I've been struggling especially hard on and off for the past few months with crushing fatigue, among other things. I've had my thyroid tested, as well as regular blood work and testing for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus. I am under a lot of stress, but I don't feel depressed. Overall I'm happy and I love my life, so I don't think it's that. I'm on ADD medication, methylphenidate, but even with that I'm SO TIRED all the time. I could literally sleep all day long if I didn't have the kids to take care of. It's so bad now it's painful.
Here's where the paranoia comes in. I've been having what I thought were some pretty vague and unrelated symptoms for a long time now. Twice since this summer, they've gotten bad enough that I went to the doctor about them. I've been constipated since childhood and barely anything works. I get these very deep, painful "itches" in my legs, especially my thighs. It feels like someone is injecting me with a syringe. The fatigue is almost unbearable. I can sleep all night and still need to take at least 1 nap during the day. Twice in the past 2 months I've had such a hard time waking up that I was paralyzed and couldn't move or speak even though I was awake. I felt drugged. I have migraines and near-constant headaches, and several times a week I'll go completely deaf in one ear, except for a very loud ringing sound. It's like someone stuffs it with cotton. I also get dizzy spells often. Sometimes I'll just be sitting in a chair and suddenly it feels like the ground shifts under me. I almost always feel a little dizzy. My legs are getting weak. When I was at the Christmas party, I was dancing and when I tried to "get low" (even a little) my legs shook when I tried to push back up again. At one point, a friend of mine had to grab my arm and help me back up. When I work out on the elliptical for even 30 minutes, I have to be careful when I step off or my legs will give out. My legs feel like rubber for a long time after working out, and stumble a lot. Sometimes I have trouble making it from the elliptical to the parking lot after a workout. If I sprint, even a few yards, my legs want to give out. It's like they can't support my weight anymore. For a long time I thought it was just because I was overweight.
I thought all of these had nothing to do with each other, but while researching the fatigue I came across the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, and boy it scared the crap out of me! I'm afraid to go to the doctor for a couple of reasons. First, I despise my doctor. She always makes me feel like an idiot. No matter what I tell her, she rolls her eyes and treats me like I'm a whining child. Second, I don't want to come across as a paranoid hypochondriac. I don't want to put myself through the issues with the doctor only to find out it's nothing.
In your non-medical opinion, am I just being paranoid? I know the muscle weakness after working out could be perfectly normal, I just don't see anyone else climb off the elliptical and fall to one knee because their legs gave out. I was totally humiliated the first time, so now I make sure I VERY carefully get off and then sit down for a while.
Anyway... help?