So worried about my son

[Oakcone]

Posting here is desperation really on behalf of my mum re her son, who is beside herself understandably.

He is an adult, usually exceptionally fit gym bunny is now virtually incapacitated and we don't know why.

He had a bad back in the spring (disc issues resolved with rests and I think injections which seemed to improve eventually). Since then he seemed to have been hit by a virus that he just isn't recovering from. This is a guy that is honestly super fit, nothing can stop him sort. He can now hardly walk at times from either all over body aches or random swelling up and agony in joints. He went into A&E at the weekend but they sent him home saying he must just been in recovery from a virus but this is getting into months now.

He's having more bloods taken this afternoon at the GP but my DM is seriously concerned about his mental health as well now as he feels like he is never going to get better.

Any ideas at all as to what I can suggest, I'm worrying about them both!

Hopeful bump

Bumping for you OP.

It sounds awful and I’m so sorry he’s not getting more support.

Sounds like a phoning the Drs everyday until you get some answers situation, which I know you shouldn’t have to do.

This is a really wild card, but my db had similar symptoms which turned out to be caused by a benign tumour wrapped round his spinal cord (inside the spinal column). It's really rare, but most common in men in their 30s apparently.

Odds are v v strong its NOT that, but the takeaway point is that it may be worth pressing for a MRI, or further investigations.

I really hope your db is in good health soon.

Could it be rhabdomyolysis? It’s worth asking for tests to be done as intense physical exertion can be a cause.

Is it possible he is suffering from FND which can sometimes occur after an illness.

Epstien barr virus

Lyme disease. Try to take him to a private doctor (maybe rheumatologist ? ) who can order all tests

Thank you, gosh your poor brother, sounds terrifying! He did have an MRI on his lower back when he was having bother which showed up the disc issues. I hope your brother is recovering well.

Thank you, shouldn't be such a battle to get seen but I guess that's where we are with the NHS now.

Never heard of that, will look it up, thank you.

It could be long Covid or ME/chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia or a combination. If his blood tests continue to come back with nothing wrong, this is what it is likely to be sadly. He does need extensive testing to rule out other illnesses.

Does he feel worse if he exerts himself, especially worse say a day later?

I didb actually wonder that myself, thank you.

Can also be caused by long covid. Long covid can turn into myalgic encephalomyelitis and POTS. It’s happening to a lot of young people recently, completely disabling people who were prior to this extremely active. Hope you can find answers soon.

Yes, my husband has just suggested this to me this afternoon too, thank you.

Just updating this thread..

He had the bloods taken last week at his GP, but before he got the results, he had to go back to A&E (forced by mum!) as his knee swelled up randomly and then his foot to the point he couldn't walk, all the time still feeling exhausted and generally shit.

They gave him antibiotics, apparently muttering possible sepsis and sent him on his way. That was on Sunday. They didn't take any bloods at A&E.

He finally had the results from those GP blood results which showed high red blood cell count and low white blood cell count??? All they are doing now is doing more blood in another weeks time (next Thursday).

He is still feeling like crap and the ABs that he has been on since Sunday aren't making much difference.

I literally can't remember a time when this guy was ever ill. This is so unlike him. I guess this is one of those situations where private health care would be good 😞

@Oakconeit’s time to keep a cool head. Put results into chat gpt (or put them here and we will put into chat GPT for you, many of us have the professional version). Secondly we will find a haematologist for you. Can you go privately ? I know you shouldn’t have but go to the a&e thread and you’ll see it’s not a bad idea. Where are you based ? Please let us know and I bet we will help way more than your gp (and I come from a medial family and I’ll ask for help from them too). What about thyroid, Lyme, Epstein Barr ? All those tests done too? As I said put the results (make sure name not visible) and we will help

Rheumatologist referral would probably be helpful.

they can rule out stuff like arthritis, Lyme disease etc.

my DD has similar after glandular fever and unfortunately it is a quite common complication of some viruses but a rheumatologist will rule out more complex stuff.

Thank you both for taking the time to reply.

Thank you so much @Iamfree

I don't think he's averse to trying a private GP or rheumatologist.

Okay here goes, blood results from just over a week ago -

Serum C reactive protein 54 mg/L
Hypochromic red blood cells 14%
Basophil. 0.02. 109/L
Eosinophil. 0.06. 109/L
Monocyte. 0.58. 10*9/L
Lymphocyte. 1.83
Neutrophil. 8.08
Platelet. 350
Mean corpusc. Hb. Conc. 306
Mean corpusc haemoglobin. 29.9
Mean corpusculus volume. 96.6fl
Haemotocrit. 0.448 l/l
Haemoglobin estimation. 137
RBC count. 4.59
Total cell 10.79

@Oakconebefore anything else a CRP of 54 (fifty four correct ?) is super high and he has a significant infection in progress. Has the GP not highlighted that? What’s the normal range you see on his results ? I’m wondering if it’s another unit of measurement

@Oakconeso I would run to a rheumatologist, did the blood tests check for ANA? It can be lupus (which is a bad bad thing, I was tested for it so I can say it). There are plenty of good rheumatologists in London. Could you get a xray of hands and feet? In London oryon does that (they also give you gp referral) and I would also do an autoimmune panel and then see the rheumatologist asap . I personally don’t think red and white blood cells are too out of whack but the rheumatologist will also advise

It says reference range is below 10

He's in Warwickshire

I am London based so can’t really help but his CRP Is very high so he has a high inflammatory process somewhere. There seems to be a few at Nuffield health why don’t you give them a call? See who’s available first and ask for advice ?

I've just looked at medicheck @Iamfree . Would it be the one that focuses on Lupus that you'd recommend? (£89) Thank you

@Iamfree if he can't get private bloods done before his GP blood test, what should he be making sure they're testing other than repeating the above?

Or is it a case of they won't test anything else because it's the NHS?

Thank you