the past three months I was convinced that I had everything from Melanoma (weird moles taken for biopsy), lung problems (chronic cough and some bloody streaks in sputum - which the doctor connected to asthma), heart problems (chest pains that were somewhat relieved by the asthma inhaler I was given), circulation problems, a stroke (one-sided facial numbness. A CT scan showed nothing), MS and spinal cord injury/severe nerve damage (my current problem...)
Before I start focusing on my latest concerns, I just want to point out that my family's support for me ranged from non-existent to downright infuriating. And while I can understand how annoying I can get with my paranoia/hypochondria (Still living with my mother and brother), I can't help but feel that they are laughing in my face while I believe something really horrible is happening with me. My brother, who is about ten years older than me actually believes that I'm on my way to developing schizophrenia and ending up in a mental asylum, while my mother simply focuses on how my emotional outbursts (I'm an emotional guy, deal with it...) are affecting her mood. They keep telling me to get out more (which I do) and stop worrying about random crap that I don't have....
(Goddamit, all this and I'm still not getting to the point...)
Anyway, a little less than a month ago I've started experiencing a strong tingling sensation on the right side of my face which spread from my cheek to my eye. Also I've started noticing that I was walking a little funny. Going to my doctor, I explained the situation, and she sent me to the ER for a CT scan. The results turned out negative and I didn't seem to have any problems during the Neurological examination. Naturally they sent me home telling me there's nothing wrong with me... (A week afterwards I actually went to the ER on my own because I thought my symptoms became more severe and, after another check up, they said that nothing was wrong and gave me some pills to calm my anxiety)
Okay, so willing to put all my worries behind me I continued with my life....
One thing I have to add before I continue is that I work at this restaurant (Aw, who am I kidding it's the Israeli equivalent of Starbucks basically.) (I'm from Israel btw) for over a year now (saving money for education)... and my job is dish-washing and clearing tables after the costumers are done stuffing their faces with food (Sandwiches, salads, baked stuff and coffee....) And usually what I do is I take a huge ass crate and fill it with dishes and junk I gather from multiple tables that's actually pretty heavy, considering how many people we usually have there. Also there's a lot of bending involved so not really good for the spine (couple that with the fact that I keep a really poor, hunched back posture most of the time for as long as I remember and you've got a full story...)
Okay, so, as I said, with everything behind me, I continued with life/work. Unfortunately, very soon I've started noticing that my legs were tiring out really fast (and I'm used to standing/walking on my feet for 8 hours a day) and would often shake and feel weak/numb. (During my driving lessons I would have trouble keeping my right foot on the pedals for a long time). Another thing I've noticed is that I seemed to choke up during warm weather (not hot but warm) Working up about the situation again (though severely exhausted by this point :/) I went to my doctor yet again (who was severely exhausted by this point) and told her about the legs problem. Not understanding what was wrong she sent me to the Neurologist again (mostly concerned about the facial numbness I've felt at the time)...
The neurologist examined me and said that he suspected a demyelinating disease due to 'Bilateral pyramidal signs' 'Hypoesthesia of the face' (truth be told, it isn't really a problem anymore) and 'sensory level D3/4 and told me that I need to have an urgent MRI (of course by 'urgent' he means a month from now... currently 17 days left)
(sigh* sorry this is so long, I'm really confused about this)
Okay, some time later I've began developing new symptoms again (Hurray!) This time it was a tingling in my back that seemed to start in the middle and went up the neck (to be honest it felt more like an electric shock) and is usually triggered during physical exertion (work). Also I've began noticing that I bump into people more often and I sometimes end up dropping things (grip is still fine though my hands are sore)
A few days later, Urinary incontinence! (Come to think of it, I had it a few weeks prior to that, but it seemed to go away on its own *shrug) Anyway, it's usually just a brief leak and happens after sitting or doing some physical activity...) and it went on for some time before I went to a different doctor and she told me to test for UT infection...... this way today in the morning.... now it's nighttime and I can't even think of sleeping because now the tingling seems worse and affecting not only my right foot but also my pelvic region (I actually have a tingling/numbness sensation in my.... well.... anus region + mild constipation) and to top it all off, I feel like someones zapping me with electricity in my right arm and in the upper back (shoulder)....
I seriously can't take it anymore... I don't know what the hell is wrong with me (aw, hell, probably cauda equina or some shit like that....) and I feel like there's nothing I can do to fix this situation because everyone keeps convincing me that there's nothing wrong with me.. :(
Sorry if it's too long. I just don't know what to do... I feel like I need to be in the E.R right now and instead I'm wasting time on nothing...