To think this isn't normal

[sailorcherries]

I posted a while ago about severr chest pains I had during the night (www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2993423-To-request-emergency-GP-appointment-today?pg=1&order= ) and how the GP dismisses it as stress.

After this happening serveral times over the next week and a half I was sent to a&e to check for a pulmonary embolism and other issues. Kept in overnight, xrays and ct scans clear as well as ecg and blood work.

Again it kept happening and after a time where the pain lasted 3 hours I went back to a&e, same tests and same results. This time the consultant got me referred as an outpatient for gallbladder and liver ultrasounds. I had the scan 1.5 weeks ago and I've not heard back since (I will hear back either way).

Now I'm reflecting there seems to be other issues that started around the same time and are gradually building.

Excessive sweating - getting the pram bag packed or baby dressed, putting my makeup on or tidying up the house before leaving and I start sweating (back soaking, sticky to touch sweat). I thought it waa hormonal but it didn't kick in until over 3 months postpartum.
Stomach pain and bloating - particularly after eating, although nothing in particular, accompanied by bad wind.
Itchy skin - everywhere is itchy, all the time. I've scratched layers of skin off my legs. No change to shower gels, lotions, perfumes and so on.
Headaches - exceptionally sore heads requiring me to wear my glasses more often with blurred vision otherwise.
Fatigue - I've recently been finding day to day life harder, tasks that I'd normally complete without a thought are getting pushed aside. I'm trying to nap when the baby does (despite never doing this before) and I can't get up after 8 hours of sleep (baby sleeps through).
Joint and muscle pain - slowly started with my back and neck, pulled my neck/shoulder muscle twice in a month and then progressed to my shoulders and ankles. I cannot style my hair without achey shoulders and my ankles felt weaker. Ankles now feel swollen and sore, have done for days, and my knees have started too.
Moods - I'm increasingly moody, annoyed easily, upset easily, gone off sex, don't want to be touched, getting irrationally angry etc.
Stalled weight loss - losing weight regularly for 3 months after giving birth. Pains started, started exercising and eating better, no weight loss in months.
Anxiety - constant anxiety about everything. Are those people looking at me? In the car, we're going to crash and die. DS1 at his dads, something bad will happen. I'm on mat leave and I'm not due back in until January, my stuff is ready and lists made to keep me right.

On their own it doesn't seem like much but it has all started in a slow drip, drip, drip fashion since the first episode. I'd normally only be sore after exercise, being up at 4am with the baby wouldn't make me as tired as I am now and I'm normally a very relaxed individual with little to no mood swings.

As I said I'm still waiting on these bloody results but am I being a hypochondriac to believe something isn't quite right and it's all tied in? I've mentioned to my parents and a few others and get told "it's tirednese/parenting/diet" and so on. I'm starting to worry something is genuinely wrong though. If these scans come back normal would you go back to your gp and see about further investigations?

I'd go back and maybe ask about thyroid and menopause depending on age.

I'm 24, if that helps.

I would go back yes, I'd mention all your symptoms, but, unless you find the one aspect particularly overwhelming, I would probably leave out the anxiety for now, as it's likely to be blamed as the cause of other symptoms.

I've not mentioned the anxiety to anyone, for fear of easy dismissal but it is becoming quite unbearable.

Severe anxiety will cause those symptoms too, and sometimes depression. I would ask my GP. Sorry you're feeling this way

Do you have a carbon monoxide monitor?

Long term low exposure throws up many of your symptoms.

I agree with thyroid but also check ferritin and B12

We have a monitor and no issues on that fron, thankfully!

The anxiety started after the chest pains, I was blissfully happy until August time and then suddenly everything results in a burny death.

Thank you for the responses. Everything on it's own seems like random aches and pains, general life things, but noticing that they have only been present since the first pains makes me see it in a different light.

Get your thyroid tested by your gp ASAP. I have an over active thyroid and it sometimes flares up as sweating, anxiety, chest pains and other symptoms you are describing. I am 27 and got mine post Partum too, it’s more common in your twenties and after a baby, hope you feel better soon OP.

My thyroid went a bit overboard after dd1. Ask to get it checked by gp. Most settle by 12 months.

I cannot comment on any of the other issues except the chest pain and anxiety.
When my pfb was a couple of months old I had severe chest pains. I thought I was having a heart attack. That’s when I had my first of many panic attacks.
The chest pain I think was a pulled muscle from sleeping on a funny angle watching over pfb.
The anxiety however stayed. I used to lie awake at night imagining alsorts. The panic then causes many other symptoms so you genuinely feel something is drastically wrong.
20 years on I still suffer anxiety I have just found coping mechanisms.
First and foremost shout STOP in your head or out loud if you can. Then change what you are doing. Get up, do something else. Make your mind busy, phone a friend, run up and down stairs or do a couple of star jumps. The exercise changes your breathing so you stop hyperventilating and therefor stop feeling dizzy or light headed.
My mum told me to look around me and look for 10 things in another room then go write them down or tell her.
This is to distract your mind. It mostly works if you pull yourself out of it early. If not phone a friend. Or go ask a neighbour to borrow a cup of milk or something as it can help just being around other people.
I still worry about my pfb and psb to a ridiculous extent and like you worry about journeys etc. It does get easier.
I would see what your results say but try and get some help for the anxiety. Cognitive therapy is very good and is all about changing the way you think. Much better than drugs if it works for you.
Good luck with the results.

Reading your post definitely made me think of a thyroid disorder. Worth checking out, hope you get it figured out soon.

Ask about cholestasia....(the itching made me think could be that....plus gallbladder pain is often felt in shoulder and chest
www.msdmanuals.com/en-gb/home/liver-and-gallbladder-disorders/manifestations-of-liver-disease/cholestasis

It also sounds like it could be premature menopause: that can happen at a very early age. Some of my early hot flushes (I had a temporary chemo induced menopause) felt very similar to anxiety attacks, and the fear of them happening made it worse, and caused actual anxiety. But anxiety in itself, along with every one of the symptoms you mention, can be a side effect of menopause. Definitely get your hormone checked. Don't let them tell you you're imagining things - stuff can really creep up on you when it's gradual like this. But hormone related issues can be treated quite simply, so I hippie you get sorted out and back to normal soon.

Horrible itching like that along with fatigue and other symptoms were my first signs that my bile duct was blocked. Have your liver enzymes been tested?

I'm not too sure what blood tests were done. I think it was only to check for heart disease, heart attack, P.E and so on.

The only test for anything else has been the elusive ultrasound.

I've been straightening my hair for 5 minutes and my arms already ache, my stomach is painful and bloated despite not having eaten yet.

I've had enough.

It could well be linked to severe anxiety. Chest pain, breathlessness, stomach issues, various body pain (mine is in my neck), exhaustion, itching and headaches. Sounds exactly how my anxiety presents.

Although I also get migraine and am allergic to lots washing powders (massively itchy!).

Back to the doc, but it doesn't have to be anything sinister.

Scarily sounds like you've listed all the symptoms I've had, although chest pains haven't been severe. Mine started about 3 months after giving birth And I still have no answers now, my son is almost 2. Hope you get some answers

Just a complete ‘out there’ option...have you heard of Printzmetal Angina?

It’s very rare, very annoying in that it causes chest pains and other symptoms but not fatal.

I was diagnosed with it at 27 after a period of severe chest pain and other circulatory problems.

Alleviated by GTN spray so presents similar to the ‘normal’ types of Angina

I have all your symptoms and am peri-menopausal with fibromyalgia and severe anxiety.

Sounds like the symptoms I had before I was diagnosed with Addison’s disease - you’d need a specific blood test to check your cortisol levels. Of course it may not be that at all but it’s worth querying. I went back and forth to the doctors for about 8 months before I was diagnosed - I also have hypothyroidism which causes similar issues.

The chest pains,sweating, aching joints,bloating,headaches and anxiety all remind me of the symptoms a friend had before they worked out that they were intolerant to gluten. He did one week on the fat burning soup diet, which happened to be gluten free, and noticed the difference in himself almost overnight.

The itchiness makes me think you should have your liver checked.

Hope you get some answers

Just re-read your OP, really debilitating fatigue and "brain fog" were other major problems, and he was dismissed for months and months by the go,nothing showed up in blood tests.