so.....is it okay to say this here?
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hi, my name is Erin, i am a 16 year old girl, and....................
i want to talk to people about this, but.... I'm a little hesitant to say this to my friends in real life, because I'm not sure, and a bit scared.
so, for like, the last two years i have had intense pain in my legs and lower back, that fluctuates from extremely bad to barely there, and sometimes my legs go weak, or numb. i have been to many doctors, had x-rays done, a few MRI's. all results came back negative. eventually they just said it was bursitis.(the bursa swells, causing mild to intense pain). i went to physical therapy for a few months on the doctor's order, and the problem didn't go away. so, i went back to the doctor... and they told me the same they had before--bursitis. without so much as an exam to prove it, and handed me a bottle of pills to take.
another thing they said i had to do to get better was to stop running cross country. i had been running for two years before, and was in my first varsity year. i was taken out of gym, banned from strenuous activity, and put basically on bed-rest for six months, all on the guess that i had bursitis. in theory, the rest would allow the bursa, (a sac in the hip that reduces friction between the muscle and the bone) to calm down, and stop swelling.
i spent the entire six months doing exactly as they said, resting, and taking anti-inflammatory pills. the pain was still there, and getting worse, spreading down my leg.
so more time went by, with still more doctor's visits, me still banned from track and cross country. no answers were given to my questions. every doctor or chiropractor i went to said something different--- it was a pulled muscle, growing pains, tendonitis, you name it, i had it. but, no matter what i did, the pain was still there, spreading down my leg, into my back, and into my other leg.
so, during one of my appointment last week, my doctor recommended a movement therapist, and gave me a possible diagnosis.
he said, though it was unlikely, that i might have MS.
he said that, and i felt like i might puke. all i could think was 'MS, like, that disease you get when you're old, that makes you lose control of your body? the one that can make you go insane?' i felt ... totally and utterly helpless. I'm an artist, to loose fine motor control would be to end my aspiring career. I am going to get tested for MS, and hope that this test, like all the others, comes back negative.
does anyone have any advice, or maybe have MS, and a story to share? thank you guys so much for listening, reading all this, i know it's really long. <3
i want to talk to people about this, but.... I'm a little hesitant to say this to my friends in real life, because I'm not sure, and a bit scared.
so, for like, the last two years i have had intense pain in my legs and lower back, that fluctuates from extremely bad to barely there, and sometimes my legs go weak, or numb. i have been to many doctors, had x-rays done, a few MRI's. all results came back negative. eventually they just said it was bursitis.(the bursa swells, causing mild to intense pain). i went to physical therapy for a few months on the doctor's order, and the problem didn't go away. so, i went back to the doctor... and they told me the same they had before--bursitis. without so much as an exam to prove it, and handed me a bottle of pills to take.
another thing they said i had to do to get better was to stop running cross country. i had been running for two years before, and was in my first varsity year. i was taken out of gym, banned from strenuous activity, and put basically on bed-rest for six months, all on the guess that i had bursitis. in theory, the rest would allow the bursa, (a sac in the hip that reduces friction between the muscle and the bone) to calm down, and stop swelling.
i spent the entire six months doing exactly as they said, resting, and taking anti-inflammatory pills. the pain was still there, and getting worse, spreading down my leg.
so more time went by, with still more doctor's visits, me still banned from track and cross country. no answers were given to my questions. every doctor or chiropractor i went to said something different--- it was a pulled muscle, growing pains, tendonitis, you name it, i had it. but, no matter what i did, the pain was still there, spreading down my leg, into my back, and into my other leg.
so, during one of my appointment last week, my doctor recommended a movement therapist, and gave me a possible diagnosis.
he said, though it was unlikely, that i might have MS.
he said that, and i felt like i might puke. all i could think was 'MS, like, that disease you get when you're old, that makes you lose control of your body? the one that can make you go insane?' i felt ... totally and utterly helpless. I'm an artist, to loose fine motor control would be to end my aspiring career. I am going to get tested for MS, and hope that this test, like all the others, comes back negative.
does anyone have any advice, or maybe have MS, and a story to share? thank you guys so much for listening, reading all this, i know it's really long. <3
Kass (#14135)
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06-26-2011 at 6:08 AM
I'm not a doctor, but like Inno said, I'm pretty sure that could be caused by a lot of things, and hopefully it isn't MS.<br /> <br /> @Kira it does sound like mystery diagnosis
Tiger (#42)
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06-25-2011 at 11:44 AM
Sometimes not knowing a diagnosis and reaching and grabbing at things that might fit doesn't mean they don't care, it means they don't know and are trying to figure it out.
Riff (#14157)
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06-23-2011 at 4:41 AM
Hey, man, this should be on "Mystery Diagnosis"!<br /> <br /> ...Anyways, unfortunately, I have no advice except to keep on searching until you find what's going on. It seems to me like the the doctors just don't care enough, which is very unfortunate, since they're trusted to help cure people of disease and illness and even more than that, to save lives. Just imagining what this world would come to if doctors just quit sends shviers down my spine.<br /> <br /> Oh well, I feel kinda off-topic now so I'm out.
Aeonhand (#14933)
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06-13-2011 at 10:17 PM
thank you very much, and i do hope, with all my heart, that it's not MS. i want to live my life, achieve my dreams, and i want this pain to go away. I'm touched that you care enough to take the time to post here, and to think of me now and then. I'll keep it updated, i;ll put the results here as soon as i know
GeistNoir (#4246)
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06-13-2011 at 10:09 PM
I really, really hope that you don't have MS- best of luck with that, you'll be in my thoughts. <3 <br /> <br /> And no, it's not too personal. <a href="http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/guide/fibromyalgia-symptoms">Fibro</a> is one of those things where they're not really sure what causes it.<br /> <br /> And I can't figure out why exercise would help you, but then, I'm no doctor. Please keep this thread updated; I hope you'll be alright and have something much less awful than MS. D:
Aeonhand (#14933)
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06-13-2011 at 9:57 PM
thank you guys, very very much. I'm going to a movement therapist on Thursday, and am going to be tested for MS. (hopefully) the results will come back negative, and if they do I'll look more into sciatica. I'm sick of doctors just blowing it off, going, oh, she's 16, it's growing pains. (big time BS-- i haven't grown in tow year)<br /> Geist and Carnivale, i hope your pain goes away, and you heal to live wonderful lives. <br /> <br /> Geist, if i may as, and if' it's not to personal, what causes you pain? (only asking because you mentioned something about it)<br /> <br /> currently, I'm taking tae kwon do three days a week, but go carefully because of my problem. most of the time i feel better after attending, whether that be because of the stretching or because of the fact that i actually accomplished something, I'm not sure...<br /> <br /> but i thank you, a thousand times over for your support and suggestions. it it okay if i update and let you know what the results are?<br />
Carnivale's Side (#66)
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06-13-2011 at 3:58 PM
As Geist said, it could very likely be sciatica, which means your vertebrae have become compacted, and in doing so, are squeezing the spongey pads between them outward, which then pinches or disrupts your sciatic nerves.<br /> <br /> Since you're a runner, it could easily have occurred due to the running, since it's a high-impact activity. Obviously this isn't a diagnosis, but rather than go to a hospital, I would recommend seeing a chiropractor.<br /> <br /> I've lived with sciatica since 2006. When it started, I couldn't walk upright (this was after a major car accident) without agonizing pain. Just sitting in one spot, and even lying down, was like torture. It still is, but thankfully I'm to a point now where my endurance has built up against the pain, and the pain itself has lessened over time. My sessions with the chiropractor helped to get me walking upright again, at the very least.<br /> <br /> My pain is also in my legs and lower back. It often feels like a sudden jet of an electric-sort of pain that travels down the back of my legs. Is yours like this? I'm also familiar with the numb, buzzing sensation.<br /> <br /> I have tried decompression, but for me it only seemed to make the pain worse, but that's likely because I was doing it at home with an inversion table. You may get better results going to a professional.<br /> <br /> I've had spinal problems my entire life, as well as hip problems (my pelvis seems to dislike sitting upright and tilts, which causes a length discrepancy between my legs, so I walk with a subtle limp, which aggravates the sciatica.<br /> <br /> While I haven't achieved full relief from the pain, I can at least say that it has not overly interfered with my career as an artist, so I would definitely encourage you to go to a chiropractor and see about getting some sessions and seeing what they have to say.<br /> <br /> I wish you the very best of luck.
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2011-06-13 08:59:18 by #66
GeistNoir (#4246)
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06-13-2011 at 7:49 AM
A lot of doctors just -don't- care, unfortunately. I've had more than my fair share of that.<br /> <br /> Get checked for blood clots, arthritis, fibromyalgia (my pain is similar to yours sometimes) and here's the really big one- sciatica. It really sounds like you have a pinched sciatic nerve. This can often be helped with decompression therapy; stretching the spine so the vertebrae aren't putting pressure on it.<br /> <br /> Keep it up with the MRIs, don't let them give you a CAT scan. Those things blast you with a stupid amount of radiation.
Aeonhand (#14933)
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06-11-2011 at 11:48 PM
thank you so much. i had blood tests and such done, and two MRI's done on my hips, back, and legs, and a multitude of x-rays. I'm not sure if these tests would show anything like blood clots or arthritis though...<br /> <br /> i do feel like my doctors really just don't care....it's really sad though, as i live in a small town, and am best friends with my doctor's son...(it shouldn't matter, but it sucks). my parents and i are considering going to a neurologist, hoping they may have a good idea of what's going on. i really appreciate your advice, and taking the time to answer. it means alot
Crestfallen (#37)
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06-11-2011 at 1:08 AM
I'm no doctor.. But there are other things that could be going on and it sounds like you doctors are just not interested in helping you and they're pulling off the easiest thing "Oh, it's burtitis." When burtitis can be caused by a multitude of things.<br /> <br /> I'm surprised they didn't check for a blood clots? Usually if someone is complaining about extreme pain, numbness, and such they check for that first. Unless they did?<br /> <br /> I'd get checked for Rheumatoid arthritis, Slipping Disks in the back, get your tail bone checked? I've also heard of cysts/tumors growing on some bones can cause similar problems.<br /> Other than that, I'd go ask for a referral to a Neurologist just to check to see if it's not pinched nerves(my step-mother had this problem).<br /> <br /> But don't let the doctors take the easy way out.. They need to be pushed if they're just 'going through a list' of illnesses and not getting to the definite bottom to everything, they're getting paid by you to figure out and treat your problems. Just remember that.