[TEEN]Near Syncope/Palpitations

umm well here it goes:
i am a 13 year old, im very thin, not very physically active, i have around 2 cups of tea a day, and quite a bit of soft drinks.

recently i have been experiencing light-headedness, almost fainting(black comes in from the corner of my eyes.. i squeeze them shut.. take deep breaths, and im back to normal).. and weight loss. i think i have a thyroid problem aswell because my appetite has INCREASED and i am not gaining much weight. i have begun to notice veins in my LEGS, (they are normal veins.. i researched veins and they are just normal) i think the veins have started appear due to my weight loss.

can anyone reccomend what i do? tell me if i need to go to the doctor urgently or what? the near syncopes are not frequent but they do happen. what can i do to make my condition better? thanks..

[haslam278]

i forgot to mention my heart palpitations aswell.. they happen quite a lot.. my heart just randomly starts racing a lot.. especially a lot during anxiety. it normally happens when im resting/lying down/standing in a spot.

[Terri627]

Hey,

Of course, your heart racing more while you're anxious is very normal. Being
a teenager, it's tough to pinpoint why you are eating more and not gaining
weight, but as the mother of two teenage boys, it also seems normal to me.
If you would like to know more about the thyroid, look up thyroidpower.com,
they have a lot of information. Do you have any other seemingly unrelated
symptoms? For example, people with thyroid disorders often shed more
hair than usual on a daily basis, fingernails can be brittle, and if it's
hyperthyroid, you would feel jittery or shaky. How are you sleeping?
Are you really tired even after a good night's sleep? These are a few
things to consider when you see your doctor. And, no, I wouldn't
think this is an urgent matter. Just ask your mother or father to set up
an appointment and let the doctor know how you feel. It's always good
to get answers, at least this way you can reassure yourself that you are
taking steps. And maybe it's just teenage stuff. Being a teenager these
days is REALLY hard. Let me know!

[grendslori]

I'm curious to know why someone your age knows what pre-syncope is in the first place. That is a medical term which most 13 year olds don't know how to even spell, let alone know what it is. Why haven't your parents been checking up on what is going on with you?  

[haslam278]

@grendslori

i have researched this; and please do not assume just because i am 13 that i am not intelligent enough to spell. :) i am of few people who can spell quite well. :D my parents do occasionaly guide me.. they say that i should change what i eat.. have more carbohydrates in my foods, they don't think its some sort of condition.

@terri
thank you :) i have most of the symptoms you provided aswell. i just didn't mention them. I will check up the website you have posted and i'l be seeing a doctor soon

[Mjolnir07]

    Son, I'm not a doctor, but I am pursuing a degree in medicine. Many doctors and nurses will overlook heavy soda consumption because most are not familiar with the addictive nature of soda and the harmful effect it has on your body in regularly large quantities.

You said you drink quite a bit of soda; soda has large, large amounts of sugar in it, about a handful per 20 oz bottle. If you are drinking more than 60 ounces of soda a day, your anxiety is almost certainly due to your caffeine intake. I used to drink a great deal of soda and almost nothing else, and when I quit, the post withdrawal relaxation was astonishing and unexpected. Caffeine dehydrates, if you're not drinking atleast half as much water as you're drinking soda, your near fainting spells are probably due to dehydration, the veins may be high blood pressure, as sugar spikes couple with caffeine and drive your blood pressure up, especially if you're losing weight. I'm afraid the weight loss may be a symptom of diabetes, as are all of these symptoms, and may be due to your sugar and caffeine intake.

Your hunger is a result of the caffeine and sugar heavily effecting your metabolism, you may think weight gain when you think diabetes, but this isn't always the case. If your body becomes accustomed to burning insane amounts of sugar and has the help of caffeine to speed the process along, it will begin to burn whatever it can to stay in that routine.

You seem like a very smart lad, I'm sure you can see that your heart palpitations may be a result of the dehydration and the caffeine.

Consider this, and research diabetes. At this point in your life you have a very good chance of reversing it before or even after it takes place,

Good luck.