27 Male Confused

[melhoff13]

I'm new to this forum and new to being sick.  So here goes.  I am a 27 year old male who recently moved from Missouri to New Mexico.  I have never been sick and generally eat healthy and work out as much as I can.  About 6 weeks ago I experienced my first sickness or episode (not sure what to call it).  I was at work changing some oil on some machinery for about 4 - 5 hours in the morning.  After eating lunch I was sitting at my computer browsing espn.com when my left hand went numb on me.  I got real scared and stood up.  A few minutes later my upper lip went numb and this freaked me out.  I also felt a little sick to my stomach and was real thirsty (dehydrated).  I called 911 because I was freaking out.  When the paramedics got to me they said I was probably having a panic attack.  They didn't think I needed to go the hospital but I made them take me anyways.  At the hospital I was put through MRI tests, EKG's, and a lot of blood work.  The doc said he couldn't find anything wrong with me and said I probably suffered a migraine (complex).  He gave me some pain meds and sent me home.

I have been to 3 or 4 other ER's, Urgent Cares, and Regular Doctors over the last 6 weeks because of all this.  I've been told I had a slight case of the flu so I was given some nose spray and inhaler for that (I have had allergy problems since I arrived in NM).  Those medications seemed to help a little.  The last time I saw my regular doctor he gave me a script for Naproxen.  I had to stop taking that because I started having tingling feelings in my hands, feet, and chin while on it.  He also gave me Meloxicam, but I had the same reaction to that.  I was also on Claritan during all this.

My problem is I seem to be tired all the time.  I sleep well but I don't feel anything like I did before that day.  I finally stopped taking all meds and I seem to be feeling a little better.  I have a lot of pain in my ribs, upper back, and around my chest plate.  I have been to a cardiologist because I thought I was having chest pains, but it turned out to just be soreness (not sure why).

I have a feeling a lot of my problems are from anxiety or whatever.  I have been stressed and freaked out since that day I had the migraine or panic attack.  I never have had migraines or panic attacks, so I have been thinking the worst every day.

Oh yea, I have had complete lab work done 7 times in the last 6 weeks and everything is top notch.  I was given a copy of my last lab restults and I got on the internet and researched every reading there was.  I think I'm paranoid.  I just want to get back to normal.

The only other thing I wonder is if the fumes from the synthetic oil I used that day could have caused the complex migraine.  Or if my allergy problems could have caused it.  My nose has been either clogged or running since I arrive in NM back in November of 2008.

WOW, I don't even know if I asked for any advice.

[melhoff13]

Thanks for the response.  I go back to my doctor in a few weeks and I will discuss everything with him.  Between the 4 ER docs, 2 Urgent Care docs, and 2 regular doctors I have seen the last 6 weeks they all agree there is nothing wrong with me.  I have been told to eat healthy, excercise, and get good sleep.  I actually feel like things are getting better, but all this has caused me a lot of stress and anxiety.  Hopefully, I am done with all this and can move on without worrying.  The more I relax the better I feel.  I have never had migraines before that day or since that day.  I am chaulking it up to some kind of reaction to oil and moving on.

I'll let the doc do his job and tell me if there is anything wrong...which at this point there isn't.  Thanks for the replies.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
There are various causes for numbness.
“
• Remaining in the same seated or standing position for a long time
• Injury to a nerve -- for example, a neck injury may cause you to feel numbness anywhere along your arm or hand, while a low back injury can cause numbness or tingling down the back of your leg
• Pressure on the spinal nerves, such as from a herniated disk
• Lack of blood supply to an area -- for example, plaque buildup from atherosclerosis in the legs can cause pain, numbness, and tingling while walking (this is called vascular claudication)
• Other medical conditions, including:
o Carpal tunnel syndrome
o Diabetes
o Migraines
o Multiple sclerosis
o Seizures
o Stroke
o Transient ischemic attack (TIA)
o Underactive thyroid
o Raynaud's phenomenon
o Abnormal levels of calcium, potassium, or sodium in your body
o A lack of vitamin B12 or other vitamin
o Certain medications
o Toxic action on nerves, such as that from”
Refer: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003206.htm
You can read more about this on this link. . A comprehensive investigation is required keeping all the points in mind.
Allergy to fumes of the oil is also possible. Good you thought of that. You can confirm by an allergy test.
Hope this helps. It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Do consult your doctor and rule out these causes one by one. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[melhoff13]

Thanks for the response.  It is very weird to me that all this could be caused by feelings or stress, but I guess it can.  I can tell you ever since this happened I pay attention to every little thing about my body.  I feel a twinge here or a pop there, I get worried.  I am trying to put this all behind me.  I am getting better, but I still have some of the symptoms and don't understand how they can just be from anxiety.  I go back to the doc in a couple weeks and will discuss this anxiety thing with him.  I know I'm not dieing, but I sure do feel crappy some days.

[GemmaJ333]

Hi melhoff13

I had tears in my eyes reading your post as I have had similar symptoms and could totally relate to you. I have just written a post myself and then noticed yours......

When I was work around 4/5 years ago, I was feeling totally normal when my mouth, left arm and leg went numb, felt totally disorientated and felt like I was struggling to breathe. I was taken straight to the hospital where they thought I maybe had suffered a stroke or something heart related. After hours of blood tests etc, I was told there was nothing wrong with me and it was put down to a panic attack just like yourself. I couldn't understand why, I had never had one before and I felt totally fine before it. For days after that I felt totally drained out and very tired, I rang my doctor who told me this was perfectly normal after a panic attack. Again, I didn't understand where the whole panic attack thing had come from.

Since that day, I have become a very nervous and anxious person. I still get the numbness, I get very bad headaches, dry mouth, weird feelings in my chest.....the list is endless.

I have since been back to my doctor and had more tests which have all resulted in nothing. After been repeatedly told that I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, I have read up alot on this kind of thing and the symptoms we suffer do point towards panic attacks and anxiety, I still find it hard all these years later to deal with it cos these symptoms happen totally out of the blue. I was out having lunch today feeling totally fine and it happened....it's all very weird.

Like yourself, I am young (age 23) and just want to go through a day without feeling like I do. I just want to get back to normal too. I bought myself a book about panic attacks and when reading it, I felt that it helped alot to know that others out there go through the same things everyday. It's reassuring in a way, although it doesn't stop the symptoms!

I really hope you pick yourself up soon!