To ask your opinion..

[BeDearFox]

I’ve posted a few times so I understand if I’m reported etc.

basically I’ve been unwell for the best part of a year. My symptoms are -

burning skin (doesn’t always feel hot, not tender but feels to me like it’s burning)
cold chills every day (shivers go through me)
itchy skin
inability to regulate temp
occasionally night sweats
LOSS OF APPETITE
I’ve lost 2 stone
nausea
dizziness
severe fatigue
heartburn stomach pains
occasional constipation and diarroah
shortness of breath

ive had a chest, abdomen and pelvis ct, a brain MRI, an endoscopy, a ct colonoscopy, a chest xray, Trucheck cancer blood test. I’ve seen a gastroenterologist and a haemotologist.

only abnormality is raised platelets which have been between 410 and 498. Low folate too.

doctors are now saying they will do no further tests, saying they might not ever find an answer and to give up basically. I’ve spent £5k privately I can’t afford to carry on. They just say it’s severe stress.

help?

Honestly- you have had a number of tests and seen several medically qualified individuals and you thought that an opinion from Mumsnet might help?

Can you not see that will simply fuel your health anxiety, as well meaning but non-qualified people, come up with spurious diagnoses?

Yes, really. All your symptoms are things associated with health anxiety.

Have you not asked the multitude of medical professionals who've been dealing with you?

They'd know more than random chat forum members.

I’m getting no where with doctors etc. they’re not willing to give me any other diagnoses than anxiety. I started amitriptyline that I had in my drawer and it did help slightly with the burning skin and chills but seemed to give me reflux. I just wish they would help me look into what it could be I’m so lost

Might not be just one thing OP.

Could be a combination of things. I had the burning itchy skin, found out I was allergic to MI and was perimenopausal too.

Why are you not prepared to accept the diagnosis you have been given? You keep saying that they can’t find out what’s wrong with you, but they have.

A psychiatrist - a specialist consultant eminently qualified to diagnose mental health conditions - has given you a diagnosis of severe anxiety. Why don’t you believe them? A mental health condition is by far the most likely explanation for your symptoms, all of which are things that are prime candidates for being psychosomatic.

The reality is a myriad of tests have not flagged a single thing wrong.
If you had cancer or an infection or an autoimmune disease - something would have shown up on the many blood tests and scans you have had.
You seem very anxious about it - so yes, severe health anxiety can cause the ‘symptoms’ you have.
people who are stressed often lose weight and feel rotten.

Except the doctors really have looked into it - given all the blood tests, scans and scopes you have had.

The doctors - both for physical and mental ailments - have looked into it. Diagnosis isn't "pick and mix" - they have told you what they believe and you refuse to accept it and want something else. It doesn't work like that. And it is very dangerous to start self-medicating with stuff "from your drawer". You need to ask them what you / they can do to support you in the diagnosis that you have.

If you've still got money left for private, see a psychiatrist with a special interest in medically unexplained symptoms. They'll help you probably more than further medical tests will

How long did you stick with the amytriptaline?

I’ve been taking it just over a week but it seems to have triggered awful acid reflux

I'm sorry you are experiencing this OP.

If the Psychiatrist has diagnosed health anxiety, why are you taking amitriptyline you had in your drawer? Haven't they prescribed you some anxiety medication?

Amitriptyline is a powerful antidepressant / pain medication. It should only be taken as prescribed but I don't think it's normally prescribed for anxiety(?)

Your physical dificulties may be psychological or they may be physical.in origin, or maybe a bit of both. I guess no-one, not even the doctors know for sure. But sounds like the physical health docs have ruled out most serious conditions so maybe try the psychiatrist again and ask for anxiety meds or better still, psychology support, and go.from there.

Have you seen a rheumatologist? Could be an autoimmune though I imagine the private doctors would have thought of that.

OP, why did you have amitriptyline ‘in a drawer’ in the first place? And why have you started taking it?

I spent nine months on amitriptyline. You should neither ‘have some in a drawer’ nor should you be taking it without being told to.

It’s a strong drug with numerous side effects. Some of the side effects - fatigue and weakness, constipation, dizziness, nausea and stomach problems, loss of appetite - are the very symptoms you say you experience.

You will also experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop it.

Every single one of your symptoms are physical symptoms associated with anxiety. The condition you have been diagnosed with by an expert consultant doctor who specialises in such illnesses.

Your repeat threads asking people to suggest illnesses you might have are doing nothing to help you when you have already had every test and investigation under the sun and when you already have a diagnosis.

Why didn't you answer my question op?

I was prescribed it about 18 months ago for some muscular pain but never took it. The psychiatrist gave me aglomelatine but it can damage your liver which I didn’t really fancy. I rang him and said I’m thinking of trying amitriptyline and he said that’s fine just don’t take both tablets at the same time.
It actually really really helped with my burning skin and chills and some chest pain I was having. But it caused this awful reflux where I could feel food going down in my throat 😞

Sorry I’ve just seen it. No I’ve not left the UK since 2018 😞

I believe there are some medical problems that we don’t yet have the skill to diagnose.

I also belief that the mind and body are interlinked and stress etc can cause real physical symptoms.

I think you’ve reached a temporary end of road in your search for answers with the medical profession, if they won’t do further tests.

I also have unanswered medical problems (extreme fatigue and other symptoms) for most of my life and I’m probably much older than you.

I am currently living my life as best as I can and adapting my life style to fit in with my symptoms. I am being as healthy as I can be and managing my stress as best as I can.

I have accepted this is my life now. It may be that in the future some symptom may arise or some blood test will show something that will lead to a diagnosis.

I also believe that blood tests don’t always tell the whole story. Ie I read that the NHS range that show normal results for say, thyroid, are not the same in other counties. So a normal in the UK may be deemed too high, or too low in another country. I also think that some people are just more sensitive - so a normal reading at the low end could still cause problems for some people.

You don’t say how old you are. I found the menopause added a whole load of new symptoms, and many of your current problems sound similar.

I would suggest that you concentrate on dealing with your current problems and read widely to find any solutions. Ie I find cold gel packs really helpful for burning skin and hot sweats. I also seem unable to regulate my body temperature.

You may find something happens in the next couple of years, or you read something that helps to find a diagnosis- and may lead to further tests.

Someone suggested FND. There is a book called It’s All In Your Head which deals with this topic. But I actually think that even if they can’t find anything medically wrong with you - it doesn’t ALWAYS mean there is nothing medically wrong with you - but agree that the mind can produce real symptoms.

There is an article online about a guy who was practically bedridden and discovered through his own research a problem with his own adrenal glands that the medical establishment said wasn’t possible. He proved them wrong and is no longer bedridden and gives talks on his surgery and recovery.

Not having a diagnosis can be incredibly hard, so I understand why this matters. Not every medical problem has a cure or can be easily treated. The only consolation I can offer you is that after all these tests, you pretty much know what you don’t have. If that is in fact any comfort to you?

Just because you don’t have an answer now, doesn’t mean you will never have one. Just try to deal with what you have for the moment in the best way, and hope for the nearish future that things will change as medical knowledge increases.

Right sided chest pain under ribs, itchy skin and reflux.. I wouldn't rule out a liver issue

Or a food allergy

But yes, I would keep an eye on your day to day workload/stressors and keep up self care through this. Mental health issues can take your attention off self care without realising and lead you down another path and that applies or all of us

So, you were diagnosed with two conditions (muscular pain and anxiety) and didn't take the prescribed medications for either of them and refuse to believe the doctors who diagnosed you, because despite the myriad of tests and investigations you've had both on the NHS and privately which all suggest that the diagnosis of severe health anxiety is correct, you think you have something else wrong with you.

You then decided to take some strong medication out of the blue for a condition for which it was not prescribed. And are now fretting about side effects.

OP, once again, everything points to your problem being psychological/psychiatric.

I wish you well and I hope you don't continue to spend thousands of pounds and hours of medical professionals' time on pursuing further diagnoses when you already have a diagnosis that is highly likely to be correct.