Muscle pain, joint pain, cold feet, etc. for six months. What is it?Over the past six months, I have been experiencing migratory myalgia, arthalgia, numbness in the hands, cracking joints, lung pain (like you've just ran in cold weather), and cold extremities. The arthalgia has dissipated but my knees feel like they're going to buckle. Mind you, I have no fever, chills, weight loss, or lack of energy. I've done the follow tests:
CBC (5 tests) - normal
24-hour urine - normal
ESR (3 times) - 1 mm/hr
CRP (2 times) - 3 (normal range is <5 on this specific test)
ANA (3 times) - negative
Liver panel - normal
Creatine kinase levels - normals
ANCA - negative
HLA-B27 - negative
rheumatoid factor (2 times) - negative
TSH (2 times) -normal
Lyme - negative
Hep A/B/C - negative
HIV/STI panel - negative
Chest X-Ray - normal
Doctor's were stumped, especially considering my age (20), gender (male), and race (caucasian) and how I do not fit into the typical demographic of diseases like SLE, vasculitis, RA, etc.
So I went to a naturopath and he tentatively diagnosed me with what he believes is vegetative neurodystonia, an "autonomic stress syndrome". As I had an extremely stressful event precede my symptoms, it seems possible. It's just that, at the moment, there is no other explanation and I would be a medical oddity if it were diagnosed with something else, as I would have a rare disease at an atypical age, in an atypical gender and/or race, with atypical symptoms and atypical blood results. Seems unlikely. So, for the time being, I will accept the doctors diagnosis. Is this type of stress disorder common? Do any of you have experience with it?
- mz_dazed
This "vegetative neurodystonia" that your naturopath diagnosed you with is just a made up term used by only a handful of docs to describe all these varied symptoms that happens to someone after a period of stress. It's just a useless term with no treatment outline or cure. In my six years of research on stress, adrenal fatigue is the most controversial but proper term for your symptoms. Your adrenal glands produce steroids (cortisol) that allow you to adapt to stress. They also control your metabolism and well-being. Once these steroids become depleted due to long lasting/ and or severe stress you get the symptoms you describe above. These steroids are also needed for the thyroid hormones to be able to reach your cells. A typical symptom of both low thyroid and cortisol is an all over aching of the body's muscles and joints. It will almost feel as if the bones are in pain. But don't think that anyone will diagnose you with these conditions because they don't show up on blood tests. You would need to see a select few very, very smart doctors that take into account their patients symptoms and history. P.s. I've been there and had the same symptoms after severe stress and I now take the adrenal steroid (hydrocortisone) and my muscles and joints are back to normal. It's only a small physiological dose which has no negative effects whats so ever.On this dose it is not possible to suffer from any of the side effects from larger doses of steroids. And it just supplements your own adrenal's effort to keep you well and healthy. Doctors are so scared of what they don't know! Good luck
- Dekayel
Lyme disease can cause every single symptom you describe. Lab tests for Lyme are notoriously unreliable, often saying you don't have it when you actually do.
Good sources of info about Lyme disease:
http://www.lymedisease.org
http://www.ilads.org
http://www.canlyme.com
http://www.lymenet.org
http://www.lymeinfo.net
http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org
http://www.lymedoctor.com
http://www.touchedbylyme.org
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