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Anyone from the UK here?

Hi there. I'm wondering if anyone here is from/living in the UK. I couldn't find a forum or website like this in tbe UK so here I am.
But life with a rare disease can be very frustrating and horrendous really and I'd love to meet someone close by who I could share my experiences with

  1. Hi, I'm from the
    UK I'm on the South Coast
    My GP hasn't really been much help over the past couple of years, i've done loads of reading & research, when i find something that has some of my strange symptoms i email her & she sends me for the relevant tests, it's gone from POTS, to Anemia, to Severe B12 Deficiency. Each time I've taken treatment I've realised almost instantly that it's an incorrect diagnosis. The B12 deficiency was actually a clue, I'm certain at the time that result was in a way correct because i can go day's without eating, my stomach just isn't digesting food quickly enough, it lays in my digestive tract, then it comes back up on me, I'm constipated for up to 10 days at a time, often i sit on the loo & the moment i stand up i throw up, it's total projectile vomiting, no matter what i take for it nothing changes, I'm always sluggish, feel heavy & miserable, yet all that didn't point to a diagnosis,
    the suggestion of a possible immune condition came from my optician when i had my annual contact lens check up, she was horrified at how dry my eyes were, if she had, had her way i would have gone to hospital immediately but i stupidly ignored the warning instead asking my GP to prescribe a good eye ointment, it made no difference, then we had COVID, then all the cancellations to appointments because oof the staff shortages etc, by the time i got to see anyone the sight in my right eye was deteriorating fast, yet no one took any notice. I've seen a neurologist ,a cardiologist, a dietician/nutritionist , I've had countless blood tests, MRI scans & still no diagnosis... Now I'm totally urinary incontinent, i have no idea i need to go to the loo untill i move to stand or sit, then my bladder empties, a full bladder all at once is unstoppable & so i wear incontinence pads/pants 24/7 & tbh most of them can't handle the volume all at once... Recently i noticed that my whole body twitches occasionally, it's woken me up a few times, my feet & lower legs are red & sore looking , there's no pain but they feel like their burning from the inside out.. the really peculiar thing is apart from a feeling of my eye ball being squeezed & a dull ache like feeling in my eye socket & behind my eye, there's no pain.. on the 24th of Dec 2024, i woke up & the minute i opened my eyes i realised I'd virtually lost all sight in my right eye, all i see is light & shade, no colour, no recognisable shapes or objects, it's like someone painted something over my eye whilst i was sleeping & everything is blurry & out of focus ... Now I'm scared, I've finally realised that all these symptoms could be linked & that something's very wrong, so my Optician referred me to the Ophthalmologist & my appointments in a few hours... I have no idea what the outcome will be but in doing my research i stumbled on this site & have found it more helpful on a personal/practical level than the NHS site,
    It seems that NMO is rare, often misdiagnosed & no two suffers experience it in exactly the same way.. I'm feeling so anxious right now, I'm not sure what's better having a NMO diagnosis or being told " No it's not that either" & having to start all over again... Well that's me (sorry it's so long winded, it's because I'm nervous i think), I'm 61 years old, single, live with my dog & have a very active social life especially during the warm weather when i get down the beach for at least an hour each day, it's always been "my happy place" since i moved here 40 year's ago ( on june 6th to be exact), if whatever condition i have or don't have i can't stand the thought of the beach no longer being a "safe place " for me.
    Anyway, please reply if you have time, I'd love to hear about you about how your doing, how life has changed for you & anything else you want to share with me.
    I quite understand though if that's not something you want to do, but as you say there's nothing like this in the UK, people are suffering & there doesn't seem to be any emotional support apart from counselling etc being offered, that's very sad
    Best of luck to you, take care ...

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