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Possible ingested toxin, ideas sought

Hi,

i am a 45-year old male in otherwise good health.  I live in and ingestion would have occurred in northern south america, tropical elevation.

I have credible reason to believe I may have ingested a toxic substance 15 months ago.  I am looking for ideas on what category of substance might have produced my combination of symptoms.

Ingestion would have been via coffee with milk.

Start point (ingestion) seated in reclining chair - same chair and position for almost 20 years I have daily.

45-60min post-ingestion - become very fuzzyheaded (especially forehead) and very short of breath, completely unable to concentrate.  based on notes, I was functionally incapacitated for well over an hour.  I did not take my blood pressure at this time.  Based on subsequent information, I have suspected (but cannot prove) I had extremely low blood pressure at this time.  I actively regulate my breathing (not hyperventilating) and still cannot feel I catch my breath.

This pattern of shortness of breath, fuzziheadedness, and mild headache (forehead)while seated (worst while reclined) would continue with moderation over time for months.  I stopped reclining in my chair shortly after this and cannot do so to this day without symptoms.

At this time I also noticed that I could no longer rest hands on my abdomen.  I have slept with hands crossed on my stomach for much of my adult life and had to stop.  At this point my abdomen wasn't in pain but even an ounce of pressure quickly became uncomfortable.

Walking up 2 flights of stairs with a light suitcase (30lbs>) my pulse hits a very high rate - perhaps 150? and stays there, and I feel I cannot catch my breath for minutes.  Only a week or so before (and before the start of symptoms), I carried much more weight around without unusual issue.

Over the coming weeks I would find climbing stairs to be quickly painful in my chest and right forearm/leg.  the pattern on any weight lifting causing very high pulse quickly continued.  my abdomen has become overtly sore (broad and diffuse pain) and any pressure, even a finger, is painful.

Historically my blood pressure has been within a few points of 120/80 my entire life.  Visits to physicians shorts after the incident began to show greatly reduced bloodpressure, I hit 90/60 in physicians offices a few times and numbers in 100/65 area were almost routine.  Over time this has moved up to 110/70, but still represents a notable drop from my pre-blood pressure event.

at this point, 15 months later, the stairs/carrying symptoms have cleared up.  I can exercise normally.  I continue to have positional symptoms and increasing abdominal sensitivity and now some general pain.

What I have had done -

very extensive cardiological work-up - inc. nuclear medicine stress test, ultrasound.   normal.  given the odd blood pressure drop - a tilt table test was done but the cardiologist did not address the protocol to be used, and only a 10% % tilt was used.  He agreed this wasn't a correct approach to the test afterwardds, something like a 40-60 degree tilt, slowly changed, might have been interesting.

EEG, normal.

I began having acute gallbladder issues 5 months post-event, was found to have several small stones, and had a cholecystecomy 10 months post-event.  It resolved gall-bladder specific issues (mainly related to greasy food) and did not change any other symptoms.

What I have not done -

Colonoscopy (due next month)
stool test (there has sometimes been a dark reddish brown glistening character to stools, grease or blood?)  i assume this done with colonscopy

My head hair is very short and i do not have samples from prior periods.  Public hair is available but I have read that it sheds very frequently overall.

I have read extensively about pesticide ingestion as well as toxic metal ingestion, but literature is a bit vague and I have not seen anything which too closely resembles the above.  I have not located any toxicologists in private practice who sees patients - unsurprisingly, most work for police agencies or environmental-related entities.  I have been specifically told by my primary physician that features of my circumstances strongly suggestion ingestion is a possibility.  

The matter has significant potential legal implications and even if untreatable at this point, trying to establish what has happened is important for considerations related thereof.

I would appreciate any suggestions on either where to go (in the US), what to look more closely into (particularly specific substances or flora), and otherwise how I might pursue this a year+ after event.

Any help appreciated.

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Avatar universal
sorry cannot find an edit button?  

" I actively regulate my breathing (not hyperventilating) and still cannot feel I catch my breath. "

should have been in past tense, i.e. when this happened i actively monitored and regulated my breathing.
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