Aa
Sick for five months with no diagnosis... desperate for answers.
Hi everyone. I'm a 21-year-old female currently going through a terrible health crisis. It might not sound that severe when I describe it but it is keeping me from working, going to school, and even seeing my family! Because of that I've fallen into a deep depression... I spent pretty much the entire day crying and finally when I couldn't cry any more I decided I really needed to get down to business and figure this thing out.
I've always been extremely healthy until April of this year and everything started to go downhill. It started by having little spells of feeling flushed, dizzy, and a little nauseous. I'd go lay down for a little while and I'd usually be fine. Then at the end of April I got what I thought was a virus, felt better after a week and then started having the spells of feeling bad again. In the middle of May, I came down with the stomach flu (I thought that was it at the time) and it just wouldn't go away. Every since then I've dealt with lots of stomach/digestive issues... for a while I would wake up feeling incredibly nauseous and throw up every single morning. That lasted about a month and finally it slowed down. Right now it probably happens every couple of weeks but I feel queasy often and my appetite definitely isn't what it used to be. I've also had some bowel issues... even when I thought I had the stomach flu I never really had diarrhea, but I get constipated very easily and pretty much every morning I get a stomach ache and have an urgent need to use the bathroom. I've also had LOTS of gas, to the point where I feel like I can't stop belching. Occasionally I will actually belch to the point of throwing up.
While the digestive problems have been awful they're not the only thing I'm dealing with. There are a lot of times when I feel like I'm going to pass out, but I never actually do. I get dizzy a lot (not bad like the room is spinning, my head just feels a little off). I've also gotten spells where I feel like I can't breathe, and spells where I feel like my brain is about to shut down.
I seem to have had an increase in hair loss, and my skin appears to be thinner (either that or my veins are standing out more, because the veins all over my body look much darker than they used to). I have tiny red dots on my skin that don't hurt or itch, they just look like I've been poked with a needle (I think they're petechiae but whenever I look them up I see people with rash-like clusters of them and mine don't look like that at all). I also occasionally have a slight feeling of weakness/numbness on the left side of my body, but I'm thinking it could be either anxiety or just the way I'm laying/sitting.
I've also had frequent UTI symptoms... yesterday I went to a health clinic for what I thought was a UTI. In the office they looked at my urine and said I had a bad one but then I got a call today saying the culture was negative. I don't know if that means I don't actually have an infection or what.
Now for all the things I've been tested for... I've had blood tests for autoimmune disease, inflammation, and lyme disease. I've had a CBC and CBC with differential, my thyroid has been checked and I've been checked for anemia. All of my vitamin levels are in the normal range. I've had my blood sugar checked and it's usually about 103-108 a few hours after eating a small amount of food. I had an ultrasound done on my gallbladder and it revealed nothing.
So as of now, I'm at a loss. The only thing I can possibly even think of is mold exposure. I moved into an apartment in December and felt fine until the weather started getting warm, and I thought it might have something to do with my air conditioner. My boyfriend looked inside and said it looked like it had tons of black mold growing on dust in the vent. My bed is RIGHT below the A/C and for a while it was blowing black stuff onto the side I sleep on. When I noticed that I moved my bed. I know mold usually doesn't affect people that badly but when I started getting sick I stayed in the room pretty much 24/7 with the A/C always on. I decided to stay at my dad's for a while and I've been here for a month and a half. I might feel a LITTLE better as a whole but I've still been getting sick.
The weird thing is, some days I almost feel "normal" (although never back to where I was before). I get optimistic and think I'm better, then bam! The symptoms are back. I really need help with this... it's ruining my life. I'm 21 and this shouldn't be happening.
I've always been extremely healthy until April of this year and everything started to go downhill. It started by having little spells of feeling flushed, dizzy, and a little nauseous. I'd go lay down for a little while and I'd usually be fine. Then at the end of April I got what I thought was a virus, felt better after a week and then started having the spells of feeling bad again. In the middle of May, I came down with the stomach flu (I thought that was it at the time) and it just wouldn't go away. Every since then I've dealt with lots of stomach/digestive issues... for a while I would wake up feeling incredibly nauseous and throw up every single morning. That lasted about a month and finally it slowed down. Right now it probably happens every couple of weeks but I feel queasy often and my appetite definitely isn't what it used to be. I've also had some bowel issues... even when I thought I had the stomach flu I never really had diarrhea, but I get constipated very easily and pretty much every morning I get a stomach ache and have an urgent need to use the bathroom. I've also had LOTS of gas, to the point where I feel like I can't stop belching. Occasionally I will actually belch to the point of throwing up.
While the digestive problems have been awful they're not the only thing I'm dealing with. There are a lot of times when I feel like I'm going to pass out, but I never actually do. I get dizzy a lot (not bad like the room is spinning, my head just feels a little off). I've also gotten spells where I feel like I can't breathe, and spells where I feel like my brain is about to shut down.
I seem to have had an increase in hair loss, and my skin appears to be thinner (either that or my veins are standing out more, because the veins all over my body look much darker than they used to). I have tiny red dots on my skin that don't hurt or itch, they just look like I've been poked with a needle (I think they're petechiae but whenever I look them up I see people with rash-like clusters of them and mine don't look like that at all). I also occasionally have a slight feeling of weakness/numbness on the left side of my body, but I'm thinking it could be either anxiety or just the way I'm laying/sitting.
I've also had frequent UTI symptoms... yesterday I went to a health clinic for what I thought was a UTI. In the office they looked at my urine and said I had a bad one but then I got a call today saying the culture was negative. I don't know if that means I don't actually have an infection or what.
Now for all the things I've been tested for... I've had blood tests for autoimmune disease, inflammation, and lyme disease. I've had a CBC and CBC with differential, my thyroid has been checked and I've been checked for anemia. All of my vitamin levels are in the normal range. I've had my blood sugar checked and it's usually about 103-108 a few hours after eating a small amount of food. I had an ultrasound done on my gallbladder and it revealed nothing.
So as of now, I'm at a loss. The only thing I can possibly even think of is mold exposure. I moved into an apartment in December and felt fine until the weather started getting warm, and I thought it might have something to do with my air conditioner. My boyfriend looked inside and said it looked like it had tons of black mold growing on dust in the vent. My bed is RIGHT below the A/C and for a while it was blowing black stuff onto the side I sleep on. When I noticed that I moved my bed. I know mold usually doesn't affect people that badly but when I started getting sick I stayed in the room pretty much 24/7 with the A/C always on. I decided to stay at my dad's for a while and I've been here for a month and a half. I might feel a LITTLE better as a whole but I've still been getting sick.
The weird thing is, some days I almost feel "normal" (although never back to where I was before). I get optimistic and think I'm better, then bam! The symptoms are back. I really need help with this... it's ruining my life. I'm 21 and this shouldn't be happening.
Thanks. It's just so odd that some days I feel so much better (although as of now I've felt pretty bad for a few weeks) and some days I feel terrible. I think it seems like toxicity as well which is why I suspected mold but surely my body could have eliminated the toxins after two months? That's like the only thing my symptoms really match, though. That and yeast overgrowth which often goes hand in hand with mold exposure. I'm trying to take anti-fungal herbs and oils just with the hope that they'll help a little.
It could be environmental allergies, caused by the aerial spraying they are doing , check out "What on earth are they Spraying" a member called ginger899 has it up on her journal, Ask for a Heavy Metal toxicity test .The symptomd you describe sound like toxicity ...
Thanks. That's really interesting.
I'm also wondering about chronic fatigue syndrome, just because this (for the most part) started with a virus and I do test positive for Epstein Barr virus (even though it isn't active, just shows a past infection). That's kind of a scary thought since there's no cure or treatment...
I'm also wondering about chronic fatigue syndrome, just because this (for the most part) started with a virus and I do test positive for Epstein Barr virus (even though it isn't active, just shows a past infection). That's kind of a scary thought since there's no cure or treatment...
there are some auto-immune syndromes that are known to be triggered by influenza A. not in every person, in some. I have also found some other info about the recent strains of flu that can give neurological symptoms. temporary hairloss too, google h1n1 hair loss for example. In the past few months I have also been collecting different cases that looked similar, some have begun with a headache-sinusitis during the past fall like it happened to me.
About the flu affecting a person for months. Every time I Google it I just get stuff about flu shots and stuff. I found it interesting since my illness started with what seemed like a viral infection at the end of April.
about what exactly? I have been suffering myself with all sorts of symptoms weakness in legs that eventually moved to the arms and something with the brain cortex. the muscular weakness went on for 10 months and I believe it all started with headache and some watery nasal drip 1 year ago exactly during the past flu season.
One more question... where online have you read about this? Some links would be super helpful.
Yeah, I take Culturelle and eat yogurt but I still have the stomach problems. This is just awful.
I use garlic when I have the cough. yogurt with pro-biotics should help with bowel symptoms..
I've also become a blood donor that way I stay checked regularly. oh well and help somebody eventually.
I've also become a blood donor that way I stay checked regularly. oh well and help somebody eventually.
Thanks! You do have me kind of optimistic that this might go away someday. Hopefully that will be soon. I do kind of feel like I'm at least a little better than I was when this started. My goal is to be well by Thanksgiving.
Since it might be an immune response, would you recommend doing things to boost my immune system or will that do more harm than good? Because I've been taking a multivitamin, garlic, fish oil, milk thistle, and some other stuff so I hope I'm not hurting myself.
Since it might be an immune response, would you recommend doing things to boost my immune system or will that do more harm than good? Because I've been taking a multivitamin, garlic, fish oil, milk thistle, and some other stuff so I hope I'm not hurting myself.
I guess that kind of makes sense, thanks for your help. I hope this just goes away on its own, that would be great.
I know what you mean about the doctors though... anxiety is just the diagnosis they give when there's nothing obvious wrong with you. I've been seeing a nurse practitioner mostly, not an actual doctor, but I feel like she knows a lot and does really care. It's a small town so it's not like she has tons and tons of patients coming to her with mystery illnesses. So hopefully she'll work with me to help me get well.
I know what you mean about the doctors though... anxiety is just the diagnosis they give when there's nothing obvious wrong with you. I've been seeing a nurse practitioner mostly, not an actual doctor, but I feel like she knows a lot and does really care. It's a small town so it's not like she has tons and tons of patients coming to her with mystery illnesses. So hopefully she'll work with me to help me get well.
this is something I have been researching recently. there seems to be new strains of Influenza A virus that are almost asymptomatic.
you would get high WBC at some point , when the infection peaks otherwise nothing shows up on CBC.
some types of infections can trigger a immunological problem, and the immune system itself can give neurological symptoms. that can go on for months.
if you'll find someone who cares about your situation and takes it at heart well that's better but if you had to insist you could have problems with the doctors when your symptoms are not visible and the tests are negative it will be likely that someone will eventually propose a therapy for anxiety or depression.
you would get high WBC at some point , when the infection peaks otherwise nothing shows up on CBC.
some types of infections can trigger a immunological problem, and the immune system itself can give neurological symptoms. that can go on for months.
if you'll find someone who cares about your situation and takes it at heart well that's better but if you had to insist you could have problems with the doctors when your symptoms are not visible and the tests are negative it will be likely that someone will eventually propose a therapy for anxiety or depression.
Yeah, you're right about the doctor thing. I think I need to keep going even when I feel well, I need to get some answers. I don't think there's nothing else they can do, I think someone can figure it out and help me if I keep trying. Can influenza really go on for 5 months and have symptoms that vary so much? Could it have made me wake up every morning and throw up, and then feel better throughout the day? Can it cause all the gas and bloating? It's just so odd to me. Surely if I had any kind of flu I'd have a high white blood cell count, wouldn't I? It just seems so strange to me that that would happen... the worst thing I ever got before was the common cold. I'd get a cold about twice a year and other than that I was perfectly fine.
it's normal for anxiety to go up and down along with the symptoms.
when you get worse you're like "doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor"
and when you're better you're like "screw that"
it's normal everyone is like that, especially young people or who has never been ill before.
My idea is that it's possible that you caught some particular strain of influenza virus to which your immune system is getting adjusted to. it can give you all those symptoms along with UTI and bowel symptoms. it can also "shut down" your hair follicles, temporarily, they will go back to normal. it could go on for months.
if all blood works came back normal there is nothing else you can do, just stay calm you just have to accept that you are a bit sick at the moment. that is all doctors can do about it.
when you get worse you're like "doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor"
and when you're better you're like "screw that"
it's normal everyone is like that, especially young people or who has never been ill before.
My idea is that it's possible that you caught some particular strain of influenza virus to which your immune system is getting adjusted to. it can give you all those symptoms along with UTI and bowel symptoms. it can also "shut down" your hair follicles, temporarily, they will go back to normal. it could go on for months.
if all blood works came back normal there is nothing else you can do, just stay calm you just have to accept that you are a bit sick at the moment. that is all doctors can do about it.
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