Aa
Looking for help with diagnosis after 5 visits to DRs
I'm a 30yr old, male, fairly healthy/active lifestyle (well used to be anyways), and I've been sick now for over 2 months. I used to enjoy an occasional cigar, and would drink a few home brewed beers every other day or so...I was diagnosed earlier this year with complex migraines (around april), and have ADD which I stopped taking medication for around the time the complex migraine happened. Other than that, I hadn't seen the inside of a doctor's office for a long time. Since october...I've been to see doctors/ERs 6 times...
My problems started with a trip to the ER a little over 2 months ago. The most frightening symptom was an overwhelming lightheadedness and tingling around my face (thought I was having a stroke or something). I was also sick to my stomach (and made myself throw up to feel better), and had bright green diarrhea alot and headache. I also had unexplained abdominal pains right around the bottom of my sternum. They gave me some anti-anxiety meds, ran the normal tests to make sure I wasn't going to die, ran an ekg which came back normal, took blood, and then sent me home. Figuring it was a stomach bug, I just tried to let it run it's course.
20 days later, my symptoms were still there. Stomach pains, severe lightheadedness/tingly face, trouble sleeping without medication assistance, pains in strange areas...like joint pains and on the back of my left leg, and the diarrhea never let up. This time, I tried going to urgent care. Because my abs were tender over my gall bladder, I was readmitted to the hospital, and they did an ultra sound which came back neg. for gall stones. Again...I was sent home..this time the doc prescribed pain killers (oxycodone maybe?) and the anti anxiety drug xanax.
Followed up with my primary care doc a week later, and was told there was a stomach/intestinal bug going around. Earlier that week, he prescribed a z-pak, which I took, and didn't help. After seeing him, he said to drink an entire bottle of pepto, take pepcidAC, and the abdominal pains I was having were from the toxins left behind by the bug, and this would help me. Pepto did help with some of the indigestion/diarrhea, but as soon as I stopped drinking all of it's pinky goodness, the symptoms persisted.
Three weeks later, broke down and went to gastro/hepa specialist. He a full gambit of tests, and found microscopic amounts of blood in my stool...which meant another round of tests...both endo/colonoscopies. He also requested blood tests and stool samples. I drastically altered my diet after the visit. He told me to eat a bowl of fiber one every morning, which I've been doing. At his request...I was told absolutely no alcohol, and to take 1 prilosec. He also said I needed to take a lot of probiotics, which I've been taking 1-2 pills of colon health a day, along with eating things like AB yogurt. Here's the real strange part...every single test came back as being normal. Endoscopy..normal...Colonoscopy...normal...blood tests..normal...stool samples...no traces of parasites...the last test we're waiting on is the h. pylori test on the sample he took from my stomach...
Over the past few weeks, I'm happy to say that the lightheadedness has gone away for the most part, but I still get lightheaded/tingly face every once in a while, and the lethargy seems as bad as ever. The other symptoms are still persisting as well. I still have cronic diarrhea (though it is no longer green). I still have a dull, lingering headache pretty much every day. I still have trouble sleeping without the help of medicine.
It's been 3 weeks since I saw my gastrologist. The lack of any type of energy continues. They are starting to think I'm suffering from depression/anxiety attacks. I don't like taking the xanax unless I feel like I'm having a panic attack, and it helps with some of the body pains, which happens maybe once every couple of days, but not the other symptoms. It helps with sleeping as well, but gives me some strange dreams. I'm not sure how, or if it's even possible for me to have chronic diarrhea caused by depression/anxiety?
The only thing I can think of is it may have been caused by my home beer brewing, and a sensitivity to the yeast in the beer? Still, the chronic headaches/diarrhea/body pains/insomnia all continue even though I haven't been drinking my home brewed beer for almost 3 weeks now, and that includes the time from me flushing my digestive system with the stuff they make you drink for the colonoscopy...
I've got another appointment with my gastro doc on the 29th. I'm no longer active like I used to be (cycling, running, lifting), and I've lost over 20lbs since all of this started. What the heck could be wrong with me...any ideas?!
My problems started with a trip to the ER a little over 2 months ago. The most frightening symptom was an overwhelming lightheadedness and tingling around my face (thought I was having a stroke or something). I was also sick to my stomach (and made myself throw up to feel better), and had bright green diarrhea alot and headache. I also had unexplained abdominal pains right around the bottom of my sternum. They gave me some anti-anxiety meds, ran the normal tests to make sure I wasn't going to die, ran an ekg which came back normal, took blood, and then sent me home. Figuring it was a stomach bug, I just tried to let it run it's course.
20 days later, my symptoms were still there. Stomach pains, severe lightheadedness/tingly face, trouble sleeping without medication assistance, pains in strange areas...like joint pains and on the back of my left leg, and the diarrhea never let up. This time, I tried going to urgent care. Because my abs were tender over my gall bladder, I was readmitted to the hospital, and they did an ultra sound which came back neg. for gall stones. Again...I was sent home..this time the doc prescribed pain killers (oxycodone maybe?) and the anti anxiety drug xanax.
Followed up with my primary care doc a week later, and was told there was a stomach/intestinal bug going around. Earlier that week, he prescribed a z-pak, which I took, and didn't help. After seeing him, he said to drink an entire bottle of pepto, take pepcidAC, and the abdominal pains I was having were from the toxins left behind by the bug, and this would help me. Pepto did help with some of the indigestion/diarrhea, but as soon as I stopped drinking all of it's pinky goodness, the symptoms persisted.
Three weeks later, broke down and went to gastro/hepa specialist. He a full gambit of tests, and found microscopic amounts of blood in my stool...which meant another round of tests...both endo/colonoscopies. He also requested blood tests and stool samples. I drastically altered my diet after the visit. He told me to eat a bowl of fiber one every morning, which I've been doing. At his request...I was told absolutely no alcohol, and to take 1 prilosec. He also said I needed to take a lot of probiotics, which I've been taking 1-2 pills of colon health a day, along with eating things like AB yogurt. Here's the real strange part...every single test came back as being normal. Endoscopy..normal...Colonoscopy...normal...blood tests..normal...stool samples...no traces of parasites...the last test we're waiting on is the h. pylori test on the sample he took from my stomach...
Over the past few weeks, I'm happy to say that the lightheadedness has gone away for the most part, but I still get lightheaded/tingly face every once in a while, and the lethargy seems as bad as ever. The other symptoms are still persisting as well. I still have cronic diarrhea (though it is no longer green). I still have a dull, lingering headache pretty much every day. I still have trouble sleeping without the help of medicine.
It's been 3 weeks since I saw my gastrologist. The lack of any type of energy continues. They are starting to think I'm suffering from depression/anxiety attacks. I don't like taking the xanax unless I feel like I'm having a panic attack, and it helps with some of the body pains, which happens maybe once every couple of days, but not the other symptoms. It helps with sleeping as well, but gives me some strange dreams. I'm not sure how, or if it's even possible for me to have chronic diarrhea caused by depression/anxiety?
The only thing I can think of is it may have been caused by my home beer brewing, and a sensitivity to the yeast in the beer? Still, the chronic headaches/diarrhea/body pains/insomnia all continue even though I haven't been drinking my home brewed beer for almost 3 weeks now, and that includes the time from me flushing my digestive system with the stuff they make you drink for the colonoscopy...
I've got another appointment with my gastro doc on the 29th. I'm no longer active like I used to be (cycling, running, lifting), and I've lost over 20lbs since all of this started. What the heck could be wrong with me...any ideas?!
I really feel like I am losing my mind. Everyday, it feels like a new symptom. I've started feeling better lately, and for the first time in weeks, a good BM.
The scariest thing is I feel like I'm going nuts. I'm desperately looking for some physical symptom to manifest itself that is my body's legitimate reaction to an infection/attack/etc.
I'm sick of relying on xanax everytime I have a new round of symptoms. Tonight's symptom of the day is a tingly left foot. I've been 100% healthy all day (save a little lethargy), and I try to go to sleep, and I can't. Then my foot starts to tingle...so I try to focus on watching a movie. I can't. I start thinking I have restless leg syndrome now. Then I make the mistake of going to symptom checker, and see that I could be having a TIA (minor stroke), a spinal tumor, and any of a dozen other big problems.
God...why the hell have all of these symptoms started happening over the last 2 months? I was a happy, healthy, perfectly normal human being (save the complex migraine from april). Everyday is like a waiting game for something else to go wrong.
My wife is in her clinicals (going for a PA). She thinks I was legitimately sick in oct/nov...but the panic attacks/trip to the ERs/not knowing what's wrong have caused me to become an anxious person. I think she's probably right. But now that the GI problems seem to be almost completely gone...hopefully the neurological problems will begin to abate as well. I'm just scared/tired/frustrated all at the same time, and I don't know what to do.
I don't want to go to a shrink, because I don't want to feel like a nutcase. I don't want to take medication, because I don't want to have to take drugs all the time to feel normal. What in the world should I do? I have absolutely no clue...
The scariest thing is I feel like I'm going nuts. I'm desperately looking for some physical symptom to manifest itself that is my body's legitimate reaction to an infection/attack/etc.
I'm sick of relying on xanax everytime I have a new round of symptoms. Tonight's symptom of the day is a tingly left foot. I've been 100% healthy all day (save a little lethargy), and I try to go to sleep, and I can't. Then my foot starts to tingle...so I try to focus on watching a movie. I can't. I start thinking I have restless leg syndrome now. Then I make the mistake of going to symptom checker, and see that I could be having a TIA (minor stroke), a spinal tumor, and any of a dozen other big problems.
God...why the hell have all of these symptoms started happening over the last 2 months? I was a happy, healthy, perfectly normal human being (save the complex migraine from april). Everyday is like a waiting game for something else to go wrong.
My wife is in her clinicals (going for a PA). She thinks I was legitimately sick in oct/nov...but the panic attacks/trip to the ERs/not knowing what's wrong have caused me to become an anxious person. I think she's probably right. But now that the GI problems seem to be almost completely gone...hopefully the neurological problems will begin to abate as well. I'm just scared/tired/frustrated all at the same time, and I don't know what to do.
I don't want to go to a shrink, because I don't want to feel like a nutcase. I don't want to take medication, because I don't want to have to take drugs all the time to feel normal. What in the world should I do? I have absolutely no clue...
Anxiety can cause chronic diarrhea along with other GI problems. This is one of my major symptoms and I have had all the tests like you without finding anything wrong. I hope that you get an accurate diagnosis. Although I can't give you much advice I just wanted to share that I experience the same things!
I just don't understand how being anxious can cause diarrhea for so long? I can understand how it might cause the lightheadedness to a certain extent...but it felt like I was drunk without having taken a sip of alcohol. I'm also not sure why I have these chronic headaches...i suppose the could be stress.
I think the doctors might be overlooking something. I have symptoms that arise when I'm not anxious at all...like just watching tv. Those symptoms are what cause me to become anxious, and what I think has caused the hyperventilation/chest pains that I was admitted to the ER for the first time, but not when I was told to go to the ER the second time by the urgent care doc because of pain in my abdomen.
I am a medical mystery.
I think the doctors might be overlooking something. I have symptoms that arise when I'm not anxious at all...like just watching tv. Those symptoms are what cause me to become anxious, and what I think has caused the hyperventilation/chest pains that I was admitted to the ER for the first time, but not when I was told to go to the ER the second time by the urgent care doc because of pain in my abdomen.
I am a medical mystery.
This sure seems like a typical case of anxiety/panic disorder. If after having all those tests after going to the ER multiple times, and being prescribed a benzo, it certainly seems like the doctors feel anxiety/panic (which can give you those awful symptoms) is the diagnosis.
Unfortunately combining alcohol and a benzo can create more problems as they are both nervous system depressants. When the effects wear off from them, you can start to have more anxiety.
Unfortunately combining alcohol and a benzo can create more problems as they are both nervous system depressants. When the effects wear off from them, you can start to have more anxiety.
Quite the epic saga! I'm sorry they couldn't find a quick fix. I work in a hospital and we are seeing more & more of this type of difficulty diagnosing GI problems.
I will assume they have ruled out IBS and Crohn's and all the "normal" GI problems.
You are doing all the correct things. You're following your various doctor's treatments, you're doing everything you can to help yourself...............and I know your frustration in the lack of a dx. I don't want to disenhearten you, but I've seen some patients who go for months before a dx is found. I know it's very, very hard, but don't give up, OK? They will eventually find out what's causing your problems.
You live in a major city that hopefully has a Medical teaching college. You might discuss with your various doctors if going there would be in your best interest. Not saying there is anything lacking with the doctors you have now, but sometimes the "team" approach that is used at teaching hospitals gets to the answer faster. Just a thought.
I wish I had better information to give you, perhaps other's here will have ideas........
I wish you the very best and repeat "don't give up!"
Peace
Greenlydia
I will assume they have ruled out IBS and Crohn's and all the "normal" GI problems.
You are doing all the correct things. You're following your various doctor's treatments, you're doing everything you can to help yourself...............and I know your frustration in the lack of a dx. I don't want to disenhearten you, but I've seen some patients who go for months before a dx is found. I know it's very, very hard, but don't give up, OK? They will eventually find out what's causing your problems.
You live in a major city that hopefully has a Medical teaching college. You might discuss with your various doctors if going there would be in your best interest. Not saying there is anything lacking with the doctors you have now, but sometimes the "team" approach that is used at teaching hospitals gets to the answer faster. Just a thought.
I wish I had better information to give you, perhaps other's here will have ideas........
I wish you the very best and repeat "don't give up!"
Peace
Greenlydia
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