One really does have to wonder though how many arm chair physicians there are here when the only person with an actual Medical Degree in the discussion posts an article discussing symptoms that we, as physicians, do not always have an answer for and people automatically assume they know or steer the conversation to mental illness or stress or anxiety causing somatic issues rather than it just simply being some other problem we overlooked. It would be a disservice to our patients for us to dismiss their symptoms as somatic and far too many are entirely too quick to jump to that conclusion rather than consider that we simply do not always have the answers yet, but not to give up on being able to help provide people with relief for their symptoms.
First of all, my dizziness and fainting spells have been directly related to my sinus issues that have actually been diagnosed and have been undergoing surgery for in addition to lowered oxygen levels as a result of the severe damage that was done to my lung tissue by a virus. The intermittent reduced amount of oxygen causes a number of symptoms ranging from headaches, organ damage, and interference with brain function. It can interfere with everything from your ability to digest food to being able and body's ability to heal itself. It is not uncommon for patients with lung conditions, that are a result of having a virus like COVID_19 and others, such as asthma, bronchitis, COPD, ect to have a range of other symptoms associated with this that we do not know how to treat well. Often we overlook intermittent problems because it is not always apparent that is what is going on because we have to be able to see what is happening at the time in order to give a proper diagnosis, this, in addition to us still discovering new illnesses and conditions all the time as we are far from " knowing" all the conditions one can actually have yet. I have stated repeatedly that one day I hope we look back on our " modern medicine of today" as barbaric and outdated because there really is so much we do not know or understand yet and are constantly learning. As a physician, we have to understand that we are always learning, no matter how much we think we already know, we are still learning things all the time that constantly surprise us. This is why it is important that if we do not have the answers, it is good to consult with our peers in specialized fields that can offer some insight to problems we do not understand to help us work through whether or not there is something we simply could have overlooked, which is often the case.
Other Rheumatic disorders such as Fibromaylgia can be set off by an injury, viral infection, childbirth, or other illness causes widespread amplified pain shooting throughout the body. While often misdiagnosed and misunderstood, it is actually now believed to be a lifelong prototypic central nervous system disorder where there are disturbances in how the brain processes pain and other sensory information. Fibromaylgia also frequently occurs alongside other painful condtions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic immune disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren’s syndrome. Neuroimaging has shown us that there are structural, functional, and chemical differences in the central nervous system of Fibromaylgia patients and correlate with pain severity. In severe cases, we have had a great deal of overlap with small fiber neuropathy , skin biopsy demonstrating a reduction in intraepidermal nerve fiber (IENF) density has been present in many of the patients Fibromaylgia tested indicating SFN as well.
The problem with being able to achieve proper diagnosis is the biggest hurdle to patients experiencing these symptoms ,however, as the tests required to even achieve a proper diagnosis are expensive and inaccessible to most people seeking treatment from their primary care physicians and like others here have jumped to dismissive conclusions such as " anxiety" , the same sadly often occurs entirely too often and these suffering these conditions are left misdiagnosed, suffering and untreated entirely too often instead.
USA
