Multiple symptoms...anyone similar?

[eddiekingol]

31 y/o male

First, I apologize for the length but I wanted to see if anyone had any ideas or thoughts that could help me and I figured you needed to know everything.  I don’t blame you if you don’t read it, but if you do, I appreciate your time!

I am sure some of the symptoms listed below are nothing but I listed them anyways in case they are related. I know I have anxiety but I am not a hypochondriac.  I know something is wrong with me because I’ve had anxiety for almost 17 years and only recently have I been feeling crappy (for lack of a better word) and worrying about all the symptoms to try and figure it out.  

I have had anxiety pretty bad for almost 17 years. I can’t travel far and get nervous in public situations when there isn’t a quick exit.  I think a lot of that has to do with being nervous of a vertigo attack where I wouldn’t be able to walk.  I can function day to day but it is a struggle.  When I get attacks now I just get dizzy and hot. My attacks are now curtailed to very small ones daily because I’ve cut out things that cause the attacks (long car rides, public speaking, etc..) I just take deep breaths and or get out of my current situation and it goes away. Sometimes napping helps.

I had 2 severe vertigo attacks 10 years ago, where I couldn’t move for almost 2 – 3 weeks, and ever since then have not been able to move my head quickly without a brief dizziness spell. I have been able to play softball and soccer with little problem. It is more of a problem with moving my head upside down.  No way I could do a flip or anything.  Not a day goes by that I don’t have some kind of dizziness or unbalance issues.  Nothing severe though like it was 10 years ago, knock on wood.

I just plain do not feel healthy and every day is a struggle to try and figure out what is wrong with me. I’ve concluded a big part of my problem is anxiety, but I think something else bothers me, which triggers the anxiety.  So I think my ear/Eustachian tube problem messes with my balance at times, which triggers my anxiety.    I also get a low blood sugar feeling often, but I’ve been tested for diabetes and hypoglycemia and I do not have either.   I can’t exercise anymore because I get head rushes, dizzy, or headaches. Overall I feel worse when I get hungry or tired.  I usually feel best in morning, right after breakfast.  I am gaining weight because I can’t exercise, I am up to 220lbs at 5’11”, but still somewhat muscular.  

I’d had an MRI of my brain(10 years ago and 1 year ago) and tested for Meniere’s disease (about 15 years ago) and everything came back good. I recently had a cardiac stress test and pulmonary test and both came out fine.  I was having minor chest pains and they think I had bronchitis, even though I didn’t have a cough or other symptoms.  

One doctor thinks I have migraine auras, and another said something in my neck could be causing problems because my neck is very tense. He sent me to a specialist who said I had an atlas subluxation which could be causing my problems. He corrected it but nothing changed.  It made me get a sea sick feeling for a couple times every time he adjusted me.

Medicines I am on:
Zoloft 100mg daily (for last 10 years)
Zrytc 10 mg daily (for last 10 years)
If I try and stop either I get withdrawal symptoms.  I am aware half my symptoms could be caused by these meds, but I want to see if anyone out there has the same symptoms I do who is not on these meds.

Symptoms – how often it happens (how long I’ve had the symptom)
1 - Anxiety – Daily (17 years)
2 - Allergies – Daily (21 years)
3 - Tired often/easily – Daily (4 – 6 years)
4 - Tinnitus(buzzing in ear) – Daily (as long as I can remember)
5 - See occasional chasers/white lines in sunlight or bright light – Daily (noticed about 3 – 4 years ago)
6 - Cloudy/lazy feeling but not that tired – Daily (2 – 3 years)
7 - Headaches or weird head feeling when exercising (last 1 year)
8 - Feel heart beating fast – whenever exert myself (last 6 months)
9 - Minor muscle aches and pains when resting – once or twice a week(last 3 – 6 months)
10 - Twitching muscles/nerves in shoulder or leg – once or twice a month (last year)
11 - Feeling sick, kind of like sea sick, 10 – 15 minutes before a bowel movement (last year or so)
12 - TMJ pain – down to once a week (started around 2 years ago when I got my wisdom teeth out)
13 - Popping in inner ear, like going up a mountain – daily (started around 2 years ago when I had an ear infection and two perforated ear drums).
14 – Can get dizzy briefly if I look away from something too fast or move my head fast.  Daily (8 years)
15 – Low blood sugar feeling when I don’t eat – daily (5 years)
16 – High Cholesterol (my score has been over 200 for 6 or 7 years, my good is low, and my bad is high).  
17 – Headaches – Once or twice a week (last 4 months).  On the top of my head is where it hurts the worst.  Like right where a logo of a sports team would be on a baseball hat, or a little more towards the back.  The most often headache comes in the back of the head, on the left and right side right above the neck.  
18 – I can’t sleep on my back…when I do right before I fall asleep (usually when you would have a hypnic jerk, I get dizzy and it pops me up.  
19 – Sometimes my left eye is droopy in the morning - couple times a month (last 2 years)
20 – Minor chest pains – once or twice a day (last 3 months).
21 – Alcohol gives me a headache and a hangover much worse than ever before, even after 2 drinks.  

My thyroid tested high once and they thought I had hypothyroidism and put me on meds but my system didn’t like them. I got retested a month later and it said I was fine.

I am very allergic to all grasses and pollens and constantly have a stuffy nose.  I don’t need Kleenex everyday but it is more than seasonal. I’ve been allergy tested so I know what I am and am not allergic too.  

Ever since I had a ruptured ear drum 2 years ago, my ears have been more sensitive then normal (used to get infections often as a kid).  The popping and fullness feeling doesn’t really go away.  For the first year after the problem, when it was cold I would get a machine gun sound popping but that has started to go away.  


After vast internet searches I’ve looked into the following problems which had some of the similar symptoms, but not all:

- Postural Hypotension
- Candidiasis
- Trichomoniasis
- Labyrinthitis
- Hypothyroidism
- Cushing’s syndrome

If you have similar symptoms or any advice on what I should check next, let me know. I’ll research anything at this point.  Thanks for your time!

[suzie254]

this might sound odd, but I would get your sex homon levels checked. If one homon is out of wack, it could make lots of the symptoms you are having. I know you are a guy, but you have homons too!

[eddiekingol]

Thanks for the response. Do you know what kind of natural herbs by any chance? I have gone to therapy before and it wasn't bad but didn't help much.  

[kehdi22]

Hello eddiekingol,

I had a friend who is around 55 yo. He had complainted of things similar. I know he is doing much better now after going to psychiatric therapy and changing his meds to natural herbs. I think for the fact that you are really worried about it and your anxiety may lead to more body disconfort.

Take care!