Post by rochester on Oct 1, 2007 8:39:27 GMT
I'm new to this site - my boyfriend was on the web "googling" and came across it and told me to take a look because since I gave birth, I have been unwell. In fact, since just before the birth I have been unwell. I gave birth in December last year - it began on the day I was due to be induced, I was terrified, I had not slept for days. I had gone to the bathroom and saw stars which was scary. I was over 2 weeks late, wanting to go into labour naturally rather than be induced but baby just would not come.
After the birth, I remember seeing dark spots before my eyes constantly for the whole of the following day. I was released however, on the second day because my bp etc... was perfect. I put it down to lack of sleep.
I continued to get spots in front of my eyes after that day so I went for an eye test - it was perfectly fine. So again, because i had barely slept, I put it down to that and stress. It then stopped happening and i was feeling reasonably normal apart from a lot of pain down below. I felt so heavy and was certain i had injured my tail bone because sitting down was so painful for 2 weeks or more. I also had stitches from a 2nd degree tear, but though the wound healed perfectly, I had severe lower back pain for a good couple of months after.
In Feb I was run down, got a tooth infection - had that treated, then got a strep infection (vaginal) - had that treated, but I was getting awful burning pain in my skin between my legs but there was nothing to be seen. I then got a mild chest infection by March and was put on more antibiotics. Started getting "burning mouth syndrome" (my mouth burned, and my tongue was furry but not coated with thrush or anything, I got pale areas on the side of my tongue but they weren't patches if you get what i mean). I saw my GP and he said my throat looked very red just before where my tonsils were, I got a throat swab and it was all clear. I was starting to feel ill in myself and was convinced I had some nasty infection "inside me". I could not write properly, I remember my handwriting becoming messy no matter how hard I tried to write neatly.
I had severe panic attacks, and became scared of eating because I was scared of getting another tooth infection. I lost a lot of weight, became incredibly thin. My GP put me on the pill which gave me a three week long period - this made me go grey literally. I was weak and my breathing was changing.
I got a bad cold that was going round and was struggling to breathe, felt like there was an abstruction in my throat, I saw the GP who said it was a virus and there was nothing he could do. I felt it move down my chest day after day to the point where my breathing became shallow. I was then getting sores in my mouth after eating and so eating was still a problem.
I was sent for blood tests which came back normal. I then went to see the GP again, because I could not breathe through my nose at all and the sores in my mouth were getting worse. My gums had gone all veiny and one of my teeth was going grey. He said my bp and heart rate were sky high so I was admitted to the medical investigation unit. I was also getting petechiae.
I was there for a few hours waiting for extensive blood tests to be done - all were fine apart from slight white cell elevation - the cold the dr thought. Blood cultures came back normal, everything was all clear and i was told that my problem was anxiety or medical anxiety (as i was convinced i had a nasty infection, I thought it was very very bad, i had read so many things about infections after birth).
It continued, my heart rate was elevated constantly, my bp still high (before the birth I have always had a nice low bp and heart rate). I was given an ECG - it was normal apart from a right bundle branch block (which is aparently normal in young women) and a sinus tachycardia. I was also getting chest pain. I ended up in hospital several times with a resting rate of well over 100. I had more tests done, all normal!
I was told I had PND. They did not seem to understand that the fast rate was not intermittent, it was constant. They said I was in constant fight or flight. I was very anxious admittedly, but even when relaxed it was up.
I had dreadful palpitations - skipped beat sensations, I could literally think to myself "what is my rate now?" and I could then feel my pulse all over, and a buzzing sensation inside me, like I coud feel the blood rushing round me. I started getting pins and needles every morning, some mornings I could not feel my arms and hands for a couple of minutes on waking.
I started getting a foggy feeling all of the time, I felt tired and very weak, I was scared to exert myself even a little and took to sleeping on the sofa and using the downstairs bathroom because i was scared of climbing the stairs, it made me out of breath.
I had an echocardiogram in August and my heart showed to be fine, I also had a chest x ray which was also fine. There was no cause for it. I then noticed my fingernails changed colour, they would be dark pink and went blue when I went outside. My pupils became uneven, one big and one small but usually only in dimmed light.
My GP tested me some more and the neuro exam was normal (basic exam). I had more bloods taken, they were normal too, white cell count normal this time.
There was just no aparent physical cause for it all.
I am now on beta blockers, I have been on them since June. I started taking 1 25mg tablet every morning but I had to increase the dose in August as my fast rate came back in the evenings. I find the rate is worse when i am sad, if I have been crying or something, or if I am annoyed.
I have been crying a lot - I have been grieving the loss of my best friend, my father has been seriously ill, I am going through a messy divorce (my illness ruined my marriage, my ex husband, when we were still together, could not cope with my illness, he told me I would end up put in an asylum if this carried on, he was convinced it was mental). I now get three days a week with my son, ex hubby wanted full custody, deeming me unfit to look after my son, my ex husband won't get a job and wouldn't while I was pregnant. I run my own business as a writer and artist.
I noe struggle to type the right letters on a keyboard, i struggle to write words by hand also. I used to be able to sing, now I struggle to sing in tune. And I am convinced I am not going to last very long. I believe I am seriously ill with something they can't pin point - maybe something to do with my brain.
I have considered it to be all sorts of things - I googled my symptoms as they were happening, and of course I got more and more strange and random symptoms cropping up over the months - the fast rate, the weight loss, brain fog, vibration sensations, pins and needles, loss of feeling sometimes, confusion, tiredness, I don't recognise myself in the mirror, I can sometimes hear myself talk but can't feel it, like I am talking from my throat and nose and not through my diaphragm. I used to be a singer before I gave birth, I simply can't sing anymore.
I am in a new relationship and have admittedly been trying to rush my man into falling in love, I have not felt love for such a long time and because I feel that i won't last, I want to feel it all NOW. I get tearful when I see families with their kids and I often wonder what my son will be like when he gets to 2, 3, 4 etc... people say to me "wait and see" and i just burst out crying again.
My GP can't help me anymore. I was sent to a psychiatrist in August, he discharged me and suggested I had M.E. but they won't investigate it. I have asked, no, begged for an MRI but I have been refused because I have so many strange symptoms, they said that there is no pattern to what i have.
I get all sorts of probs, currently I have a strange infection in my nose and don't know where it came from. It is getting worse to the point where my nose feels sore and itchy as well as heavy. I started thinking all sorts, because I have had feelings of depersonalisation etc... not knowing my own mind or emotions at times, I wondered so ridiculously if I had contracted something nasty at the birth like syphilis or something. That's how my head is working.
I have thought it was MS, M.E, a brain thingy (daren't say the word even), some other cancer, systemic invasive candidiasis, adrenal tumor (pheochromocytoma), sarcoidosis, lupus. You name it, I've thought i had it. I was tested for lupus and it was negative. They said that if I had cancer my lymphocytes would be out of whack and they were normal, they said if I had any infection (fungal or bacterial) then my white cell count would be elevated and other levels would also be out of whack and they're normal. I have been tested for hyperthyroid 4 times and they were all normal.
My boyfriend knows what is going on. I have become a little more cheerful but I even sometimes get the tachy even while on the beta blockers, its like they sometimes just don't work. My GP said that adrenalin causes that to happen.
This is my story and symptoms. Can anyone at all relate?
What IS strange is that a close friend has developed the same as me and we have a lot in common - she lost a baby in Feb through miscarriage. She also had the same type of vag infection and has had many tooth infections. Her probs started after the vag infection she got. I asked a GP and I was told that the type of vag infection it is, is not a common one but it only causes itching and discharge and that it is caused by over washing down there. (We both had Group C hemolytic strep). I don't know if it is related and I have tried looking it up but I have found nothing online to suggest that it can cause these problems, especially when it was successfully treated with a course of antibiotics.
After the birth, I remember seeing dark spots before my eyes constantly for the whole of the following day. I was released however, on the second day because my bp etc... was perfect. I put it down to lack of sleep.
I continued to get spots in front of my eyes after that day so I went for an eye test - it was perfectly fine. So again, because i had barely slept, I put it down to that and stress. It then stopped happening and i was feeling reasonably normal apart from a lot of pain down below. I felt so heavy and was certain i had injured my tail bone because sitting down was so painful for 2 weeks or more. I also had stitches from a 2nd degree tear, but though the wound healed perfectly, I had severe lower back pain for a good couple of months after.
In Feb I was run down, got a tooth infection - had that treated, then got a strep infection (vaginal) - had that treated, but I was getting awful burning pain in my skin between my legs but there was nothing to be seen. I then got a mild chest infection by March and was put on more antibiotics. Started getting "burning mouth syndrome" (my mouth burned, and my tongue was furry but not coated with thrush or anything, I got pale areas on the side of my tongue but they weren't patches if you get what i mean). I saw my GP and he said my throat looked very red just before where my tonsils were, I got a throat swab and it was all clear. I was starting to feel ill in myself and was convinced I had some nasty infection "inside me". I could not write properly, I remember my handwriting becoming messy no matter how hard I tried to write neatly.
I had severe panic attacks, and became scared of eating because I was scared of getting another tooth infection. I lost a lot of weight, became incredibly thin. My GP put me on the pill which gave me a three week long period - this made me go grey literally. I was weak and my breathing was changing.
I got a bad cold that was going round and was struggling to breathe, felt like there was an abstruction in my throat, I saw the GP who said it was a virus and there was nothing he could do. I felt it move down my chest day after day to the point where my breathing became shallow. I was then getting sores in my mouth after eating and so eating was still a problem.
I was sent for blood tests which came back normal. I then went to see the GP again, because I could not breathe through my nose at all and the sores in my mouth were getting worse. My gums had gone all veiny and one of my teeth was going grey. He said my bp and heart rate were sky high so I was admitted to the medical investigation unit. I was also getting petechiae.
I was there for a few hours waiting for extensive blood tests to be done - all were fine apart from slight white cell elevation - the cold the dr thought. Blood cultures came back normal, everything was all clear and i was told that my problem was anxiety or medical anxiety (as i was convinced i had a nasty infection, I thought it was very very bad, i had read so many things about infections after birth).
It continued, my heart rate was elevated constantly, my bp still high (before the birth I have always had a nice low bp and heart rate). I was given an ECG - it was normal apart from a right bundle branch block (which is aparently normal in young women) and a sinus tachycardia. I was also getting chest pain. I ended up in hospital several times with a resting rate of well over 100. I had more tests done, all normal!
I was told I had PND. They did not seem to understand that the fast rate was not intermittent, it was constant. They said I was in constant fight or flight. I was very anxious admittedly, but even when relaxed it was up.
I had dreadful palpitations - skipped beat sensations, I could literally think to myself "what is my rate now?" and I could then feel my pulse all over, and a buzzing sensation inside me, like I coud feel the blood rushing round me. I started getting pins and needles every morning, some mornings I could not feel my arms and hands for a couple of minutes on waking.
I started getting a foggy feeling all of the time, I felt tired and very weak, I was scared to exert myself even a little and took to sleeping on the sofa and using the downstairs bathroom because i was scared of climbing the stairs, it made me out of breath.
I had an echocardiogram in August and my heart showed to be fine, I also had a chest x ray which was also fine. There was no cause for it. I then noticed my fingernails changed colour, they would be dark pink and went blue when I went outside. My pupils became uneven, one big and one small but usually only in dimmed light.
My GP tested me some more and the neuro exam was normal (basic exam). I had more bloods taken, they were normal too, white cell count normal this time.
There was just no aparent physical cause for it all.
I am now on beta blockers, I have been on them since June. I started taking 1 25mg tablet every morning but I had to increase the dose in August as my fast rate came back in the evenings. I find the rate is worse when i am sad, if I have been crying or something, or if I am annoyed.
I have been crying a lot - I have been grieving the loss of my best friend, my father has been seriously ill, I am going through a messy divorce (my illness ruined my marriage, my ex husband, when we were still together, could not cope with my illness, he told me I would end up put in an asylum if this carried on, he was convinced it was mental). I now get three days a week with my son, ex hubby wanted full custody, deeming me unfit to look after my son, my ex husband won't get a job and wouldn't while I was pregnant. I run my own business as a writer and artist.
I noe struggle to type the right letters on a keyboard, i struggle to write words by hand also. I used to be able to sing, now I struggle to sing in tune. And I am convinced I am not going to last very long. I believe I am seriously ill with something they can't pin point - maybe something to do with my brain.
I have considered it to be all sorts of things - I googled my symptoms as they were happening, and of course I got more and more strange and random symptoms cropping up over the months - the fast rate, the weight loss, brain fog, vibration sensations, pins and needles, loss of feeling sometimes, confusion, tiredness, I don't recognise myself in the mirror, I can sometimes hear myself talk but can't feel it, like I am talking from my throat and nose and not through my diaphragm. I used to be a singer before I gave birth, I simply can't sing anymore.
I am in a new relationship and have admittedly been trying to rush my man into falling in love, I have not felt love for such a long time and because I feel that i won't last, I want to feel it all NOW. I get tearful when I see families with their kids and I often wonder what my son will be like when he gets to 2, 3, 4 etc... people say to me "wait and see" and i just burst out crying again.
My GP can't help me anymore. I was sent to a psychiatrist in August, he discharged me and suggested I had M.E. but they won't investigate it. I have asked, no, begged for an MRI but I have been refused because I have so many strange symptoms, they said that there is no pattern to what i have.
I get all sorts of probs, currently I have a strange infection in my nose and don't know where it came from. It is getting worse to the point where my nose feels sore and itchy as well as heavy. I started thinking all sorts, because I have had feelings of depersonalisation etc... not knowing my own mind or emotions at times, I wondered so ridiculously if I had contracted something nasty at the birth like syphilis or something. That's how my head is working.
I have thought it was MS, M.E, a brain thingy (daren't say the word even), some other cancer, systemic invasive candidiasis, adrenal tumor (pheochromocytoma), sarcoidosis, lupus. You name it, I've thought i had it. I was tested for lupus and it was negative. They said that if I had cancer my lymphocytes would be out of whack and they were normal, they said if I had any infection (fungal or bacterial) then my white cell count would be elevated and other levels would also be out of whack and they're normal. I have been tested for hyperthyroid 4 times and they were all normal.
My boyfriend knows what is going on. I have become a little more cheerful but I even sometimes get the tachy even while on the beta blockers, its like they sometimes just don't work. My GP said that adrenalin causes that to happen.
This is my story and symptoms. Can anyone at all relate?
What IS strange is that a close friend has developed the same as me and we have a lot in common - she lost a baby in Feb through miscarriage. She also had the same type of vag infection and has had many tooth infections. Her probs started after the vag infection she got. I asked a GP and I was told that the type of vag infection it is, is not a common one but it only causes itching and discharge and that it is caused by over washing down there. (We both had Group C hemolytic strep). I don't know if it is related and I have tried looking it up but I have found nothing online to suggest that it can cause these problems, especially when it was successfully treated with a course of antibiotics.
