WorryIsMyMiddleName
08-08-14, 22:20
After two years of trying to convince doctors that something was amiss, and effectively being labelled a hypochondriac - "medically unexplained symptoms" was what the neurologist wrote on my notes... Until my brain scan results came back - I was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I've had so many relapses over the past 18 months, and my MRI shows numerous lesions, so I've immediately qualified for the disease modifying drugs to try and slow the rate of the disease.
Anyway, my point is that if I was right about this, then might it be possible I'm right about my other symptoms being something of significance? Even with glaringly obvious - textbook, even - signs and symptoms of MS, I was passed from pillar to post and frequently dismissed as neurotic or anxious. Even with a strong family history of MS, Lupus, Scleroderma and other auto-immune conditions, doctors used my family history against me, saying that it was only fuelling my anxieties. But when all was said and done, my suspicions were confirmed.
My experience has caused me to further question the judgement of the medical professionals, and I find myself doubting them when they dismiss my concerns. Whilst the MS can explain a lot of my symptoms (walking and swallowing difficulties, vision problems, numbness and tingling etc), it cannot explain all of them, and I have several other symptoms which cause me great distress, in terms of anxiety.
For example, for over a year now I have had an enlarged gland (hard and fixed) that visibly pokes out of my neck, and another behind my ear, both of which appeared the same time my throat problems began. More recently, I had a swollen gland in the armpit (same side as the other swollen glands), and although it went down, it left a tender cord running through my armpit. I have had a slight cough for the past few months, no explanation for that. I have problems with lumpy breasts and cysts, and also ovarian cysts which cause fairly significant pelvic pain, but I never know when a cyst is the cause of my discomfort, or when it might be something more. I have suspected Interstitial Cystitis - the list goes on. I am waiting on several referrals and tests, but all this waiting and worrying is doing me no good. My life has become and endless cycle of hospital appointments, anxieties and fears.
My current cause for concern is an itchy, weeping, crusting left nipple. I fist noticed it a few weeks ago, treated it with ointments, and it eventually went away so I thought no more of it. Until it returned. I decided to Google the symptoms, purely to find out if there was another cream I could try, only to discover that Paget's disease of the nipple (an uncommon type of breast cancer) could cause the very same symtoms, was often misdiagnosed as eczema, and tends to come and go in the early stages, making it seem that it is responding to the topical ointments. I saw my GP and she wasn't concerned, and said that it wouldn't come and go if it was anything serious. However, after reading many personal accounts of Paget's, I know that the nipple symptoms can come and go, and that eczema on one nipple (especially when you don't suffer with it anywhere else), is extremely uncommon. Further heightening my fear and anxiety is the fact that I have already been diagnosed with cysts and a dilated duct in the same breast, so now I'm putting 2 and 2 together, and possibly (hopefully!) coming up with 5!
Sorry for the rambling post, but do you think I'm being unreasonable to worry about these other symptoms when the doctors don't seem too concerned? I mean, what are the chances of being diagnosed with MS and cancer within the space of a few months?! I'm aware that I suffer with health anxiety, and it's torn my life apart over the past two or three years, to the point that my family are fed up, my marriage is falling apart, and I cannot enjoy my little boy and beloved dog. On the other hand, my symptoms are very real, and when you are concerned about cancer, you know that time is everything.
Anyway, my point is that if I was right about this, then might it be possible I'm right about my other symptoms being something of significance? Even with glaringly obvious - textbook, even - signs and symptoms of MS, I was passed from pillar to post and frequently dismissed as neurotic or anxious. Even with a strong family history of MS, Lupus, Scleroderma and other auto-immune conditions, doctors used my family history against me, saying that it was only fuelling my anxieties. But when all was said and done, my suspicions were confirmed.
My experience has caused me to further question the judgement of the medical professionals, and I find myself doubting them when they dismiss my concerns. Whilst the MS can explain a lot of my symptoms (walking and swallowing difficulties, vision problems, numbness and tingling etc), it cannot explain all of them, and I have several other symptoms which cause me great distress, in terms of anxiety.
For example, for over a year now I have had an enlarged gland (hard and fixed) that visibly pokes out of my neck, and another behind my ear, both of which appeared the same time my throat problems began. More recently, I had a swollen gland in the armpit (same side as the other swollen glands), and although it went down, it left a tender cord running through my armpit. I have had a slight cough for the past few months, no explanation for that. I have problems with lumpy breasts and cysts, and also ovarian cysts which cause fairly significant pelvic pain, but I never know when a cyst is the cause of my discomfort, or when it might be something more. I have suspected Interstitial Cystitis - the list goes on. I am waiting on several referrals and tests, but all this waiting and worrying is doing me no good. My life has become and endless cycle of hospital appointments, anxieties and fears.
My current cause for concern is an itchy, weeping, crusting left nipple. I fist noticed it a few weeks ago, treated it with ointments, and it eventually went away so I thought no more of it. Until it returned. I decided to Google the symptoms, purely to find out if there was another cream I could try, only to discover that Paget's disease of the nipple (an uncommon type of breast cancer) could cause the very same symtoms, was often misdiagnosed as eczema, and tends to come and go in the early stages, making it seem that it is responding to the topical ointments. I saw my GP and she wasn't concerned, and said that it wouldn't come and go if it was anything serious. However, after reading many personal accounts of Paget's, I know that the nipple symptoms can come and go, and that eczema on one nipple (especially when you don't suffer with it anywhere else), is extremely uncommon. Further heightening my fear and anxiety is the fact that I have already been diagnosed with cysts and a dilated duct in the same breast, so now I'm putting 2 and 2 together, and possibly (hopefully!) coming up with 5!
Sorry for the rambling post, but do you think I'm being unreasonable to worry about these other symptoms when the doctors don't seem too concerned? I mean, what are the chances of being diagnosed with MS and cancer within the space of a few months?! I'm aware that I suffer with health anxiety, and it's torn my life apart over the past two or three years, to the point that my family are fed up, my marriage is falling apart, and I cannot enjoy my little boy and beloved dog. On the other hand, my symptoms are very real, and when you are concerned about cancer, you know that time is everything.