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Family Medicine (Expert Forum)
Help Needed ( And Suggestions )
Questions in the Family Medicine forum are answered by Dr. J.M. Keyes. Topics covered include general health issues, adolescence, babies, child health, eating disorders, fitness, immunizations and vaccines, infectious diseases, medical tests and procedures, and senior health.
Help Needed ( And Suggestions )
by MarkAews, Apr 12, 2002 12:00AM
Hello Doctor --
My name is Drew and i am a 22 year old male. Back in July/01
i started getting fatigued very easily, and had strange dizzy feelings from standing too long. In August, the feelings continued, but to add to it, i began waking with stomach pains right above my navel, and when i would eat ANY meal, it would sit very heavily and i would become even more tired afterwards for the rest of the day. You could also hear VERY loudly a "sucussion splash". I've had every blood test known to man, CBC count, iron levels, liver panel, urine samples, pancreatic function, hiv, epstein barr, b12, insulin, glucose, hepatitis a,b,c..... all coming back normal.
I've also had every possible digestive test done to man by my gastro. Ultrasound, barium swallow/w followthrough, upper and lower scope all coming back normal as well.
That was all within 9 months, yet everything continued.
After waiting a month, i FINALLY got in to see an endocrinologist, who immediately said i was fine, and said he wouldnt do any tests cause he can sense they would be normal.
( that doesnt sound like a good way to check for something )
And then all he really seemed interested in was who would win the hockey game and how pissed he couldnt go that nite.
Nice doctor to patient relations. Bah.
Anyways, so after 10 months, im still stuck with this constant fatigue. I wake up in the morning feeling like a haven't slept as well. I can't stand for longer than an hour without feeling weakened and dizzy. I still have the succussion splash,
and my food sits very heavily, and i feel exhausted after eating.
I lost 30 pounds at first, but gained it back.
This is all very frustrating because im so young, and its i still go out and try to get through things, but its so hard when you dont feel yourself. And i exercise, and dont drink
I know anixety/panic could be an option as well, yet it happened out of nowhere. But i DID from April 27/2000, to June 2001 consume a pill of ecstasy almost every weekend, which i know can alter brain chemicals, which could maybe be giving me constant brain problems. But i haven't done for 11 months now.
I just wanted to see if i could get a second opinion, from someone who is willing to give me a good look at things, and make sure NOTHING is being left out. Im not getting the best patient treatment here because our medical system here in Vancouver BC is backed up, and all doctors are cranky it seems!
I went to a naturopath once, and she said i have a systemic yeast infection and wanted me to take antifungals as soon as possible.
SO to make a long story short ( im sure you're bored by now )
my symptoms are as follows :
- fatigue/unrestorative sleep
- swallowing air no matter what i do
- weakness and dizziness when standing up longer than an hour.
- succusssion splash.
- fatigue and brain fog after eating. Sometimes runny nose too.
Any suggestions would be helpful doc! Tell me if anything might have been missed!
God Bless
Drew
My name is Drew and i am a 22 year old male. Back in July/01
i started getting fatigued very easily, and had strange dizzy feelings from standing too long. In August, the feelings continued, but to add to it, i began waking with stomach pains right above my navel, and when i would eat ANY meal, it would sit very heavily and i would become even more tired afterwards for the rest of the day. You could also hear VERY loudly a "sucussion splash". I've had every blood test known to man, CBC count, iron levels, liver panel, urine samples, pancreatic function, hiv, epstein barr, b12, insulin, glucose, hepatitis a,b,c..... all coming back normal.
I've also had every possible digestive test done to man by my gastro. Ultrasound, barium swallow/w followthrough, upper and lower scope all coming back normal as well.
That was all within 9 months, yet everything continued.
After waiting a month, i FINALLY got in to see an endocrinologist, who immediately said i was fine, and said he wouldnt do any tests cause he can sense they would be normal.
( that doesnt sound like a good way to check for something )
And then all he really seemed interested in was who would win the hockey game and how pissed he couldnt go that nite.
Nice doctor to patient relations. Bah.
Anyways, so after 10 months, im still stuck with this constant fatigue. I wake up in the morning feeling like a haven't slept as well. I can't stand for longer than an hour without feeling weakened and dizzy. I still have the succussion splash,
and my food sits very heavily, and i feel exhausted after eating.
I lost 30 pounds at first, but gained it back.
This is all very frustrating because im so young, and its i still go out and try to get through things, but its so hard when you dont feel yourself. And i exercise, and dont drink
I know anixety/panic could be an option as well, yet it happened out of nowhere. But i DID from April 27/2000, to June 2001 consume a pill of ecstasy almost every weekend, which i know can alter brain chemicals, which could maybe be giving me constant brain problems. But i haven't done for 11 months now.
I just wanted to see if i could get a second opinion, from someone who is willing to give me a good look at things, and make sure NOTHING is being left out. Im not getting the best patient treatment here because our medical system here in Vancouver BC is backed up, and all doctors are cranky it seems!
I went to a naturopath once, and she said i have a systemic yeast infection and wanted me to take antifungals as soon as possible.
SO to make a long story short ( im sure you're bored by now )
my symptoms are as follows :
- fatigue/unrestorative sleep
- swallowing air no matter what i do
- weakness and dizziness when standing up longer than an hour.
- succusssion splash.
- fatigue and brain fog after eating. Sometimes runny nose too.
Any suggestions would be helpful doc! Tell me if anything might have been missed!
God Bless
Drew
Doctor's Answer
by Forum-M.D.-DT, Apr 13, 2002 12:00AM
Thank you for visiting the Family Practice Forum.
Since you said all the blood tests were normal, I am going to assume that your kidney, liver and thyroid functions are normal and you have no evidence of anemia.
While you have several symptoms, I really can't think of ONE syndrome that has all of these symptoms. Your fatigue (and "unrestorative sleep") makes me think about sleep apnea. If anyone has ever told you that you snore or stop breathing for a period of time when sleeping (apnea), you should have a sleep study done.
The intestinal symptoms you describe make me think of possible food allergies such as "gluten sensitivity". There are many others but it sounds like you have had some symptoms (from a GI standpoint) following eating, therefore AND you complain of a runny nose. For these reasons, allergy testing, to determine if you have any allergies to certain foods may prove helpful.
You mention that a naturopath once thought you might have a systemic yeast infection. Naturopaths tell this to people alot. The blame many chronic illnesses on chronic "infections". I believe there may be some merit in some of the theories of these naturopaths, although I have yet to see a "study" to prove these theories.
Nevertheless, a blood culture may be helpful as well as a "urine culture" to determine if there is any bacteria ... or fungus ...present.
Yes anxiety and swallowing air (aerophagia), is common in those people with anxiety. If you pursue some of these other avenues with your docs and still find nothing, treatment for chronic anxiety MAY be something to consider.
Since you said all the blood tests were normal, I am going to assume that your kidney, liver and thyroid functions are normal and you have no evidence of anemia.
While you have several symptoms, I really can't think of ONE syndrome that has all of these symptoms. Your fatigue (and "unrestorative sleep") makes me think about sleep apnea. If anyone has ever told you that you snore or stop breathing for a period of time when sleeping (apnea), you should have a sleep study done.
The intestinal symptoms you describe make me think of possible food allergies such as "gluten sensitivity". There are many others but it sounds like you have had some symptoms (from a GI standpoint) following eating, therefore AND you complain of a runny nose. For these reasons, allergy testing, to determine if you have any allergies to certain foods may prove helpful.
You mention that a naturopath once thought you might have a systemic yeast infection. Naturopaths tell this to people alot. The blame many chronic illnesses on chronic "infections". I believe there may be some merit in some of the theories of these naturopaths, although I have yet to see a "study" to prove these theories.
Nevertheless, a blood culture may be helpful as well as a "urine culture" to determine if there is any bacteria ... or fungus ...present.
Yes anxiety and swallowing air (aerophagia), is common in those people with anxiety. If you pursue some of these other avenues with your docs and still find nothing, treatment for chronic anxiety MAY be something to consider.
You might want to try some digestive enzymes. I started giving them to my 9 y/o who had constant GI problems with many other "aches and pains". After 2 weeks on the enzymes, he has never complained since. Bc your brain chem could be "messed up" you might not be making the enzymes necessary in digesting and regulating your foods. I am not a seller of these products, just wanted to pass on what worked for my family. I hope it's okay to say on this forum, that you can go to Dr. Pinkus on the net and find them.
Also, you do seem to describe some s/s of fibromyalgia that will flare up under stress and cause bad digestive stuff as well.
Good luck,
Xedowner
I have infact tried digestive enzymes for a long period of time..
as well as different brands....
and they didn't make one bit of difference.
But thanks for the suggestion..
I believe the stomach pain is caused by swallowing too much air.
Can your stomach get inflammed from constant pressure by air?