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Weightloess, Headaches, Nausea, etc?
This is my first post here, so pardon the possible wrong area, please.
I'm just going to shotgun a bunch of useless info in hopes that some of it may, in fact, be useful.
Over the past few months, I've misplaced about 25lbs. I'm 6'2" and currently about 140. Was at about 165. I'm 26 as well. I've been having chronic headaches, which I wake up with and I'm more or less having to bring a pez dispenser filled with aspirin to make it through the day. That in itself is probably not good. If I don't, it's bad enough that I can't move without feeling like my head is in a vice. Also been experiencing nausea quite often. This started after the weight loss, but isn't helping it a whole lot being that I'm eating noticeably less.
For about a decade, I've had SEVERE sleeping issues. I'm known to go 2-3 and sometimes 4-5 days and just never fall asleep. I live in perpetual exhaustion because of it and I've become more or less used to it. Lately, though, it's different. I'm sleeping better, almost well, even. I still wake up completely exhausted and moody. I feel about like I would after 2 days of no sleep after getting a solid 8 hours, again, which I'm simply not used to. I've been diagnosed with "severe" depression and anxiety disorders. Depression seems to have more or less gone away, anxiety definitely not. I received both diagnoses 5 years ago.
I've had two pairs of benign cysts, so the doctor said about 7 years ago. One pair behind my ears. I've had them for about 12 years now, and they've always grown, popped like a giant zit (sorry for the visual) and then gone back down. They haven't followed their usual cycle in about a year now. No, I haven't named them. The other pair are to the left/right of my nostrils. They're not as bad, thankfully.
[TMI]
As long as I can remember, up until the recent symptoms, I've only uhhh, had to number 2 about 2-3 times a week. I'm aware that it's not normal, but it's the usual for me. Now I'm lucky if I can limit it to twice a day. Also feels a lot like giving birth to a cement block. Sideways.
[/TMI]
My diet is, well, bad. I eat cheap, easy food. I just don't have the energy to cook a decent meal and very little is appetizing to me lately except garbage. I drink a lot of caffeine just to make it through the day and my diet hasn't changed in years.
Good ol' Google tells me it's likely
I'm just going to shotgun a bunch of useless info in hopes that some of it may, in fact, be useful.
Over the past few months, I've misplaced about 25lbs. I'm 6'2" and currently about 140. Was at about 165. I'm 26 as well. I've been having chronic headaches, which I wake up with and I'm more or less having to bring a pez dispenser filled with aspirin to make it through the day. That in itself is probably not good. If I don't, it's bad enough that I can't move without feeling like my head is in a vice. Also been experiencing nausea quite often. This started after the weight loss, but isn't helping it a whole lot being that I'm eating noticeably less.
For about a decade, I've had SEVERE sleeping issues. I'm known to go 2-3 and sometimes 4-5 days and just never fall asleep. I live in perpetual exhaustion because of it and I've become more or less used to it. Lately, though, it's different. I'm sleeping better, almost well, even. I still wake up completely exhausted and moody. I feel about like I would after 2 days of no sleep after getting a solid 8 hours, again, which I'm simply not used to. I've been diagnosed with "severe" depression and anxiety disorders. Depression seems to have more or less gone away, anxiety definitely not. I received both diagnoses 5 years ago.
I've had two pairs of benign cysts, so the doctor said about 7 years ago. One pair behind my ears. I've had them for about 12 years now, and they've always grown, popped like a giant zit (sorry for the visual) and then gone back down. They haven't followed their usual cycle in about a year now. No, I haven't named them. The other pair are to the left/right of my nostrils. They're not as bad, thankfully.
[TMI]
As long as I can remember, up until the recent symptoms, I've only uhhh, had to number 2 about 2-3 times a week. I'm aware that it's not normal, but it's the usual for me. Now I'm lucky if I can limit it to twice a day. Also feels a lot like giving birth to a cement block. Sideways.
[/TMI]
My diet is, well, bad. I eat cheap, easy food. I just don't have the energy to cook a decent meal and very little is appetizing to me lately except garbage. I drink a lot of caffeine just to make it through the day and my diet hasn't changed in years.
Good ol' Google tells me it's likely
Best Answer
Good ol' Google tells me it's likely a brain tumor, lyme disease or fibromyalgia, or possibly menieres disease (spelling?). Cancer does run in my family, but this seems too sudden based on what I've read. Lyme disease actually sounds about right, and there are a lot of ticks in the area and room mates have been bitten but my area is ranked as a "very low risk" for it. Fibromyalgia, I don't have the pain. I feel more achey like I have a fever (fever doesn't last this long though). And menieres seems to be based more around the ringing, which is the latest symptom.
My reason for the long post isn't so much as to get a diagnosis, but to choose the right doctor to see. I have to pay out of pocket and barely eating as it is. I need that first doctor's visit to be with the right person. Really, really badly.
My reason for the long post isn't so much as to get a diagnosis, but to choose the right doctor to see. I have to pay out of pocket and barely eating as it is. I need that first doctor's visit to be with the right person. Really, really badly.
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I would do what you are proposing, which is go hunt down a good Lyme specialist and get a work up. If you're not already aware, there is a war going on in the medical world about whether Lyme is easy to get or not, easy to diagnose or not, and easy to cure or not.
Ticks can't read maps as far as I am aware, so this 'we don't have Lyme here' stuff just doesn't ring true.
There is not one single set of symptoms for anyone with Lyme, partly because because it is protean in its presentation in different people and even over time in the same person.
I wouldn't buy into the fibromyalgia craze of the moment; it's officially a syndrome, meaning they don't know what it is except a collection of symptoms ... and whaddaya know, they sound exactly like Lyme.
Meniere's disease (I can't spell it either) is an inner ear imbalance, and you seem to have more than that going on, but I'm not medically trained.
However having been through Lyme myself, I would head straight for an LLMD, which is patient slang for a doc of any persuasion who 'gets' the concept of Lyme. ID (infectious disease) docs and rheumatologists were the original studiers of Lyme, but they got locked in to their early surmises and their views continue to hold sway over the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and the CDC, so all other docs follow along since the IDSA people MUST know best, since it's their area, right?. --- Uh, no.
Sounds like you've found an LLMD already, but you should do some checking on him/her online to be sure, otherwise you've wasted time and money. If the doc is a member of ILADS, that's a good sign ... it's the renegade doc society that take Lyme seriously. website: ilads [dot] org. If you're up for reading, the ILADS website has information e.g. the tab 'about Lyme', third item down, Burrascano's Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines.
Also take a look at the recent post on this site (currently the second post below yours) called 'Lyme in Florida?' ... I posted a long commentary/answer there that might be useful, since it was asking the same/similar questions as you are.
Anxiety and sleep interference is part of Lyme ... it messes with the whole endocrine system and in some people affects the nervous system more than in others, producing the effects you describe. Happened to me too.
Also you may have co-infections, nasty bonus diseases the Lyme ticks bring with them about half the time. An LLMD can suss that out.
There are lots of reasons to see an LLMD and not just a regular infectious disease doc ... if you need persuading, tell us. We'll oblige.
In that you're seeing worsening of symptoms lately, you may have been bitten again and thus reinfected, either with Lyme or a (new to you) co-infection, dunno. Some people also experience an upswing in symptoms at various seasons when the bugs start to party. Mine tended to get worse in summer, but it's different for everyone.
Let us know if you need more data from us, and also please let us know what you do and how you do --- take care, keep your sense of humor. It will do you well.