I'm paranoid, and what to do?

[manlymatt83]

Hi all,

Very quick. I was in the hospital a few weeks ago with Rhabdomyolysis... which causes muscle weakening, but I didn't have the symptoms at the time. Last week (a week after I came home), I got severe muscle weakness. I went to the regular MD yesterday and he told me to stop worrying: that blood tests came back OK and that I am just feeling the effects.

I told him I had made an appointment with a neurologist. He said that even if I was displaying symptoms of something "more" than just the Rhabdo (some kind of neurological disorder affecting the muscles), something like that doesn't usually come on over night (my muscle weakness DID come on overnight).

I have an appointment with a neurologist tomorrow morning. They had a cancellation and snuck me in earlier this week. If I go, it will make me feel better, but I also don't want to look like an ass/waste the doctors time if this is just me being overparanoid.

Should I trust the MD and just wait this out and see if the muscle weakness goes away, or should I go to the neuro anyway and actually get checked out for other possibilities ?

Please.. serious replies only.

-Matt

 

[LikeLinus]

Don't get another doctors advice, go to AT!

Seriously, ask another doctor or just go to the Neuro.

 

[Brainonska511]

Just give it a few days. If it still is bothering you after a few days, then go back to your doctor.

 

[AbAbber2k]

Paranoid over muscle weakness? How severe? Can you walk? Can you lift moderately heavy (subjective) objects? Going to the gym, stress, lack of sleep... lots of things can cause general muscle fatigue.

 

[aidanjm]

see the neurologist. it can't hurt. why not get a second opinion? that way at least your worries will be put to rest.

 

[moshquerade]

have you been tested for lyme disease or west nile virus?

 

[HardcoreRobot]

whatever is wrong, i hope fixing it fixes your posting habits too

just go to the dr

 

[Tegeril]

Second opinions don't hurt.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
Paranoid over muscle weakness? How severe? Can you walk? Can you lift moderately heavy (subjective) objects? Going to the gym, stress, lack of sleep... lots of things can cause general muscle fatigue.

I can walk, but couldn't run right now.
I can lift objects no problem.
I can even stand on one leg for a little while (my left leg longer) before buckling.
Arms are OK.

I can walk, but I have to be more conscious about things like going down the stairs, etc. If I run real fast down them my legs give out a little bit. Its just general muscle weakness in my legs that I can notice.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
have you been tested for lyme disease or west nile virus?

Lyme is negative

 

[Dobbs]

always get a second and even a 3rd doctors opinion.
Doctors are only human and do make mistakes. You want an example, I was misdiagnosed when I was 19 with what turned out to be the most severe case of ulcerative colitis many doctors had seen at that time. In about 6 weeks time I went from a very healthy and fit 225 pounds to 134 pounds due to massive blood loss. I am 6'3" tall. In reality I should have not been alive because my organs were shutting down and there was not enough blood in my body to keep the home fires burning. The best chance I got was basicly "make your peace" which turned into a week which turned into a month.... I am now 36 and outlived anyones wildest expectations, even mine, lol. It affects every breath and moment of my life and will till the end. If the original doctor that misdiagnosed me would have cleared me to see another doctor (I was working for the state of California as a fire fighter at the time and could only see a set doctor due to where we were stationed) the odds are certain it would have been caught in time to be treated and my body would not have suffered years of recovery shock.

Even if you have to pay for it out of pocket (provided you have insurance), get a second opinion!

Dont even get me started on my grandmothers misdiagnosed brain aneurysms that got by two doctors till the third one found them.

 

[manlymatt83]

ok thanks

 

[spidey07]

In all seriousness you need to see a mental health specialist.

Get the help you so desparately need.

 

[Hyperblaze]

Originally posted by: spidey07
In all seriousness you need to see a mental health specialist.

Get the help you so desparately need.

Just because he doesn't know how to interact with women?

 

[thecrecarc]

Originally posted by: Hyperblaze

Originally posted by: spidey07
In all seriousness you need to see a mental health specialist.

Get the help you so desparately need.

Just because he doesn't know how to interact with women?

dang, all of ATOT needs to go to the docs then.

 

[Platypus]

Peace of mind is worth the effort in my opinion.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Hyperblaze
Just because he doesn't know how to interact with women?

No, because always thinking something is wrong with you and denying it is a serious symptom of mental illness.

-edit- you'd be surprised the power of the mind to harm the body or the perception thereof. It's a viscious cycle. OP is in that cycle. He needs help and I hope he gets it.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Hyperblaze
Just because he doesn't know how to interact with women?

No, because always thinking something is wrong with you and denying it is a serious symptom of mental illness.

-edit- you'd be surprised the power of the mind to harm the body or the perception thereof. It's a viscious cycle. OP is in that cycle. He needs help and I hope he gets it.

My legs hurt like hell and seem to get weaker every day. Surely there is a cause for this.

 

[uberman]

Get all the opinions you want. I got hurt on a remote island, the only doctor was a DO. I didn't know I was covered to visit a real doctor in the city. Later I went to the city and eveything changed. This was not to say that DOs are bad. Company doctors are bad.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: uberman
Get all the opinions you want. I got hurt on a remote island, the only doctor was a DO. I didn't know I was covered to visit a real doctor in the city. Later I went to the city and eveything changed. This was not to say that DOs are bad. Company doctors are bad.

Do explain. Did it end up being more?

See thats the thing. I went to three doctors. One did blood work for ANA, Lyme, etc... all came back fine. The other, says that I had increased CPK for a week and now its back to normal, but that increased CPK = muscle damage, which is what I'm feeling now, about a week later. And logically, since the CPK dropped once I stopped working out, I most likely just worked out too hard. it all makes sense. But muscle aching for a week straight?

 

[bersl2]

Seeing a doctor is always a good idea.

Then again, I'm a hypochondriac, so take my advice with the requisite grain of salt.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: bersl2
Seeing a doctor is always a good idea.

Then again, I'm a hypochondriac, so take my advice with the requisite grain of salt.

So am I. Right now my muscles ache and I'm nervous that tomorrow at the doctors they are going to tell me I have some kind of deadly disease/disorder.

Is that hypchondriac? Or is that just me being legitimately concerned?

 

[winr]

I think you should be concerned......

..but, dont forecast what might be wrong with you.

Go to the Doctor tomorrow and find out if there is or isnt something wrong with you.

If there is nothing great.

If there is, then it is better knowing because then you can do something about it instead of getting worse.:sun:

Best wishes.

 

[bersl2]

Originally posted by: mjuszczak

Originally posted by: bersl2
Seeing a doctor is always a good idea.

Then again, I'm a hypochondriac, so take my advice with the requisite grain of salt.

So am I. Right now my muscles ache and I'm nervous that tomorrow at the doctors they are going to tell me I have some kind of deadly disease/disorder.

Is that hypchondriac? Or is that just me being legitimately concerned?

Having just looked up rhabdomyolysis, I will say that I've never actually had anything that seemed that serious. If I weren't so initiative-less, and I had something like that, I'd be seeing all the doctors I could too.

However, I will also say that you have already done the reasonable things you can do for the near future, and certainly you can do very little tonight. Get some sleep; if you can't, and you're willing to risk taking a medicine to help you sleep (of all the common substances, Benadryl looks like it's rather untaxing on the kidneys, but IANAD, and it's your body, not mine), consider it. Show up at your appointment; if you don't have anything wrong with you, the worst that can happen is your having to pay the bill---is your peace of mind worth that?

Speaking of medicine, this reminds me to take my anti-anxiety medicine. I didn't have any yesterday, and I had to sit through a lecture in a health/biology class, which included discussion of unpleasantries like diabetes---you should have seen me squirm.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: winr
I think you should be concerned......

..but, dont forecast what might be wrong with you.

Go to the Doctor tomorrow and find out if there is or isnt something wrong with you.

If there is nothing great.

If there is, then it is better knowing because then you can do something about it instead of getting worse.:sun:

Best wishes.

Not necessarilly. That's my fear! I'm scared I'm going to get something that doesn't have a cure. Its my worst fear.