Help:Can anyone identify this disease/symptoms?

[rachelk_82]

Hi,

My aunt is 75 years old...shes got hypo thyroid and high BP...from Dec 2011 she feels very feverish...just two weeks back she was shivering a lot and was not remebering anyone...so we admitted her but she was moving her hands and body as if her brain was not in control...so she was taken to the ICU...she was treated for a week...all MRI tests came out normal...doctors said that brain is not geting sufficient oxygen so she was given oxygen for 3 days...so after 1 weeks hospitalization she was fine...in that one week ..she cudnt remeber any1 for the first few days but after that she got her memory back...after she was discharged...after coming home she was fine for 2 days...then on the third day she had food and vomited ..she again started shivering uncontrollably and had to be taken to hospital again....MRI scan showed nothng abnormal...then she was tested for sodium potassium levels....although sodium level was slightly lower than normal...doctors still cant find any particular reason for her condition....does anyone have any idea what she could be suffering from?

On asking the expert doctors what could be the reason...they are not able to pinpoint on any particular disease...and are saying if they knew the disease they would have treated it...so our family is at our wits end and dont know what to do and where to go....Please suggest or recommend any good doctor or someone who can help in detecting whats wrong with her...

[ggreg]

I forgot one more thing.  Her heart may be struggling, so a cardiologist or at least the pulmonary doctor could investigate that possibility.  But I think seeing the endocrinologist for her hypothyroidism should come before any checks on her heart, as the hypothyroid can affect the heart.  If that's ruled out, then her heart may need to be checked.

[ggreg]

Dear Rachelk,
Since scans show no changes in the brain, then she hasn't had a bleed or any other insult to her brain.  Now, the docs said she was getting insufficient oxygen to her brain.  My guess is that her hypothyroidism may have something to do with this, and her endocrinologist needs to recheck her levels and adjust her thyroid medication as needed.  It is the condition of an undertreated hypothyroid that will slow the pumping of the blood through vessels, so in general she won't be getting enough oxygen to her brain and to everywhere else.

Another thing that may be figuring into this is if she is having any respiratory problems that suggest a cold or flu, this can affect her ability to breathe well, which in turn results in less oxygen being pumped through the bloodstream.  She had chills, so that's why I thought about a possible virus or bacteria affecting her breathing.  In addition, any medications she is taking should be reviewed by her regular doctor, to make sure she's not being too heavily sedated or if a side effect is depressing her nervous system too much or anything like that, as it will have a similar effect as a flu on breathing.

She might could use a little oxygen machine, where she would wear a see-thru plastic cover for her mouth and nose whilst she sleeps at night.  Giving her more pillows to sort of raise her shoulders and head more makes it easier for people to breathe in general.  If she has developed a kind of asthma, which a pulmonary doctor can check out her breathing, he can prescribe a little puffer that will open the lungs if she feels like she cannot breathe if her lungs tend to swell up from allergy, perhaps.  

Those would be my thoughts.  GG