Ok, I will try and make this as short as I can without leaving too much out. For the record, I am 33 and male. I do not use drugs, non-smoker and do not drink alcohol or energy drinks.
For the past 8 months or so I have been having just an overall "not feeling well" feeling that I cannot really pinpoint. Just very tired and "on edge". About 4 months ago, I started having these episodes where I would out of nowhere be overcome with feeling as if I was going to faint/die. When these episodes when come on, I would have very heavy labored breathing, i would become very confused (mumble my speech), finger tips would turn blue, I would become very pale, I would sweat, shake and my pulse would drop to around 40 BPM. This would last for about 5 minutes and it would go away, but my hear rate would all of the sudden jump and I would be extremely nervous and and shake badly. It was almost as if my blood sugar would drop REALLY low. I would become very nauseous and sick to my stomach during these episodes and not want to eat. I would eat, however, just in case my blood sugar had dropped.
I would eat and seem to feel a little better. These episodes would take a huge toll on my body and I would be extremely tired after said episode(s).
Rewind to about 3 months ago. I had come home from work and had felt fine all day. I hadnt eaten much, so I decided to grab a snack. I think I had a poptart. About an hour goes by and I start feeling that "Im going to pass out/die" feeling. I was very scared, as I was home alone. I called my gf to come over just in case anything went wrong. For the next 5 hours my stomach swelled up and I had horrible pain and discomfort. I was very nauseous and diarrhea that was uncontrollable. At about the 6th hour in I finally started to vomit. I say finally because I felt it coming on, but it would never happen. I continued to vomit 12 times over a period of an hour 1/2. The last three times I vomited LOTS of blood, and thats when I knew I had to go to the ER.
They treated me for what they thought was an ulcer and torn esophagus and sent me home with meds. I took the meds and followed up with a Gastroenterologist as suggested. He said he wasnt actually sure I had an ulcer, but was cruious about the pain I had in my stomach and the terrible bout's of acid reflux and heartburn (something I have had for years).
Moving on to the past month. I started having what I thought was a stomach bug. Uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, feeling nauseous, burning and heartburn. Had that lingering "need to vomit" feeling, but havent vomited yet.
Here is where things get weird, at least IMO.
All of the sudden out of nowhere I started having these burning sensations throughout my whole entire body. It felt as if the inside of my body was set on fire. This feeling was followed with a pins-and-needles effect while the burning continued. On top of this, I would all of the sudden become EXTREMELY (and I cannot express the EXTREME enough) weak and tired. Not weak as in, I cannot make a fist, but weak as in I felt as if I was so sleepy and weak that I could just lay down where ever I was and fall asleep and never wake up again. Now, with this symptom also came (but not all the time, maybe 95% of the time) stomach pains, extreme/explosive diarrhea, shakes and labored breathing. Felt as if my blood sugar was low.
This has been going on for a month now, every day and at VERY random times. However, if/when I eat, it does seem to happen within 15-45 minutes after or even before I eat. But again, randomly too. I get these extreme feelings of low blood sugar within 2-3 hours after eating as well. When I get these attacks, I cannot think straight and I mumble as if all knowledge goes out the window. These days I have a very difficult time concentrating and remembering things as well. I dont know if it is all related, but its worth mentioning, IMO.
Rewind to a week 1/2 ago. I went to the ER after having one of these attacks and was told I was fine. Blood work all came back normal, heart was ok and I was sent home. I decided to go to the Dr. the other day to see what the hell is wrong with me. The Dr. doesnt seem to have any clue, but did have me do a 6 hour blood sugar test. This is where he is wanting to start, though I feel it is much deeper and complex than just my blood sugar. Hopefully I get my test results back today, but either way, I will continue to search for answers. I will update the thread with my results when I get them.
One thing I think I might should share. I have seen a cardiologist for the past 7 or 8 years for a fast pulse and take a medication called Atenolol. When I lay down, and also at random times, but especially when I lay down and am sleeping, my heart beats SO HARD and sometimes very fast waking me up. I can feel the beats in my chest, neck, arms, stomach and back. Somehow I feel this is interconnected to my other problem, just not sure how yet.
If anyone has any information that they think could help, or guidance to what to do next, I would greatly appreciate it. I feel I am going crazy. Thankfully my gf has witnessed all of this, as well as people at work, so they see that something isnt right, but I feel confused and scared. Its caused me to have a lot of anxiety as well. I only have my faith to rely on at this point.
Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this and respond. God Bless. And to those of you who are ill, and are posting and even if you're afraid to post, I will be keeping you all in my prayers.