machwon
New member
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2014
- Messages
- 6
- Reason
- Undiagnosed
- Diagnosis
- 09/2014
- Country
- US
- State
- Colorado
Hey everyone- My name is Rex and in the last couple of years my life has seen some...ummm... changes! I don't know how brief or in depth to be but I suppose I should error on the side of "more info is better". Let me start by saying I have seen a local rheumy one time (about a month ago), and she suspected fibromyalgia or a similar (but not permanent pain disorder)- can't remember what it was called though :/. Anyways- I go back for a check-up in about a month. My regular doc thinks I am simply depressed, anxious, sleep deprived and have pain due to my activities (to follow), and has me on Celexa (SSRI) 20mg daily for about 2 months now. Although my mood has slightly improved, nothing else has changed, and in fact the pain seems to have gotten worse. Here we go:
I'm 29, extremely active, always go, go, go, enjoy hiking, fly fishing, and race road & mountain bikes recreationally. I will start two years ago- Life was going perfectly, and then while on a road bike ride while on vacation in Mexico with my dad, I witnessed a taxi run a stop sign, hit, and kill my father on his bike. I have no doubt this psychologically traumatized me. To make it even more tragic- I had just proposed to my (now) wife the night before. What followed was a move from Virginia, back to Colorado to be closer to my mom and to help her keep up the place, find a new job, sell a house, buy a new house, etc. After almost loosing a couple of toes last year in a cold (but not too cold) bike ride- I was diagnosed by my family doc with Raynaud's syndrome (rare in men I guess). Last summer, after our wedding, we found out that I would soon be a father :grin::grin::grin:, and my baby girl Ayen was brought into the world in April of this year. Being a father has been the most profound life experience- I never could have even imagined. We are happily Married, I love my life, wife, daughter, and all the blessings I'm lucky enough to enjoy. It was probably February or March when I REALLY started feeling the symptoms which now plague me almost every single day.
To summarize- Lots of stressful life developments (some terrible, some amazing) in the last two years.
My first symptom that I remember was a painful burn / headache near the top of my neck / base of my skull, and sometimes down my neck. It would come and go but was fairly chronic. This is still my most annoying symptom as it is present on some level almost every day, and most of the time is VERY frustrating and painful- shifting from side to side of the back of my head / neck, and varying in intensity. Sometimes made worse by looking up, down, or side to side.
I have been dead TIRED...all of the time. I am sure some of this comes from being a new father and sleep deprivation, stress, etc. BUT I lack motivation to exercise like I used to (I used to ride 3-4 times a week, now I'm lucky if I get out 2 times). Some days are better than others but this constant fatigue and lethargy just isn't me. Yawning...all...the...TIME.
While riding my bike I would get sensations like I was stung by a bee or wasp on my back or side, only to find there was nothing there- very weird. Additionally, I have been "itchy" all over, especially on arms, shoulders, neck, back
Constant muscle twitching- I always thought this was due to my rigorous cycling...however even with the back-off of riding the twitching continues. Mostly lower limb muscles, however I also get it in my neck, arms, and shoulders.
Sometimes a little dizzy or lightheaded- especially upon standing up (weird).
My butt hurts- seriously though...sitting for a few hours at a time (desk job) never used to irritate my rump like it does now. I have to constantly shift positions...feels like my hind parts are on fire.
The most recent pain / irritation has popped up in the last couple of weeks. A very sharp pain in the middle of my back just to the left of the spine. Also, when I bend over I have a very bad lower back ache- again just to the left of center... weird and VERY painful / annoying.
I wake up several times a night because of back / neck / head pain. So frustrating.
Talk about brain farts. I have been more forgetful, absent minded, and spaced out than ever (that's not saying much)- but it even has my wife worried. I used to be pretty sharp- now I have a hard time concentrating, short term memory is pretty much GONE, and I can be told something and really have no recollection 10 minutes later. What gives?
If I reach up to grab a plate out of the cabinet in the kitchen and catch the shelf lip with the tip of my finger it feels like someone jabbed a screwdriver down my finger...sharp and intense pain for what little happened.
Basically it feels like I aged 20 years in the last 2. I am freaked out because I am a new father and want to be the best I can be for the family, but sometimes I REALLY feel like I am aging to death or something, and I always start fearing the worst (cancer, terminal illness, etc). This is bizarre, and extremely frustrating sine my regular doctor won't take it seriously and was actually upset that I had to get a 2nd opinion to get a referral to a rheumy since she basically refused to simply stating that stress and anxiety, leading to sleep problems, has caused all of these issues. The celexa has only mildly improved my mood, and the pain has gotten worse.
The Rheumy ran all sorts of inflammation tests on me looking for anything like SLE, Sclero, etc. and all came back looking okay- however my Creatine Kinase came back slightly elevated- likely due to my exercise regime she thinks- but will retest next visit. All other blood work looked okay. She did a pressure test on me and I had several sensitive areas- back of head, shoulders, inside of knees, forearms, and thighs.
Can anyone tell me what is going on with my old-man 29 year old body? I always worry something worse like a brain tumor are to blame and have a fear of not being there for my daughter growing up- sometimes I almost WANT it to be Fibro so I stop worrying so much.
Any help or insights you folks can share- I would be extremely grateful for!
I'm 29, extremely active, always go, go, go, enjoy hiking, fly fishing, and race road & mountain bikes recreationally. I will start two years ago- Life was going perfectly, and then while on a road bike ride while on vacation in Mexico with my dad, I witnessed a taxi run a stop sign, hit, and kill my father on his bike. I have no doubt this psychologically traumatized me. To make it even more tragic- I had just proposed to my (now) wife the night before. What followed was a move from Virginia, back to Colorado to be closer to my mom and to help her keep up the place, find a new job, sell a house, buy a new house, etc. After almost loosing a couple of toes last year in a cold (but not too cold) bike ride- I was diagnosed by my family doc with Raynaud's syndrome (rare in men I guess). Last summer, after our wedding, we found out that I would soon be a father :grin::grin::grin:, and my baby girl Ayen was brought into the world in April of this year. Being a father has been the most profound life experience- I never could have even imagined. We are happily Married, I love my life, wife, daughter, and all the blessings I'm lucky enough to enjoy. It was probably February or March when I REALLY started feeling the symptoms which now plague me almost every single day.
To summarize- Lots of stressful life developments (some terrible, some amazing) in the last two years.
My first symptom that I remember was a painful burn / headache near the top of my neck / base of my skull, and sometimes down my neck. It would come and go but was fairly chronic. This is still my most annoying symptom as it is present on some level almost every day, and most of the time is VERY frustrating and painful- shifting from side to side of the back of my head / neck, and varying in intensity. Sometimes made worse by looking up, down, or side to side.
I have been dead TIRED...all of the time. I am sure some of this comes from being a new father and sleep deprivation, stress, etc. BUT I lack motivation to exercise like I used to (I used to ride 3-4 times a week, now I'm lucky if I get out 2 times). Some days are better than others but this constant fatigue and lethargy just isn't me. Yawning...all...the...TIME.
While riding my bike I would get sensations like I was stung by a bee or wasp on my back or side, only to find there was nothing there- very weird. Additionally, I have been "itchy" all over, especially on arms, shoulders, neck, back
Constant muscle twitching- I always thought this was due to my rigorous cycling...however even with the back-off of riding the twitching continues. Mostly lower limb muscles, however I also get it in my neck, arms, and shoulders.
Sometimes a little dizzy or lightheaded- especially upon standing up (weird).
My butt hurts- seriously though...sitting for a few hours at a time (desk job) never used to irritate my rump like it does now. I have to constantly shift positions...feels like my hind parts are on fire.
The most recent pain / irritation has popped up in the last couple of weeks. A very sharp pain in the middle of my back just to the left of the spine. Also, when I bend over I have a very bad lower back ache- again just to the left of center... weird and VERY painful / annoying.
I wake up several times a night because of back / neck / head pain. So frustrating.
Talk about brain farts. I have been more forgetful, absent minded, and spaced out than ever (that's not saying much)- but it even has my wife worried. I used to be pretty sharp- now I have a hard time concentrating, short term memory is pretty much GONE, and I can be told something and really have no recollection 10 minutes later. What gives?
If I reach up to grab a plate out of the cabinet in the kitchen and catch the shelf lip with the tip of my finger it feels like someone jabbed a screwdriver down my finger...sharp and intense pain for what little happened.
Basically it feels like I aged 20 years in the last 2. I am freaked out because I am a new father and want to be the best I can be for the family, but sometimes I REALLY feel like I am aging to death or something, and I always start fearing the worst (cancer, terminal illness, etc). This is bizarre, and extremely frustrating sine my regular doctor won't take it seriously and was actually upset that I had to get a 2nd opinion to get a referral to a rheumy since she basically refused to simply stating that stress and anxiety, leading to sleep problems, has caused all of these issues. The celexa has only mildly improved my mood, and the pain has gotten worse.
The Rheumy ran all sorts of inflammation tests on me looking for anything like SLE, Sclero, etc. and all came back looking okay- however my Creatine Kinase came back slightly elevated- likely due to my exercise regime she thinks- but will retest next visit. All other blood work looked okay. She did a pressure test on me and I had several sensitive areas- back of head, shoulders, inside of knees, forearms, and thighs.
Can anyone tell me what is going on with my old-man 29 year old body? I always worry something worse like a brain tumor are to blame and have a fear of not being there for my daughter growing up- sometimes I almost WANT it to be Fibro so I stop worrying so much.
![Frown :( :(](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png)