23yr old with many chronic pain conditions, one 'mystery' one...

[tom21]

hey sandel thank you for all the detailed information. I am taking some of those meds but definitely could use some of the others and will have to do research on them. I forgot to mention some other symptoms as well:

-Constant dehydration (I *must* carry lots of water with me everywhere I go)

-Semi-frequent headaches (especially with concentration on tasks)

-Ice is very painful on certain parts of my foot (not usually around the main nerves by the ankle though)

-Rapid weight loss (have lost over 10lbs in the past couple months and I eat healthy fat-rich foods and don't exercise...my dr. thinks it could be a high motabalism due to dealing with the chronic pain)

-Small rash on inside of right thigh that went away with athelete's foot cream but continues to come back. Dr. said it's probably just a normal rash becaus 'they happen a lot in that area' but I've never had one there in my life before

-Took another blood test last week and completely blacked out. Could barely walk afterwards. I was told this can be common but has never happened with a blood test before, and I've had 1 in the past year. They took 5 viles of blood though and I hadn't eaten much of anything that day so maybe it is normal. My blood pressure was fine though.

I looked at that article and it was a bit hard to read but one major difference is that his EMGs came up negative whereas all of mine have been very obviously positive.

I'm still highly debating getting the surgery for my TTS and more on the side of getting it than not. Reason why is that all the symptoms and pain continue to get worse and I fear the longer I wait the higher my chances of eventually being crippled are (or very close to it).

I guess I'm just not so sure that it is CRPS either. These symptoms seem to be so common among other chronic illnesses too. fibromyalgia, lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc. arg, I wish I knew what was going on with my body.
Thank you for your help Sandel, that medications info will come in handy a lot when talking to my doctors.

[kivlanmaron]

Hi Tom,

it sounds like fibromyalgia to me, at least a lot of your symptoms sound similar to my friends with fibro and many of the people on our forum. I know it's frustrating when it seems like symptoms are being named without talking about the cause of those symptoms. I don't know if you're open to natural and holistic healing methods, but I am a big fan because I've seriously seen some miracles worked by a wonderful friend of mine who also happens to be a doctor. His name is Dr. Howard G. Groshell, Jr and he lives in Florida but there is a great website that talks all about the amazing things he has done with his fibro patients over the years. Most of his patients have tried every medication under the sun and still haven't found relief. Your post made me think of him b/c he is all about finding the CAUSE, the root of the problem, instead of just numbing the symptoms. If you want some inspiration check out the story of one patient he helped - still continues to amaze me. its at http://fibrofreelife.com/new-treatment/. And please join us on the social forum, there are some really wonderful people - and men! - who would love to 'meet' you. I hope you're feeling ok today.

[tom21]

Hey guys, thanks for the care again- this forum has been so much nicer than the others I've tried.

I think I got a BIG clue today...I noticed some large spots on my back. I took pictures:
http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/100_4008.jpg
http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/100_4007.jpg
http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/100_4006.jpg

I searched around google for something that would match, and it seems close visually to something called an "Annular Lesion"
This picture seemed fairly similar.

Reading that page it looks like that is a sign of Lyme Disease, which I had read was also very similar to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.

WELL, my ex girlfriend had lyme disease. but from what I read it was only transmitted from ticks and "officially" it cannot be transmitted sexually.
Then I saw this:
http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/lym...isease-and****

and now I'm starting to feel pretty sure it's lyme and it was transmitted sexually. I dated her last year which is pretty much exactly when the symptoms started to gradually emerge....and that would explain why they have progressed and gotten worse despite all my best efforts.

Anyway, if anyone has thoughts on this I'd much appreciate it. I'm going to try and get an appointment with my Dr. ASAP to talk about this stuff and show these spots. I had mentioned to my doctors before about my ex having lyme but that seemed to be a non issue to them as well (which was also why I ignored it).

Thank you so much for your support here

[kivlanmaron]

I have a friend of a friend who suffers from Lyme...I am so sorry. Have they absolutely confirmed that that's what it is???

Do the doctors say it absolutely can't be transmitted sexually? I'm going to ask my friend and see what he says...he has had it for over ten years so I'm sure he has to deal with it in his relationships....see what I can find out....

Kivlan