Mystery illness!Optic neuritis,gastritis,reflux,dizziness?
I had a mystery illness 5 years ago. Drs really can't give an answer as it what it was.Just wondering if anyone had had similar or had any thoughts.
It went like this: June.violent stomach bug. 1 week later had chest pain so bad i thought I was having a heart attack. Tests ruled out heart. Dr said reflux and gave me pills. Pain stopped but I felt weak and shaky and achy, with some dizziness and morning nausea. Had palpitations (probably stress) and a deep ache in my left thigh muscle which lasted 6 weeks,plus pain along my left collarbone to tip of shoulder again for about 6 weeks. Drs kept saying it was 'stress'. For the first time in my life I was signed off work.
Got a very globus/contricted sensation in my throat (this probably WAS stress) which lasted 3 months. Eventually vanished and I began to feel a tiny bit better. then (this is November now) I noticed a small grey spot in one eye. A week later I went into a bright shop and it was like a camera flash had gone off in my eyes,whiting everything out. From there my vision went all frazzled and I began to lose light perception and colour vision. I went to hosital and they diagnosed. optic neuritis in BOTH eyes. They thought I had a brain tumour but an mri ruled it out. Their next guesses were fluid on the brain or multiple sclerosis--again the mri and a lumbar puncture ruled it out.
At the same time, I had the chest pains again despite taking the meds, though this time they were less severe but lasted days (the drs still said stomach acid inflaming the esophagus.)
Over the next few weeks my vision return to normal and I began to feel better generally. i changed my stomach pills to something else and had no more pain.
However over the next while I had other symptoms,such as dizziness when turning my head which lasted about 2 months each episode,although I felt much better in myself.
I had another brain scan and follow up tests just to rule out MS recently, and i have been totally discharged. I am not quite the healthy person I once was though.
Other notes: about a year before this started I had been in Europe on holiday. On the way back I had flu-like synptoms that were severe but didn't develope into anything. A month later my ankle swelled and I had a funny depressed mark on it. I went to the dr and they just seemed to think it was veins swelling but I've never had that before or since! Iremember having about 6 weeks after where I felt 'not quite right'-shaky, flushed,achy. Told myself it was stress at the time. Wondering now if it could have been a tick bite or something?