Mystery illness

[soho]

Hi, I'm 30 years old and I've been very healthy all my life up until 2 1/2 years ago when I developed a chronic persistant headache.  Next, about 3 months ago I started having heart palps and near syncope,  along with episodes of extreme malaise, lethargy, bradycardia alternation with tachycardia, (dizziness during bradycardia and syncope during tachycardia)...A very odd feeling in my abdomen and chest area similar to the feeling you get on a roller coaster...this feeling alternates with fluttering chest discomfort.....which is very sensitive to any sort of unexpected surprises or stress....Also the whole 2.5 years I've had chronic 'brain fog'

I haven't been anywhere in 5 years, but during my life I've been to the Carribean (jamaica, bahamas)...Central america (south mexico, honduras).  

What I'm getting at  is could I have contracted a disease during my time living in these places?  (I wasn't a tourist I actually lived among the poor natives and ate their food, and went hiking in their woods).  

I have been worked up at a major hospital with no diagnosis and am at wit's end, this is just another thing I am trying to rule out.

My illness reminds me of "charles darwin's illness" in some respects, you can read about it on wikipedia.org

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

Dear Soho,


First of all, almost anything is possible. However, until all medical explanations for your condition have thoroughly been considered, I do not think that a travel-related illness is likely to be the cause of your symptoms.

In general, infectious diseases that are acquired while traveling or eating or drinking usually result in fevers. Your symptoms do not sound like typical symptoms that are related to infectious diseases or tropical diseases.

Can you tell me more about your medical work-up, the results, and your diagnosis (what your physicians have called your condition)?

~*~ Dr. Parks

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

[soho]

This will sound odd, but there was one time  8 years ago that I ate a crunchy pastry given to me in an ethnic store (pakastani i believe), and when I ate it people started laughing and eyeballing me...could I have eaten something that caused this many years later?