Re: New GP doc visit today - Trrudy

[Guest guest]

Trudy,I have been pretty much offline for the past few days due to out of state house guests so I'm a little late responding.... I wish I would have seen this when you posted it.First off... breathe. Second thing. I'm glad the doc said

TENTATIVE on his diagnosis. One of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia is Renaud's Syndrome, another is debilitating pain. Feeling like you have been beat up, pain or sensitivities in 18 specific pressure areas, swelling of feet and hands, pain, muscle and joint pain.... did I mention pain? One of the side effects of HCV is an increased (highly increased) propensity for Fibromyalgia. If you have had HCV for 5 years you have a 50% chance of developing Fibromyalgia. That number goes up the longer you've had the virus. Many doctors don't believe in the Fibromyalgia diagnosis and therefore don't use it or they use it when they have nothing else to call the pain. I just changed my GP a few weeks ago. My old doc told me he didn't believe in the Fibromyalgia Diagnosis and will never tell a patient they have it, however, he did say that I had all the symptoms... that left me feeling confused. After an

ER visit on Easter morning with HORRIBLE swelling in my feet and legs and a not so happy follow up over the phone with that GP, I decided to change doctors. 2 days later I was in a new doctors office, someone I had met socially a few years before just once. He diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia that day. By symptoms. Now we are working on fixing me. I have pain, fatigue, swelling and rashes and am sensitive to almost all of the pressure points. Check out this website and see if your symptoms fit with the descriptions and then ask your doc if he believes in Fibromyalgia. http://www.patientslikeme.com/fibromyalgia-and-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/community If your doc doesn't believe in the diagnosis like mine didn't but you think you fit

into this grouping... seek another doctor. I've known a few people with MS and their symptoms were more specifically described as weakness on one side. One person had his leg just stop functioning for a few days where he was dragging it and walking with a cane, but he had no pain. Another who had it for many years described the same thing, weakness on one side of her body. Not pain. You are describing Fibromyalgia with your symptoms.... just another thing to look at and it's not fatal. It's a pain to deal with but it's not going to put you in a wheelchair. And there are medications to treat it. Hope this helps, just my 2 cents worth and I am not a doctor. But, I knew I had Fibro for probably 8 months before a doctor said it.Hang in there,Teri in ChicagoFrom: Trudy <trudykinsey@...>Hcv < >Sent: Sat, April 17, 2010 1:47:35 AMSubject: [ ] New GP doc visit today

Well , I think I have found one of those rare commodities, a determined & knowledgeable Doc! I had spoke at legnth with his PA and they discussed my case & decided to take me on. First visit today... Dr immediately recognized that I have Renaud's syndrome( cold bloodless fingers and toes, sporadic but cold sensitive I. E. Cool glass of drink, cool air etc. ) now to be determined why.

Tentative diagnosis of this progessive debilitating pain... MS. Now I don't know much about MS.... Pryor, Montel .... I Am scared speechless of this new possibility. Had a very hard time saying it aloud to Hubby when he asked about dr visit today. My present attitude is this: Complete Denial. Period. Cannot , will not be MS. Cause I said so . Case closed. .... For about 20 seconds & then the Elephant reappears in my head !

I remember many years ago a Doc mentioning a diagnosis of HCV ... Then = Complete Denial for about 2 years.

So, right now I fear this new beast even more(?) than the Dragon. Ignorance breeds fear. I quess I'm asking, if anybody knows anything about MS , please spread the knowledge... Oh, and Don, if by chance you are running out of research projects here is one... MS occurances in conjunction with HCV since autoimmune diseases and virus' are common causes of MS... However the tx for MS can be very hard on the liver....Go figure ! Okay it's 2 in the morning & I'm not a vampire and have to be up at 4 am...later guys, tho doubt if I can sleep... The Elephant in my head will keep me awake LOL

Hugs & Humor,

From Trudy from my iPhone