What would cause such strange symptoms?

Question

Here's what I got. This is a long-term thing that comes and goes. On average, various combinations of symptoms listed below occur at a moderate level once a week. Sometimes more or less severe, sometimes more frequently. Doctors have found no reason thus far:

-chills/feeling flush/inability to control body temperature (no fever, or very low-grade)
-abdominal cramps/discomfort/pain
-nausea (often severe, but very very very rarely vomitting. only twice has it got to that point, in fact)
-diarreah (and the inability to spell, apparently...)
-fatigue/drowsiness/feeling "shaky"
-anxiety/feeling "tense"
-dry mouth
-bad gas (sigh. how embarrassing...)
-inability to concentrate
-heart racing/beating irregularly/chest pain

Yes, there is a history of severe digestive problems in my history.

No, doctors say it's not crohn's (I've had LOTS of tests done).

Yes, I did get bit by a small tick this summer and the bite did get infected and I never got that checked out with a doctor.

Yes, I have more than one heart condition, but the chest pain thing is new. What I do have, I got the all-clear on from my cardiologist when I turned 17. He says I've out-grown most of it.

I can still breathe fine, but the pain sometimes takes my breath away. This is the rarest of the listed symptoms. Could it just be heartburn?

Answer 1

I think you'll have to find a doctor willing to work with you on ruling one thing out at a time, kind of a process of elimination. This might sound totally crazy, but believe it or not, a potassium deficiency can cause many, if not all, of the symptoms you have listed. If that's not it, ask for a Holter monitor to check your heart rate for 24 hours -- sounds like you have a tachycardia and/or arrhythmia which can be regulated with low dose beta-blockers. Usually these conditions have underlying causes though, so don't stop looking for what's really wrong just because you feel better with the medication. For the gas and bloating and all that (if it's not potassium-related), try playing with your diet -- for two days cut out all dairy products (lactose), if that doesn't solve anything, cut out white flour for 2 days, if that doesn't work, cut out... Keep at it until you notice something -- usually the foods that can trigger intolerances end in -ose like lactose, fructose, glucose...

Really the most important thing is to have a good general doctor who is really willing to listen to you, to take your complaints seriously, and to work with you to get to the bottom of your mystery. The human body really is quite complicated and rarely does the symptom point directly to the problem. Good luck & take care of yourself.

Answer 2

Have you had your gallbladder checked? That could be the cause for the abd pain/diarrhea/gas/nausea. If you have a heart condition, your cardiac symptoms could stem from the anxiety of the pain and discomfort. I had similiar symptoms over a period of 2 years before they decided to check my gallbladder and found gallstones. And recently, I went to the ER with heart palpitations and chest pain and everything checked out OK. I was told that that can happen when an infection is coming on. 2 days later I had really bad sinus infection. (I also have a heart condition:MVP) Hope it helps!

Answer 3

Yes, even if your husband has had a vasectomy, it is still possible to get pregnant from him, even though it is very rare and has a very low chance of that happening. My dad is an OB/GYN and he tied the tubes of a woman a couple years ago who is now pregnant again......these things just happen and CAN happen. I don't think you would be pregnant if you bled for over a week. But, you need to take a test if you are worried, and if that turns out negative, go to an OB/GYN or another doctor and try to figure out this thing you are having.

Answer 4

sounds like the liver to me. do you have upper right quandrant pain? (URQ)

if its the gallbladder, you wouldnt have all those symtpoms, however, you will with liver disease which would cause your gallbladder issues.

get tested for hepatitis c....4 million + have it in the US and most dont know it...

85% of those infected is chronic....
have the doctor run an antibody test because with the standard blood labs sometimes it will not show an increase in the ALT and AST levels. (common occurance with those infected with HCV).

Answer 5

Do you drink enough NONcaffeinated fluids?

Check out the symptoms of Dehydration:

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/d/dehydration/symptoms.htm

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/safety/first_aid/dehydration.html

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/dehydration_in_adults/article_em.htm

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000982.htm

Caffeine is a diuretic so it make you lose fluids FASTER. Caffeine is contained in MOST soft drinks, regular tea, FLAVORED NON-herbal teas and, of course, coffee.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Effects+of+Caffeine&sp=1&fr2=sp-topsearch=Affects+of+Caffeine&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAuZ2qn_REemiE3kFv8FMXGQazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F%2A-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAj9NmAXTeLNpaU9pwpz0_E4azKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F%2A%2Ahttp%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&ei=UTF-8&SpellState=n-3847314496_q-nvyiPWgUC77LvsTYOA6PCAABAA%40%40

Alcohol has a dehydrating effect, too.

http://www.umass.edu/diningservices/nutrition/alcohol.html

These will give you a start. I suggest you continue your research through your search engine(s) while you tell your doctor the EXACT same thing you listed here. Maybe you can copy and past your list to a word pad or notepad document and take it with you and had it to them. If they don't take you seriously then, find another doctor.

Once you either get your doctor to actually LISTEN to you OR find one that WILL, ask them to do a COMPLETE "blood workup" on you to find out exactly and precisely what is going on with you which will in turn tell how and what to do about it.

Answer 6

well this is a long shot but i had nearly all those symptoms when i was diagnosed with diabeties, could also be IBS (iretalble bowl symdrome) maybe u should see ur doctor and ask if u can get some blood tests done? maybe its a legic reaction to something

Answer 7

A combination of stress and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Answer 8

I would tell the doctor about the tick bite.

Answer 9

If you are taking a host of Medications, one of them could be adversely interacting with another. it reads like you have a bad case of Anxiety. whatever it is see a good psychologist.

Answer 10

Lymes disease, endocrine disturbances... example hyperthyroid hypothyroid, hypopitutary but sounds to me like you are stressed out.
LPN/EMT medic