Thirty-four-year-old Ihab Shaqdar has been suffering for years, constantly going back and forth between ambulances and emergency rooms in Makkah and Jeddah because of a mysterious set of symptoms that went undiagnosed and untreated.

“Two years into marriage and a full-time job, I began experiencing palpitations and rocketing blood pressure,” Ihab told Arab News.

“The pain and the symptoms would be unbearable to a point where I could not continue working for more than a few hours at a time. I would either drive myself to hospital or have an ambulance take me because I could not drive myself.”

Doctors were unable to diagnose Ihab’s peculiar set of symptoms and his condition kept getting worse.

“I was fired from my job at a communication company in Jeddah because of my constant absence and got evicted from my home, which I had rented out near my workplace, since I could not keep up paying the rent,” he said.

Unemployed and in pain, Ihab’s financial debts kept mounting.

“I was forced to rent out a much smaller apartment for my family, my wife and my four children and became very depressed since the pain, which I have suffered through for four years now, only got worse day after day,” Ihab told Arab News.

“I have lost many friends and colleagues throughout this painful journey,” he said.

Medical tests at King Faisal Hospital in Shisha, Makkah, revealed that the enzyme levels in Ihab’s body were very high and he was then referred to King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah to undergo a cardiac catheterization procedure to determine whether he had a heart condition.

“No heart problems were found and I was then transferred the brain and nerve clinic, where doctors found that I suffer from a variety of symptoms, including enlargement of the ventricles, pain from a slipped disc, herniated back pain and other health problems,” he said.

“From there on, my suffering got even worse since I was running between different clinics,” he said.

Doctors prescribed a large set of medicines that Ihab takes regularly, but still the pain did not improve.

“They eventually told me that my pain was psychosomatic and referred me to a psychiatric clinic, where I was given anti-depressants.”

Ihab became broke, forcing him to borrow money from relatives and friends.

“I appealed to the Royal Court for help,” he said.

“Thankfully, they responded and offered to treat me at their expense, but Jeddah’s medical commission has refused to transfer me to King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, my hospital of choice, because they say I am still undergoing treatment at the first hospital.”

“I am very lost now. I have no money, my family is crying all the time and I cannot provide my family with even the most basic of needs,” he said.