Need help! I have CFS and Fibromyalgia my son 30 is sick we have at a mental doctor??

[hensue]

My son has always had anxiety severe. He has agraphobia and bouts of depressiion.
He was on no meds and has not felt good. Severe fatigue feels like he is dying. I need some help. He had anxiety attacks driving and thought he has a brain tumor and then heart attack. Even called an ambulance driving because he thought he was having a heart attack. He is convinced something is physically wrong with him. Now he has enlarged lymph nodes in groin. Presses on arm and it hurts, lower back hurts. He is severely fatigued!!!
When this all started he was having problems with wife because he is so fatigued?? Depression? Physical?
He would panic and go to the emergency room at night and day. He has had 3 cat scans and mri and prostate cat scan. I finally got him home and took him to a physc. he gave him klonopin and celexa.
My pain I was unable to sleep he can sleep even before the klonopin so I did not think it could be CFS. Now I am wondering is this all in his head or what? All his test have been normal. For a man I think CFS is different than a woman.
Thanks
hensue

 

[Tulip]

The problem is that there are over 300 illnesess that cause "fatigue". Your son needs to be seen by an ME/CFS specialist (if possible) and properly evaluated. If ME/CFS is ruled out then other illnesses obviously need to be looked at. Has his gp done testing for such things as cancer?, even though the scans are clear?.

Good luck

 

[glenp]

No, not all in head

Many have trouble getting sleep and others have trouble not being able to stay awake. I used to nod off and loose time and am now the opposite and need sleep meds. Is your son monitoring his bp and hr, he may have oi. Google dysautonomia. Many with pots are misdiagnosed as having panic attacks (I was) I think many of us often think our time is up. Some physicians believe that a virus is attacking the heart and prescribe immunovir. It makes sense

glen

 

[taniaaust1]

I suggest to take a look at the canadian consensus document ME/CFS definition as it helps to separate ME/CFS from other conditions, which may appear like CFS. (The CDC has some bad CFS diagnostic definitions out in which some with other issues are sometimes mistaken for ME/CFS). http://sacfs.asn.au/download/consensus_overview_me_cfs.pdf Does he fit the canadian consensus document definition of it?.... Make sure he isnt wrongly diagnosed either way.

Anxiety, panic attacks and depression of may be symptoms of ME/CFS and he's at increased risk due to you having it.

He could also have tests done to see if he has any of the common ME abnormalies which would show it was more then just depression or anxiety eg postive Rombergs test (you could test that at home), abnormal EEG on brain waves, POTS testing (you could test him at home for POTS) etc etc Also consider things like does he get fevers, or is his BP low as low BP is found in 86% of those with ME/CFS so that could be an indication of CFS as one dont expect low BP for anxiety.

With thought put into what symptoms he has and what he hasnt got.. it shouldnt be hard to tell if he has ME or not as ME with its symptoms over a wide area of body does stand out (I assume doctors have done all the normal kinds of tests and found nothing).

Not everyone with ME/CFS have sleep issues, based on ME/CFS studies the stats of those with ME and sleep issues really vary "Sleep disorder/disturbance (insomnia, unrestorative sleep, unusual nightmares): 65-100% " http://wwcoco.com/cfids/bernesx.html.

 

[leaves]

Whatever the cause, your son clearly is not well. 3 steps I think will help a lot. For a lot of things, the sooner you treat the better.
(1) Try to put him off gluten and casein/ milk products. That helps a lot of people. Please try that.
(2) Moreover try to put him on a good quality multivitamin, for example from the Thorne brand http://www.iherb.com/Thorne-Research-Basic-Detox-Nutrients-360-Veggie-Caps/18722?at=0 (but dont take 12 but 6 caps!)
(3) Other stuff that may help him is sam-e, rhodiola, theanine
xxx

 

[hensue]

No one knows how much I appreciate these answers! All his blood comes back normal. He does have elevated blood pressure when he says he is in pain or goes to ER.
( Elevated blood pressure Anxiety and Pain) He has no insurance but has gone to 3 different hospitals. He will have insurance in about 3 weeks. He says his pain is worse but the celexa is helping the mental. He is asleep and when he is awake he is in a lot of pain.

The fatigue is probably the klonopin and celexa but I know he hurts when I gave him a half of darvocet and he thought it was a valuim. He has never taken any drugs. He said the valuim you gave me helped my pain. He has lower back pain and keeps saying his arm is killing him and his lymph nodes in arm are swollen. Leaves he will not take anything because of the klonopin and celexa he is taking. He is going to bump up to 20 mg tonight hopefully he will have a better day. He has had an eeg that is heart right? It was normal and the cat scans were normal he is convinced he has cancer.
Will this be a process of elmination?? As soon as he gets insurance he is going in for a colonoscopy. He does take flomax to urinate ( anxiety) I have the same problem and it is not anxiety.
Keep it coming there is an answer on this forum I KNOW! All of you are brilliant and I feel like I am going crazy not knowing what to do. He said if the pain was like this in six months he did not want to live. He has a daughter and he lives for her. He is not functioning at all.

Thank you so much
When your son is suffering you are suffering ( his mother and father)

 

[hensue]

no fevers and so far blood test are normal. Would you start with a neurologist first? How do you rule out cancer? Both of my parents died of cancer. He lives in NC so I am not sure where to take him when his insurance kicks in. He says he wont make it by then.

 

[MEG]

Hensue...
You are right...when one of our children suffers, we, as parents suffer.

I believe you said your son is in North Carolina. The Hunter Hopkins Center is in Charlotte, NC. Dr Lapp is an Internal Medicine doctor...he would be excellent to figure this out. So would Dr. Laura Black...she is comforting and nurturing. If you cannot get him to Dr Lapp, please try to find a good Internal Medicine doctor to help put the pieces of this puzzle together.

I also agree with Leaves...can you see if he will stop eating gluten? I know many people with psychiatric issues (anxiety, depression) that get better when gluten is removed from their diet.

 

[hensue]

Thank you everyone I am in tears and do not know what to do? Do you think they will take him without insurance??

 

[Timaca]

I am so sorry that you and your son are suffering. Because he has swollen lymph nodes in his arm and groin area, he may be battling an infectious pathogen. Make sure the doctors have ruled out these medical problems: http://chronicfatigue.stanford.edu/overview/diagnosis.html If those come back normal then look at these infections: http://chronicfatigue.stanford.edu/infections/ If you click on each infection it will explain what tests to run at what labs.

These infections can cause anxiety, fatigue, pain and many other symptoms. You may want to watch Dr. Montoya's presentation at the bottom of this page: http://chronicfatigue.stanford.edu/

Best, Timaca

 

[taniaaust1]

Seeing he has a lot of lower back pain.. I suggest he try a couple of sessions at a good chiropractor (ask around with your friends where you live and see if anyone sees one they can recommend to you) to see if chiropractor would help it any.