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390388 tn?1279636213

Odd symptoms

Ok I'm going to post this on a few different forums because I'm not sure which way to go on this:

I've been having issues with blood pressure fluctuations, lightheaded spells and losing my vision for ~10 seconds everything goes back, then I'm lightheaded for a minute or two and it leaves as quick as it came.

After eating (sometimes while eating too) I'm sweating (whether I'm cold or hot) in the face and my hair and neck.  The spells where I get lightheaded, sweat and black out can happen at any given time.  These have been happening daily now for about a week and 3-4 times a day where everything goes black and the waves of lightheadedness is really making me angry.

I have an appointment with an OBGYN concerning issues with cysts in two weeks.  I questioned "hormonal" issues.  I'm also questioning  "thyroid" (though my numbers I think are pretty good, I'm always cold and my hair is thinning out again),  type ll diabetes (maybe dropping to low at times, but maybe that's reaching for straws) or "heart" issues (due to BP fluctuations and palpitations/pains, sweating, headaches or heartburn lately.  Urggg.

I've been forcing myself to eat every 2-3 hours and have been drinking a lot of water, just in case it could be sugar related even though my numbers seem to be between 70-120 or so.   I don't think they're bad enough to be causing this because a lot of times it's around 100.

I'm honestly worried about telling her about the black out spells to in fear of loosing my drivers license.  Anything to ask my doctor about would be appreciated.  
Thank you in advance.
7 Responses
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390388 tn?1279636213
Thank you all for your comments.  Sorry as usual I missed some information.
I start my day off taking Levothyroxine, then an hour later I take Lopressor, diazide/ Maxide, Lipitor, and an 81 mg aspirin with calcium in it and vitamin E.  Then at night I take Lopressor again.  Was told my vitamin D (32) and B were low last time and iron (can't find the sheet).  Looking threw my records this morning I do so they done Bld work when I went to the hospital in June of this year 2009 in which I forgot about prior to a CT of my abdomen & pelvis in which is why I have to see an OBGYN Doctor.  Dah.  
FT4 was 0.85   (0.58-1.64ng/dL)
T4 was 6.9      (mcg/dL)
TSH was 0.94  (0.34-5.60miclU/mL)
                  My insurance does not cover the FT3.
Lipase was 21  (22-51 U/L)
Amylase was 53  (15-145 mIU/mL)
HBAIC was 6.0  (4.0-6.0%)
Creatinine was 0.7 (0.4-1.0mg/dL)
BUN was 10 (11-26 MG/DL)
Fasting Glucose 107 (60-99 gl/dL)
TIBC was 543 (250-440 mcg/dl)
% Sat was 13.2
Ferritan was 31.0 (11-307)
Transferrin was 388 (200-360)
NEUT 72.1  (36.0-72.0%)
CEA was 1.8 (0.0-3.0)
Oxygen % 92 (was told it was a little low)
Can't find cholesterol but if I remember right it was a total around 230.  

This AM I done a U/A is was a little surprised.  ketones showed a trace, SG was 1.030, PH was 5, Protein was 2000 and Leukocytes was moderate.  Hmm ..I'll have to read up on the protein result.  My sugar  mg/dl was 90 this AM (naked...no foods or meds yet) in which is great and my BP and HR is 142/92  84 in which is getting to be a norm for me until I take my meds.  Feet are always very stiff and I have edema so I walk like a penguin.  LOL  My left eye is often very blood shot on the outer side.  Both eyes are very puffy in the AM for the first hour or so and blurry.  I'm not a very pretty morning person.  LOL

Barb135
I updated what I found this AM on bld test.  My AIc # every 3 months has been climbing .2 (example 5.8 to 6.0 to 6.2 then 6.4)  Right now I have it down to 6.0 in which is good.  My glucose tolerance test are always above 230 three hours after the sugar drink from you know where in which is why she said I'm type ll.  At home though I don't eat sugar in hardly anything at all.  I use maybe 1/2 pound of sugar/ year.  

Galsal59
I feel for you too.  Sorry I don't know what to say.  Hopefully I can find out and then I'll share whatever I find, unfortunately I don't understand thyroid numbers really.  I hope you feel better.

Smilerdeb
As listed above I was sort of amazed with the U/A this AM so I will bring that up along with the
Anti-TPO, TGAB bld test.  

Sorry again for this being so long.  These lightheaded spells and short vision loss issues are driving me nuts!  I'm hoping to be armed with what all to ask about in a couple of weeks.  The appointment is to go over my CT and ultrasounds finding on fluid in the uterus, cysts and endometrial tissue.  I also have cysts and nodules in my breast, calcifications and a nodule in my thyroid.  All small and do able.  These spells are upsetting though and starting to interfere with my life.  I'm actually leery of driving anywhere in which is causing stress.  If she even suggest anxiety I will scream.  LOL  It is "causing" anxiety though.  Thank you all again.  ((((HUGS))))

Amy.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Its hard for me to comment because the BSL here are a lot different than in the USA.
Usually the fasting fingerprick in the morning should be under 5.0.
So as you can see ...Australia has different testing levels than the USA.
And you should always be tested every 3 months if there is ANY sign of Diabetes.
Its a good guideline to go by along with the Cholesterol too.
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Avatar universal
Not to jump the thread here, but I was surprised at this list since have so many of them.  No, not diabetic.  It was the swelled abdomen that caught my attention.  Family hadn't seen me in over a month in 1997 and were shocked at how it'd swollen.  Nothing was ever found to be the cause.  Have IBS

Mild weight gain even while dieting
Extreme fatigue/napping
GERD/Heartburn/chest pain
Mostly constipation mixed with diarrhea (reversed though)
Depression/anxiety/forgetfulness/brain fog
Abdomen swells for no apparent reason
Scratchy voice
Migraines, dizziness and back of neck/head pain
Irregular periods and menstrual-like cramping in between periods
Voice is sometimes hoarse
Knee/joint pains – finger swelling and pain
scaly skin on neck, head, chest, chin, nose, right armpit down to waist
Dry eyes and sometimes soreness
Occasionally I have a mild hot flashes or chills
Body temp ranges 97-97.5

8/17/09 Tests-
TSH 0.760      .46 - 4.7 range
FRT4 1.27      0.89 - 1.76 range
FRT3 2.70      2.3 - 4.2 range

Early 8-09
TSH 3rd Gen - 1.121     0.400 -5 .500 range
T3 Total - 0.84      0.70 - 1.79 range
Thyroxine - 6.8      4.5 - 12.0 range

3-09
TSH 1.314      .46 - 4.7 range

Didn't go into it all on the symptoms list I experience.

Sal

Helpful - 0
649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
What are your FASTING blood sugars?  That's the important #.  Check it when you first get up in the morning, prior to eating/drinking anything and before any heavy activity. Also have you had a hemoglobin A1c done?  That will tell your blood sugar has been doing over the past couple months....  Fasting blood sugars of 100-125 are generally considered "pre-diabetes", but it's determined on multiple readings, not just one and not all doctors look at it the same way.  I had kept a record of mine for over 2 months, but my pcp refused to even look at it, even though my levels were consistently over 100, because my A1c came back in the "normal" range, even though it was very "high normal"

Also recommend that you get you vitamin B12 levels checked.  I have pernicious anemia and that too can cause cramps, tingling, etc, along with extreme fatigue.  I was actually dx'd with pernicious anemia BEFORE the thyroid issues and my pcp insisted that the b12 shots would solve all my problems.  NOT!!  BUT they did help immensely..

I don't see a Free T3 among your labs - that would be a good one to get checked and with most of those tests done a year ago, it might be beneficial to have some of them repeated -- particularly TSH, Free T3 and Free T4, since it's possible to have thyroid symptoms BEFORE the actual numbers show a problem.......
Helpful - 0
390388 tn?1279636213
Thanks so very much for the reply's.  This took some homework to find all the answers as accurate as I could.

Last results Feb 26 for thyroid issues was:

FT4    0.85   (0.58 - 1.64 ng/dL)
T4      6.9     (6.1 - 12.2 mcg/dL)
TSH    0.94   (0.34 - 5.60 micIU/ml)


Thyroid Ultrasound had done June of 2009 - re check from last year:-----------------Normal  

Right lobe of the thyroid measures 4.6 x 1.8 x 1.5 cm.  Left lobe measures 4.6 x 1.7 x 1.7 cm.  A small hypoechoic area is present within the left lobe of the thyroid measuring 3.6 x 1.5 x 3.4 mm appearing to be unchanged in comparison to the patients prior examination.   The size of both lobes of the thyroid appears to be stable in comparison to patient's prior examination.
_____________________________________________________________________
Back in 7-28-08 I had a bunch of test done, (copied and pasted) they were:

PTH-minerals:
PTH-serum       34  (15-50)
Calcium            9.5  (8.9-10.1)
INOR phosphorus 3.2  (2.5-4.5)
Creatinine           0.7  (0.6-1.1)

Thyroid-AB:
Thyroperox-AB   0.7   (<9.0)
Thyroglobn-AB  <1.8  secom   (<4.0)

Thyroid Funtion:
T-UPT  39.2  (32.0-48)
T4        5.9   (6.1-12.2)
FTI       5.8    (5.9-13.1)
T3-TOT  105  (87-178)
TSH     1.13   (.34-5.6)
Other test done- that showed improvements was on the Iron B12/Folate:
Iron  102   (60-160)     was 59
TIBC  524  (250-440)   was 593
% SAT  19.5  (20-55)  was  10
WBC  9.1   (4.0-10.7)  was 11.1
Transferrin  374  (200-360)  was 409
Hemoglobin A1C  5.8  (4.0-6.0)  was 6.4
Glue-RD  103 (60-99)  
GFR-AL 84 (90-200)
______________________________________None of them were Anti-TPO or TGAB though.

TamraW
I do get a lot of the symptoms you have listed about minus only the shaky hands and usually it's I'm freezing with a sweater on while my husband runs around in shorts in weather 72 degrees and lower or if it's hot, I'm lightheaded.  As for bowels I have had issues with IBS for years so it's hard to say.  CEA test came back normal though there.  She wants another colonoscopy but I'm refusing it due to the nightmare it was 16 years ago.  (Long Story).  In the winter months my body aches ALL over with MASSIVE spasms.  No one can figure that one out.  I live on pain pills once the temps drop.  As for BP and HR (all resting counts).  BP will go anywhere from 87/56 to 178/119 and HR can be anywhere between 53 to 145.  On the stress test for my heart the EF dropped 20 points but I still scored a 53% on my EF.  I do have some issues with my heart with past TIA's, arrhhmias, a 2nd degree Mobitz ll block and an anterior infarction years ago; but, I don't even want to think that route again.  Urgg.  I have a good friend on the heart forum though that I think can sooth my mind there though.

Smilerdeb:
As for checking sugar I use a Bayer Contour monitor and no it doesn't have a thing on it that gives you a message.  My levels are pretty good though.  The lowest I think was ~62 and the higher was 170's.  The only time it goes above that is for the glucose tolerance testing in which it spikes around 230-250, but, that's a lot of sugar soda to drink and hold down.  Yuck!  I did check my urine here at the house in around January and only once I had ketones show up. I checked two other times and it showed nothing so I let it go.  I keep the regent 10's around to check my dogs urine so I figured I didn't want to waste them on me.  LOL.  
Usually I keep my numbers pretty tight and check them weekly.  They run between 70-120 basically, in which I think is good.  

Sorry this is so very long (it literally took me hours..LOL) and thank you both VERY much for replying.  I'm starting to get really ANGRY about this because it is not leaving up.  It's making life a bit hard (to say the least) when everything is fine one minute and the next all the sudden goes black.  This happened to me in my teens but it was not daily.  I was also very wild then.

So far sugar is ruled out and thyroid is a question mark along with heart, hormonal or whatever.  So with this I will re-check ketones and I will ask about ?? Anti-TPO or TGAB bld testing.

THANK YOU AGAIN and GOD BLESS YOU BOTH.  ((((hugs))))  

Amy.  ;~)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Do you have ketones in your urine?

What I mean is....do you check your BSL every morning and night with a machine and has it ever said ...'check ketone levels'?

That could be one cause of the 'blackouts' where the pancreas is not doing the job its supposed too and then there is ketones in the urine where the sugar crystalises.

I also think 'thyroid' personally as I have seen Diabetic Coma and its not like the symptoms you have.
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Avatar universal
Yes, thyroid disease can cause those things. I had 'normal' thyroid numbers, too. Get your thyroid numbers and post them here. Many doctors use the outdated lab values and tests. I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease even though my TSH and FT4 were previously 'normal'.

The thyroid blood tests needed for Hashimoto's (a form of hypo thyroid disease) are:
TSH, FT4/FT3,
Anti-TPO, TGAB (specifically for Hashimotos)

I'm not suggesting you have Hashimoto's, but many of your symptoms could be Hashi, or maybe something else. These were my symptoms that my first two endocrinologists overlooked:

Mild weight gain even while dieting
Extreme fatigue/napping
GERD/Heartburn/chest pain
Mostly constipation mixed with diarrhea
Depression/anxiety/forgetfulness/brain fog
Abdomen swells for no apparent reason
Neck/jaw pain/swelling/pressure
Scratchy voice
Migraines, dizziness and back of neck/head pain
Very cold feet and hands and sometimes a feeling like ants are biting my feet
Endometriosis (2 years ago – cured after one year of birth control)
Irregular/heavy periods and menstrual-like cramping in between periods
Ear pressure/pain
Voice is sometimes hoarse
Knee/joint pains – finger swelling and pain
Rash or scaly skin on neck, head, chest, chin, nose, right armpit down to waist
Dry eyes and sometimes soreness
Occasionally I have a mild hot flashes or chills
Night throbbing/pounding in ears that wakes me
Toe nails feel painful and brittle
Muscles in legs sometimes go wobbly and weak when I am standing
Tingling feet/hands/lips
Body temp ranges 97-97.5
Hair clumps in shower
Shaky hands
Blood pressure changing
Feeling like heart is beating fast
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