Hello all,

My name is Brandon 5'8'' 160 lbs, athletic and seemingly healthy 30 yr old, and I suffer from pretty sever health anxiety (hypochondriasis). It takes up so much of my thoughts that it is hard to focus on anything else in life for any extended period of time. I'm just not in a good place right now.

My most recent story goes as follows:

I woke up a couple of weeks ago with a mild fever, and had a headache for about 2 days. After rest and plenty of liquids, I was feeling better then woke up last Friday feeling like I had put in a full body work-out and went to my GP. It said it seemed like a classic virus and I would be over it in a few days. Well, the 2nd day was worse, and I lost a lot of stregnth in my grip and felt fatigue. I went to an urgent care the next day and talked to a doc who just agreed with my family guy.

Thankfully the soreness went away, and I went to a follow up on Wed. I had been feeling pretty weak in my arms and legs, but there wasn't actually any stregnth lost. Still, my doctor said it's probably viral and ordered a couple of blood test for my peice of mind. Well, my hemoglobins came back perfect, but I got a call the next day that I had an abnormal CPK reading (just over 1,000) . Immediate Panic! My doctor called later on saying he still thinks it's viral and would like to retest in a week, and run a couple of other tests. I'm thinking it will be another cpk test and maybe a muscle biopsy.

So over the last couple of days I still have some feelings of weakness, especially in my forearms, and upper thighs. I am extremely nervous and have had little appietate since I started thinking obsessively last weekend. I am actually down about 8-9 pounds.

Yesterday started out as the best day so far so I decided to test myself a little. I did a couple of sprints in the backyard, shoveled, and went swimming with my kids. I came home feeling great. I took a bath, and when I got out, my arms gave in again. They have been feeling funny ever since. They feel like a weak, kind of cold, semi-tingling, and over all uncomfortable feeling. There is no question that they are still stronger that they were a week ago though. I was almost terrified to go to sleep, and I thought I might wake up without any feeling in my arms. I did wake up this morning with my right arm asleep a little but that's pretty common for me.

The nice thing is I have not had a fever or headache in a week, when usually without caffeine I succumb to one by noon.

Obviously, I am thinking there is a possibility that I have some sort of debilitating cancer, ALS, MD, or some muscle wasting disease they have not discovered that is going to kill me in the next couple of weeks. Maybe it's my heart not delivering enough oxygen to the rest of my body because of a leaky valve. Maybe a tumor on my spine somewhere! I know that viruses can take their sweet time leaving their hosts the way they found them, but it can't be that simple for me.

The last thing that I'll mention that is with each doctor's visit, they keep addressing the fact that I have a compulsive disorder of some king and want to put me on Celexa, which I have been on before and I remember it working well, so for everyone who realizes that I am a bit cooky I am starting that right after this is over. It's just that I remember one of the side effects of the drug was that it casued my arms to tingle! (5 yrs ago)

Well, For anyone that has actually taken the time to read this, I want to extend my thanks, and if you have some feedback for me I would love to read it. I see a lot of activity on this board, and will keep you updated as my situation progresses.

I am going to play some softball today to try to get my mind off of this for a while!

Welcome to Neurotalk!

There are many causes of elevated CPK.

I'd take it easy exercise wise until you have a retest.

Heavy muscle activity can raise CPK. An injury, a vaccine or injection, some medications (statins for cholesterol are common culprits), some antibiotics, etc.

People with virus infections, should not exercise heavily while ill.
The virus can go into the heart, in rare cases.
My son's former HS teacher lifted weights and worked out with a virus, and it inflamed his heart. So do be careful.

I went to play softball today and it ok....until the end of the day.

I felt pretty weak this morning so I decided to only bat. Even that was somewhat of a struggle. These thoughts are crippling me. I didn't play in the field. It was cold and windy, and that may have added to it. If I have some kind of virus maybe I should just rest COMPLETELY for a few days to try to get over it? Any thoughts there?

My arms feel like they have been squeezed off at the shoulder or a charlie horse or something. Still no 'real' weakness as I am still not really limited with what I can do. Just scared. I am very committed to not seek medical attention till my follow up on Wed. and I feel fine otherwise. But every symptom is crippling. What is the soreness comes back? What about headaches? New symptoms?

Anyway, just feeling ******. I am goingto try to relax with a warm drink, a blanket and a night with the fam. Talk to you all soon.

I cant think of the muscle disease i was reading about with a high cpk,,,but re do your test,,and auto immune and fibealgia[typo] and also testicular cancer can mimic this,,,im sure you GP is running you thru the wringer with test,,keep us posted and if you want to pm me feel free,,,,,,,,bobber,,,,,,prayer is very powerfull

Welcome to NT

It's a good post to lean on when you're not feeling like yourself. It'll be okay. So far nothing you can't overcome.

Hope you get to feeling better soon.

Hey guys.

I actually woke up feeling pretty good. I can feel some remnants of weakness in my arms, and I have a little stuffy nose.....But I slept pretty good, and feel a bit better. Heres to hoping THAT progresses, and normal test results this week. Thanks for the messages!

Hello Brandon, and welcome to NeuroTalk!

I'm so glad you're feeling better now. Best of luck with your tests, may what you have be something that is easy to correct.

I did forget to mention an important piece of info.

Last month I went in with a constant tingle in my pinky (Ulnar). Neuro said I could have injured it in a number of ways and it should get better slowly over the next couple of months.

I had EMG (that arm) that was normal and a my NCV test was okay too. The slip also notes a sensory test that no abnormalities came up on either.

Should any of that help me with peice of mind?

Thanks, Brandon

Dear Brandon,

I think it is good that you are starting on antidepressants. The SSRI's, such as Celexa, are good with OCD, too. The mind and body are strongly connected, and I, too, have too much worry about health concerns, with ill results and many diagnoses. Do you have any history of back injuries that could be causing numbness in your arms? Good luck with it all, and try to Trust in the Lord. billie

Billie, Thank you for your thoughts.

I have horrid posture that may finally be catching up to me, but other than that, not really.

I have been trying to redevelop my faith over the last couple of days and beleive that this episode is a calling back. I went to church yesterday for the first time in a year or so, and it was the best day I have had in a long time. I'll keep prayin, and start the Celexa this week after my results come back.

Thank you again Billie, god bless.