So many symptoms... so few answers...

[Nickiej01]

Hello. I apologize in advance if this rambles. I am also crossposting (with some changes) in another forum. I am a 29 year old female who has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism with a hot nodule(this is the only confirmed diagnosis I have been able to get from 5 different doctors). I have been very sick for the last 13  years of my life. It started out with just general fatigue and muscle soreness and weakness. Now, for the last few years, there is a bulging pain I get from time to time directly below my ribcage on my left side (sometimes, it even hurts to touch). It gets worse if I eat anything greasy (like bacon) and I actually get nauseated and sometimes need to vomit to relieve the nausea. Once, I vomited 3 hours after eating, and all the food was still in my stomach. I bounce between contipated and loose(non-watery) stools. When I have a bowel movement, the pain will sometimes lessen. I also get really bad heartburn. Sometimes so bad, my throat feels like it's on fire. Symptoms get worse when I am stressed or upset (usually my heart will start racing, and my pulse and blood pressure will sky rocket.) I had a barium enema, and the radiologist said it was "basically normal", and they checked for blood in my stool and didn't find any. One of my grandmothers had polyps and died of stomach cancer, and my other grandmother died from pancreatic and lung cancer, so I am a little concerned. I am just so tired all the time, and it makes the worrying worse, which makes the symptoms worse. Strangely, I also have a few things that are asymptomatc for hyperthyroid: I am sensitive to cold and desensitized to heat, I gain weight like crazy, and I tend to be weak and tired most of the time (I do have random bouts of energy). The muscle soreness is getting worse (my left shoulder is numb almost all the time and my neck is getting very cranky). The soles of my feet are bright red and my toes are often cold. There is also a large strawberry colored rash on my right foot that develops fluid filled blisters that my doctors keep saying is eczema but doesn't respond to hyrdrocortisone at all. I am rhematoid positive and have high titer speckled ANA, but have not been diagnosed with anything. I should also point out that I took a lot of antibiotics as a child for genetic vesicoureteral reflux. If you have any insight, I would be ever so grateful!
Nichole

[jaksmom03]

sounds alot like gallbladder to me to have you had this checked I had mine out during my pregnancy but had all the same symptoms as you and  I even twtiched all the time it was horrible. I was so glad to get that thing out of my body! the nausea was horrible. good luck with everything but get your gallbladder looked at and have you had antibody test for graves and hoshimotos? I am working of trying to get these done I dont know why some doctors dont want to do any tests. I have a hard time getting anything done!

[Jellyz]

Sorry about that, hit enter by mistake.

I can tell you from personal experience that gallbladder can cause the nausea and stomach pain after eating fatty foods.  I just had mine removed on 8/3.   The gall bladder is on the right side under your ribs though.      However, my pain was on the right side, in the center right under the V in my ribs and the center of my belly above the belly button.  

Despite having my gall bladder out, which has helped w/some symptoms, I too still bounce from loose stools to constipation.   These are classic symptoms of IBS according to my primary doc...I am slowly learning what I can and can't eat....for example, no spicy, no caffeine, no tomato based stuff,  no full dairy (milk, ice cream).    

The heartburn and burning throat are classic signs of GERD according to my doc.  

All this stuff is also aggravated for me when I'm stressed.  

Has your cortisol level been checked?    Mine is through the roof...and that can cause extreme sensitivity to cold and sweating.  Also muscle weakness.    I am hyperthyroid right now,  so sometimes I sweat all night, but then I alternate to freezing cold.   Cortisol levels peak around 6 am.

I too smell the smoke smell....it's been a year.   I've had a sinus CT, a brain MRI  and they are clear.  

[DLA]

Can't help you much here, but the bulge and nausea, indigestion all sounds like it could be gall bladder.  Not a diagnosis, just and idea.

The burning in your throat with the heart burn sounds exactly like acid reflux.  Have you tried any OTC stuff for that?  A Prilosec a day works wonders.

Will pray you find the answers you need.
Dac

[Nickiej01]

A few things I didn't mention which may or may not be relevant:
I am prone to acne, even at my age, which neither OTC nor prescription meds seem to be able to help.
I am constantly battling with iron-deficiency anemia.
In the last month, I have begun smelling burning rubber and smoke that no one else can and tasting ammonia.
I have severe allergies which lead to chronic sinusitis at least twice a year, if not more. Traditional allergy meds don't always help. (Claritin seemed to help for about a week and then stopped helping.)
I have an ovarian cyst.
I have trouble falling asleep, and when I do fall asleep, I seem to spend most of the night having lucid dreams and then have trouble waking in the morning (even if I let myself naturally wake up, I still feel lethargic)