Could the Flu virus have started this ?

I have been having issues for about 2 yrs know, i have been dealing with vertigo like symptoms about 1 wk after the influenza B strain. Was told it would go away in a week or so,it lasted for about 8-9 months really bad off and on. I was misdiagnosed with Meniere's Disease,still have the ringing in the ears, mild to severe allergies that i have to take shots for.

I have seen Inner Ear specialist, Rheumatologist,all test come back normal. Over the last 8 months i have had sudden weight lose and now weight gain,extreme joint pain & swelling in hands,left shoulder,knees and ankles,unexplained chest pain(EKG normal) and extreme fatigue or just a sluggish feeling,i have had 2 very bad ear infections,pneumonia and that's just in the last 12 months.

Hurt my back on the job 7 months ago (which it seems like i can't shake), 2 days after i started feeling a burning sensation at the base of my neck along with pain & stiffness. They did MRI & CT scans of my back and the results showed the left Adrenal Nodule is incompletely assessed.
Now i'm waiting for the CT scan to be done again.

Before 1/1/11 i felt healthy as i could be.
Could the flu have kick started this?
Could this possibly be my problem?

Thanks.

[rumpled]

I am not sure what is meant by *incompletely assessed*? A nodule usually means you have a growth there - what testing has been done - none?

If you had undiagnosed low cortisol, then an illness unsupported by replacements could explain the weight loss and fatigue. High cortisol issues cause weight gain and fatigue. Both cause low immune function.

It could be that you have cyclical cortisol where it goes up and down - a nodule may indicate that you have Cushing's syndrome of adrenal source. But it can also be pituitary source. Sometimes the pituitary throwing off so much output can enlarge the adrenals and make them nodular and so you have to carefully make sure you get the right source.

Joint pain happens when cortisol goes up and down as cortisol is an anti-inflammatory. It hurts a lot!

[DHOP]

Hi rumpled,

Thanks for the info, yeah i'm going in this week to have the CT Scan's done again. It has been an up and down process to get to this point...... No testing has been done for this at all,they happen to see something on the scans for my lower back injury. It may sound crazy but i'm hoping they find something, cause its stressful not knowing whats going. Maybe that explains why i can't seem to get over this back injury.

Again Thanks.

[rumpled]

If an adrenal issue is suspected then imaging is probably the least useful of the testing. It tells you that there is a lesion bit not the nature of it. So without any labs your docs are not doing a complete job. New docs or complain to old ones as the picture is not complete.