Symptoms gradually becoming worse and advice please?

[Elizsabeth]

I was diagnosed with dyspraxia while at university due to the struggles, especially processing struggles, I have. I have always had struggles, but since things have gradually got worse. My understanding is that dyspraxia isn't known to get worse at least (though there does appear to be stuff left to understand about dyspraxia). It doesn't follow stress patterns, just got gradually worse over time and it is pretty serious now.

Speaking to doctors is generally useless. They normally write off the dyspraxic problems as being stress related or psychological. I know that there are certain training providers that may be able to help. I have noticed that interestingly my French studies seem to have a positive effect on my symptoms. Though things are generally irregular and I now have serious cognitive problems and serious movement problems.

I am at present being seen by a movement disorder specialist neurologist, because it needs to be looked at as to why things are getting worse over time.

I would really appreciate any suggestions, any other examples of symptoms becoming gradually worsened and any supportive training or help that anyone could suggest.

Thanks!

[Tim G]

Hi Elizsabeth

I have had a verry much simmler situation where basickly I was at collage / unie and it went down hill (espshlie towards the end) and the presher, stress and espshlie dyspraxicia got to me (allthough I dident know how much it was affecting me at the time).
It ended in me having a compleate brakedown and leaving alltogether at the begging of my 3rd year (autum of 2010). Then the problems with major axianty and depreshion set and i got referied to the mental helth outpaitint clinic and with help from them and the other local NHS mental helth services I am better then I was prevsoley but there is a way to go

I am not quite sure about changes with dyspraxicia over time but it seams as though beceuse your prone to the issues due to dyspraxicia then they are being provoced and made worse by the stress and presher of unieversty.

My advice would be to seek / demarnd help from your GP and the movemnt speleshest and also talk to the unies dysablitie officer / person and get advice and help from them. This is clearly a bigger issue then just stress but it defuntly has phyclogicial and cognitive elements in it as well so get a referial to the mental helth team for help with that side of things.

Consider the option of leaving and going back home, reassessing the situation and get help before moving forward. If its too much then thats just how it is, there is no point in making it worse for yourself if you really can't cope.

[Elizsabeth]

Thank you for your reply.

It isn't stess. I finished university years back and I live at home. I have it made to some extent!

One thing I have found is the effect of vitamin overdose that certainly is in line with most of my symptoms (can affect muscle function, strength, nervous system and cognitive functioning. Since coming off them I have been a lot better. Certainly hypertension, muscular weakness and severe fatigue will not help matters. I post these findings to help others mainly. I'm 98% certain that it is this, though the long term effect remains unseen. However at least things have gone the correct way now.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 002596.htm
http://www.vitaminstohealth.com/vitamin-overdose.html

Generally doctors write dyspraxia off as 'stress' anyhow, and I'm normally hitting a brick-wall with doctors. These findings we actually stumbled across and it appears to be a key player.

[Elizsabeth]

The problem is that, I exercise regularly and I just become more tired overall. My mum does most of the cooking so yes I do eat a huge amount of veg, I drink plenty and normally get plenty of sleep. Also, I graduated two years ago and have still become worse than ever. There is no link between it becoming worse and something obvious like study, sleep, etc etc.

[Tim G]

Do you work and if so how is this and how has it been as this could affect things.
Also you talk about your diet and vitemens etc - comming off them is a verry good idea as synthetic vitems dont help or work verry well - getting the required vitamens out of food is a better option.
What is your diet like - what do you eat?

[Elizsabeth]

I am unemployed at the moment. When I have worked I have normally become so ill after a month of full-time work that things don't work out. And lecture-based training is becoming more and more impossible (as I found out when I received a job offer last year but couldn't complete the training for it). At the moment I am hoping to be referred to remploy for help. I have used Shaw Trust before now but they weren't very ideal for my needs. I think remploy may have more connections anyhow, and I have been told recently by a dyspraxia foundation contact that they have recently taken on board something to do with dyspraxia, which surely can only be a good thing (I hope). Really I need part-time or job share, ideally in a calm/quieter environment. I have a sympathetic disability employment advisor and my local job centre is fully aware of the situation and barriers, which is why we are hoping remploy may be the answer.

My main anxiety in my life is based around doctors and hospitals. After I became very ill last year I was referred to a neurologist and have seen a number of specialists since. However, half the problem is that professionals generally have varying ideas about dyspraxia (my local GP doesn't believe that I can have dyspraxia just because I have a degree), one neurologist totally dismissed the idea that dyspraxia was any sort of condition, a second was not much better but just less rude about it, the neuro- psychologist at least appeares to recognise dyspraxia as a condition even if he had a varying viewpoint to the educational psychologist regarding methods of diagnoses - hence it being a main aspect of anxiety in my life, which I wouldn't have if I hadn't fell ill originally in the first place. Things were becoming worse prior to seeing doctors, but some refuse to see that and just fob me off with so called stress or mood issue without realising that they are the ones causing the stress. Another point is that I struggle to organise my thoughts and communicate them across during consultations. Generally I feel that I am hitting a brick wall and probably seeing the wrong doctors for the support required if at all now.

As things stand, I am 95% certain that if anything is the culprit to making things worse is my tendency to tire, physically and mentally, very quickly. I am pretty certain that I have run out of stream to push through any more, which is why I need the correct support (ie to get suitable employment and hours etc). By the way my background is science/laboratory (I generally find that coordinating movements less problematic as long as it isn't high pressured to coordinating thoughts and words and social and communication knock-on effects). If there is something that needs to be looked at regarding my abnormal tiredness, then am I likely to be seeing the wrong doctors (I've had problems here since childhood, I remember by each school holiday I was wrecked, and you get more school holidays than work holidays, hence the problems securing full-time work). So if it is just a worn-out effect that has built up over time then the question arises of why am I now still dealing with doctors? I have become a lot better since and I'm certain that the head-jerking was a result of me being pushed to the edge after a not nice event, and I'm just my normal tiredness now. I did function temporary better after getting back from my break in France (I have church contacts over there who I like to stay with), I started becoming wrecked again when dealing with doctors (I had physio for my neck and back due to the head jerking, but I find that walking appears to keep that at bay). Perhaps I need to go back to France ;-) ! I am taking a retreat locally next week, I always find that the structure of a retreat helps so it should be good. One thing when I spoke to an advisor was that she said that I need to get the proper support and not push through things on my own anymore, hence looking into remploy and trying to get as much advise as possible. It is exactly like I'm becoming less and less able to push through with force, as if I've been gradually losing stream.

The other thing that has come to mind is that, I don't know for certain about dyspraxia, but other similar conditions like ADD can have their symptoms slightly alter as women get older (changes in hormones as become older have more effect that in men), and I can't see ADD being the only condition where this is the case with women. Perhaps I should start a tread-post to get women's experiences as they have become older? Just a thought that I have come across as I know that there is still a lot unknown about dyspraxia. The other thing that will have knock on effects is that I have symptoms of hormone imbalance, that can make me quite ill at certain times if untreated, and this illness then will have similar effects to tiredness and being under stress on dyspraxia. My medication does have side effects which can lead to me being more tired than otherwise, but I function when I feel off with this unlike when ill due to being untreated. I think it would be interesting to hear about other women's experiences for these reasons.

I used to take a multivitamin (it appears to be recommended by many doctors, plus my mother). I came off it in January and it appeared to at least snap me out of the head jerking. I have a good varied diet, normally cereal, toast or porridge in the morning, sandwich, fruit and sometimes other lunch snacks depending on the day, or often left-overs from dinner the night before if at home, dinner ranges from risotto, pasta, curry, often with many veg, fish, meat, or fish and veg, or stew (meat and veg), etc. I think that covers most of it. I normally cover the meat, fish, fruit and veg, good carbs etc. Often have lentils and pulses in vegetarian cooking also, and we cover a wide range of veg in the cooking.

A big thing is that I am uncertain whether putting myself through with doctors who don't even recognise dyspraxia as a condition, whether it is a good thing or doing more harm than good??????? Either way, I'm not jumping to any speedy decision and waiting to see what support I can get. It may be that I need to speak with a different type of doctor, or just to be careful with what employment/training I undertake. Anyway, I think that I have answered your question (eventually)!

[Elizsabeth]

PS:

To give a bigger picture of things I occupy my time often around church. I don't like to concentrate on unemployment, there is always something that can be done and approaches to take to being unemployed, from a faith perspective that is. Plus there is enough at the hospital to keep me occupied from unemployment!!!!