So a good buddy of mine has been having heath issues and his doctors haven't found anything wrong with him. I asked him to write me his issues and I would post them for him. No, this isn't me. If it was me I would have posted threads on this way before.
Here are the cliffs:
-Moments of feeling weak/panic like/confused/irritable/being slightly short of breath,sometimes having eye twitches, sometimes having right chest pain happen every day for a significant portion of the day
-Symptons worse lately
-Tests show up basically normal
-Recent hairloss
-Lost weight in the past few years(on purpose)
-He's 30 Years old.
-Doesn't drink of booze
-Doesn't drink pop or coffee so no major caffeine sources
Here are the non-cliffs that he emailed me:
---------------------------------
I'm 30. Moments of feeling weak/panic like/confused/irritable/being slightly short of breath,sometimes having eye twitches, sometimes having right chest pain happen every day for a significant portion of the day, often between 10am and 3pm (even on weekends) though sometimes as late as 5-7pm. (rarely if ever during the first few hours of being awake, rarely if ever during the last few hours of the day). The condition is often worse when walking around/standing. Doctors have ran standard blood tests, brain MRI. They see no sign of being diabetic according to the fasting blood test and they also think my heart is healthy though the last time they checked it out was in the Fall of 2007. They see no signs of an under/overactive thyroid. Only thing they ever came away with was that one (but not subsequent tests) showed low potassium.
Attacks never happened until Fall 2007 -- but in the Fall of 2007 they only occurred for a few weeks and then went away. Now they have become EVERYDAY occurrences the last month. Specifically the attacks started right during and after my trip to Hong Kong/China in the Fall 2007. Before the Fall of 2007 in Feb 2007 I weighed 65 pounds more (was 265 instead of 200). I also used to drink a lot of diet coke, aspartame, caffeine until recently. Now I have none of those and have maintained an approximate weight of 200 pounds for many months. I also have a much less stressful job and have graduated from school so I have plenty of downtime after work.
These attacks are presumed to be panic attacks according to the doctors, but XANAX doesn't seem to help and my pulse is slow when these happen, so I am not sure that these are panic attacks. These attacks can cause right chest pain that can last for 24-48 hours after an attack. I have noticed my teeth sometimes get numb as well. These attacks are NOT short -- they last for many hours.
My weight can fluctuate quite a bit for whatever reason -- on the weekend I weighed myself naked at 206 -- by Tuesday I was 196. Not sure if it is bad that I seem to retain water on occasion or ??
Pulse is slow (if laying down 51-60bpm, if sitting up 60-65bpm) It is always slow unless I'm working out. BP seems to be higher in general during these attacks (normally it is 120/70 -- when I have an attack it can be 140/90 )
Hands are cold during these attacks, often ICE cold (just as cold as the carpet in the room). My work has a laser temperature monitor and when I am feeling really bad my hands often go from 86-95 degrees to 78.
When it gets really bad I get nauseas and it is hard to eat or drink. I have tried switching diets to mcdonalds salads, potbelly sandwiches, sushi, etc. to no avail. I try to keep well hydrated throughout the day. I have tried taking daily Centrum and almost think that might be making these attacks worse rather than better. I have also tried taking calcium/magnesium/zinc since I bite my nails and others have suggested that can mean lake of magnesium -- but that didn't help either (except MAYBE to reduce the PVCs).
I have tried taking XANAX and although it sometimes takes the edge off slightly I still feel terrible and very weak when walking (workers have commented that I look like a Zombie).
When I exercise these symptoms seem to get better -- if I'm feeling really bad they just make me feel less faint but still bad, if I feel OK then exercise can make them completely go away.
It is NIGHT AND DAY when I feel good compared to when I feel bad... one day I can kayak on the Chicago river the next I have to leave work early and pass out, despite the fact that I try to get regular sleep and only drink a few glasses of wine twice a week (NO SMOKING, NO BINGE DRINKING). I even moved a love chair to my work so I can have a place to put my feet up (these attacks feel much worse when standing - when laying down I feel better, though often still very weak and tired).
My sleep is much worse than it used to be -- I get up several times a night -- this never used to happen I used to hibernate until my alarm went off. I almost now always wake up before the alarm.
My balance is off when walking when I'm not feeling good -- it feels like I'm going to fall over or faint and I often take a "double step". It is amazing how bad I can feel simply from standing -- even though my blood pressure doesn't seem to drop (if anything it goes up).
When I get cuts on my feet they take a really long time to heal -- my feet are often ICE cold if they aren't covered with socks/shoes.
Other health conditions I have that may have no relevance: ?
1) During the winter I had 2 NASTY flus in a row for a total of 5-6 weeks of being out. During that time I felt too weak to walk around or do many activities.
2) Have PVCs (is probably genetic) -- according to a 24-hour holter monitor I get about 270 a day and the doctor says many people get these. I feel these some days in a strong way but they don't appear to be any more prevalent during the attacks.
3) My testosterone level is low/normal at 330 (below 300 is below normal). My free testosterone is slightly below normal. The doctors think this shouldn't be effecting me much. I have a
4) I have a varicocele is my left testicle that occasionally causes shooting pain (not bad enough to warrant an operation).
5) I have lattice degeneration and floaters in my eyes, though I see 20/20 since getting LASIK done 7 years ago. (had near sighted -4.5 before that with contacts)
6) Always been a big "sweater" despite the fact that my weight/build looks pretty average now. Even light walking or moving a few computers around can make me sweat intensely.
7) I am lactose intolerant
8) hair has been falling out during these attacks such that it is much thinner -- every day my shower drain is clogged with hair -- my girlfriend says I leave hair all over her pillow
9) tend to yawn a lot even when I've had tons of sleep -- this goes along with the lethargy -- still though I've been very lethargic in the past without feeling so miserable and weak
Here are the cliffs:
-Moments of feeling weak/panic like/confused/irritable/being slightly short of breath,sometimes having eye twitches, sometimes having right chest pain happen every day for a significant portion of the day
-Symptons worse lately
-Tests show up basically normal
-Recent hairloss
-Lost weight in the past few years(on purpose)
-He's 30 Years old.
-Doesn't drink of booze
-Doesn't drink pop or coffee so no major caffeine sources
Here are the non-cliffs that he emailed me:
---------------------------------
I'm 30. Moments of feeling weak/panic like/confused/irritable/being slightly short of breath,sometimes having eye twitches, sometimes having right chest pain happen every day for a significant portion of the day, often between 10am and 3pm (even on weekends) though sometimes as late as 5-7pm. (rarely if ever during the first few hours of being awake, rarely if ever during the last few hours of the day). The condition is often worse when walking around/standing. Doctors have ran standard blood tests, brain MRI. They see no sign of being diabetic according to the fasting blood test and they also think my heart is healthy though the last time they checked it out was in the Fall of 2007. They see no signs of an under/overactive thyroid. Only thing they ever came away with was that one (but not subsequent tests) showed low potassium.
Attacks never happened until Fall 2007 -- but in the Fall of 2007 they only occurred for a few weeks and then went away. Now they have become EVERYDAY occurrences the last month. Specifically the attacks started right during and after my trip to Hong Kong/China in the Fall 2007. Before the Fall of 2007 in Feb 2007 I weighed 65 pounds more (was 265 instead of 200). I also used to drink a lot of diet coke, aspartame, caffeine until recently. Now I have none of those and have maintained an approximate weight of 200 pounds for many months. I also have a much less stressful job and have graduated from school so I have plenty of downtime after work.
These attacks are presumed to be panic attacks according to the doctors, but XANAX doesn't seem to help and my pulse is slow when these happen, so I am not sure that these are panic attacks. These attacks can cause right chest pain that can last for 24-48 hours after an attack. I have noticed my teeth sometimes get numb as well. These attacks are NOT short -- they last for many hours.
My weight can fluctuate quite a bit for whatever reason -- on the weekend I weighed myself naked at 206 -- by Tuesday I was 196. Not sure if it is bad that I seem to retain water on occasion or ??
Pulse is slow (if laying down 51-60bpm, if sitting up 60-65bpm) It is always slow unless I'm working out. BP seems to be higher in general during these attacks (normally it is 120/70 -- when I have an attack it can be 140/90 )
Hands are cold during these attacks, often ICE cold (just as cold as the carpet in the room). My work has a laser temperature monitor and when I am feeling really bad my hands often go from 86-95 degrees to 78.
When it gets really bad I get nauseas and it is hard to eat or drink. I have tried switching diets to mcdonalds salads, potbelly sandwiches, sushi, etc. to no avail. I try to keep well hydrated throughout the day. I have tried taking daily Centrum and almost think that might be making these attacks worse rather than better. I have also tried taking calcium/magnesium/zinc since I bite my nails and others have suggested that can mean lake of magnesium -- but that didn't help either (except MAYBE to reduce the PVCs).
I have tried taking XANAX and although it sometimes takes the edge off slightly I still feel terrible and very weak when walking (workers have commented that I look like a Zombie).
When I exercise these symptoms seem to get better -- if I'm feeling really bad they just make me feel less faint but still bad, if I feel OK then exercise can make them completely go away.
It is NIGHT AND DAY when I feel good compared to when I feel bad... one day I can kayak on the Chicago river the next I have to leave work early and pass out, despite the fact that I try to get regular sleep and only drink a few glasses of wine twice a week (NO SMOKING, NO BINGE DRINKING). I even moved a love chair to my work so I can have a place to put my feet up (these attacks feel much worse when standing - when laying down I feel better, though often still very weak and tired).
My sleep is much worse than it used to be -- I get up several times a night -- this never used to happen I used to hibernate until my alarm went off. I almost now always wake up before the alarm.
My balance is off when walking when I'm not feeling good -- it feels like I'm going to fall over or faint and I often take a "double step". It is amazing how bad I can feel simply from standing -- even though my blood pressure doesn't seem to drop (if anything it goes up).
When I get cuts on my feet they take a really long time to heal -- my feet are often ICE cold if they aren't covered with socks/shoes.
Other health conditions I have that may have no relevance: ?
1) During the winter I had 2 NASTY flus in a row for a total of 5-6 weeks of being out. During that time I felt too weak to walk around or do many activities.
2) Have PVCs (is probably genetic) -- according to a 24-hour holter monitor I get about 270 a day and the doctor says many people get these. I feel these some days in a strong way but they don't appear to be any more prevalent during the attacks.
3) My testosterone level is low/normal at 330 (below 300 is below normal). My free testosterone is slightly below normal. The doctors think this shouldn't be effecting me much. I have a
4) I have a varicocele is my left testicle that occasionally causes shooting pain (not bad enough to warrant an operation).
5) I have lattice degeneration and floaters in my eyes, though I see 20/20 since getting LASIK done 7 years ago. (had near sighted -4.5 before that with contacts)
6) Always been a big "sweater" despite the fact that my weight/build looks pretty average now. Even light walking or moving a few computers around can make me sweat intensely.
7) I am lactose intolerant
8) hair has been falling out during these attacks such that it is much thinner -- every day my shower drain is clogged with hair -- my girlfriend says I leave hair all over her pillow
9) tend to yawn a lot even when I've had tons of sleep -- this goes along with the lethargy -- still though I've been very lethargic in the past without feeling so miserable and weak