Can PTSD really make you this sick?

[katesells]

Hello. I've been severely unwell for years with no diagnosis. All my scans and blood tests come back normal. A doctor has now suggested that I have PTSD. Could it really make me this unwell? I am 41, too weak to stand for more than a few minutes, pain in muscles, Ringing in ears, dizzy, severe chronic fatigue. I am bedbound and too unwell most days to even look after myself and I need a carer. Could this be PTSD?

 

[Freemartin]

For me, it has been that bad. I had a couple of years when I was really sick. I could barely walk, and when I tried to walk at a normal pace, I started vomiting. I was really dizzy and nauseous. I rarely could eat anything before noon because of the nausea. I had terrible anxiety almost all the time. It was just horrendous.

But the good news: it got better. Now I have no physical/somatic symptoms. I do running and boxing. I prepare my master’s thesis. In other words, physically I kick ass. :D So there is hope. Hang in there.

Would you like to tell more about your symptoms and/or life in general?

 

[The Albatross]

Too vague. Underlying issues - there's a boatload. Chronic malnutrition, dehydration, anemia... autoimmune(s) (some very hard to diagnose). A lot of stuff can be masked by meds. You don't share your dietary history, med history, nor do you need to... trauma history, what your self care is like. 41 and mostly bedbound sounds like more than PTSD to me.

I was near bed/chair bound a year... home bound a year and a half and was not expected to be able to leave home again at one point... did I have PTSD? Yeah turns out I did and was diagnosed later... but I also had a boatload of lifestyle habits/behaviors that were causing more than half of my medical complaints.

Describe your diet, hydration, self care... meds & diagnoses (medical) if you care to. Much of the symptoms you report point to something medically or psychologically more than PTSD.

 

[katesells]

Thank you for your replies. My diet is really good (I have seen a nutritionist). My hydration is good. I don't take any drugs and I don't drink alcohol. I have no known medical conditions, however I did have breast cancer 1 year and 9 months before this illness started. I did not feel traumatised by the cancer diagnosis as I caught it early however I have definitely felt more and more traumatised been stuck in bed the last 4 years feeling this unwell and panicking that I'll have to live the rest of my life like this, To say I feel stressed would not even put it into words! The condition has got much worse over the years and I definitely wonder if the stress has made it worse.

 

[Lionheart]

Stress can and will often make some chronic illnesses worse, or at least it has in my case. This doesn't mean you have PTSD if you have not been given the diagnosis. I personally would have a doctor do a thorough check-up for an underlying disorder and get a psychological evaluation. Just my two cents, (I am not a doctor). Good luck.

 

[Skywatcher]

I highly recommend that you see a therapist. Whether you have ptsd or not, this is not a quality way to experience life. In my opinion, it could be ptsd because you experienced a life threatening illness, and these symptoms could continue to ramp up making things even worse over time if you don’t find help.

 

[The Albatross]

Any chance you can get a referral to an endo? (Endochronologist?) I'm presuming you've had full metabolic panels and had your t-3/t-4 (thyroid) checked and they check out normal range?

I honestly can relate cuz even with undiagnosed PTSD and a bunch of other things... my life didn't explode til I was having standard medical defiant problems.

 

[Deanna]

Any chance you can get a referral to an endo? (Endochronologist?) I'm presuming you've had full metabolic panels and had your t-3/t-4 (thyroid) checked and they check out normal range?

A regular doctor can check the levels of your thyroid. It is a certain test ( don't know the name of the test)

Hello. I've been severely unwell for years with no diagnosis. All my scans and blood tests come back normal. A doctor has now suggested that I have PTSD. Could it really make me this unwell? I am 41, too weak to stand for more than a few minutes, pain in muscles, Ringing in ears, dizzy, severe chronic fatigue. I am bedbound and too unwell most days to even look after myself and I need a carer. Could this be PTSD?

I was in bed for 7 years on the weekends.. Couldn't do anything accept muster through work. My partner died and I lost my wellbeing (depressed) I had PTSD before that but I wouldn't be diagnosed for another 9 years after that. Pure he@l

 

[The Albatross]

Doubled back … you ever been tested for allergies or have you taken a RAST test? In my own case, I had no ability to fight off virus or bacteria and was running low grade fevers 6-10 times a day. I'm mega allergic though atypical cuz I don't have anaphylaxis or asthma. Instead of the prick test... may try to ask them for a RAST. OR... things have changed since my time (about 15 years ago):

"RAST testing, used to be the go-to blood test for helping to diagnose an allergy. However, newer allergy blood tests are now available. ImmunoCAP testing is a more common allergy blood test. Your doctor could also order an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA test."

I have chronic fatigue and some poly or fibrocystic type inflammation and pain... they know I DO have an auto immune disease but it ain't a common one and I ran out of $$$ and gave up after a decade... I concentrated instead on managing the things I do know. I did have some endo abnormalities but was denied the referral cuz of my age.

I private payed over half of my medical expenses just to know what I know about myself. Hope you get some solid medical direction soon... cuz I know my PPO clinic almost had me written off as being a hypochondriac.... til I popped up in onesies with 7 chronic diseases or ailments, none of which can kill ya.

 

[Tinyflame]

Also conditions like EDS which only can be confirmed genetically.

 

[Friday]

PTSD has laid me flat out... not as badly as depression has laid me flat out... not as badly as my immune system freaking the hell out for 2 years in response to a particularly nasty flu.

In all 3 of these cases there were other factors in play.

LMFAO... Like EDS (good timing @Tinyflame ! That literally popped up right as I was writing this! :hilarious: ), or being injured, or pregnant, or malnourished, or sleep deprived, or depressed, or stressed, or, or, or.

I’ve come to learn -for myself- that any time there’s some kind of BIG (far bigger than expected) reaction going on? There are usually multiple problems each feeding into each other and making the other(s) worse.

 

[Ronin]

Well there you have it... You had, at some time, cancer.

It aint about how things feel / if you feel traumatized by them, or not.