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Health issues over the past 2 years - can anyone relate?

Posted on 3/10/24 at 10:01 pm
Posted by LSBoosie
Member since Jun 2020
7647 posts
Posted on 3/10/24 at 10:01 pm
First off I'll clarify I'm not actually looking for a diagnosis, more so want to see if anyone has dealt with similar issues. Also, I'll try to make it short, but this might be a long post because it covers 2 years.

In July-ish of 2022 I suddenly started have severe stomach issues (bloating, nausea, etc) I started drastically losing weight due to not eating enough. I ended up losing about 50 lbs (185 to 135) over the next 5-6 months. During that time I went to a gastro, got a bunch of tests done (blood work, colonoscopy, endoscopy, CT scan) and nothing was ever found. In December/January of that year I gradually starting being able to eat again and gain some weight back (with the occasional stomach issue here and there) and thought maybe I was good again.

While I was able to eat again, I started having other problems. I had a job in which I was walking/on me feet for a good part of the day. I started to have dizzy spells, weak legs, trouble balancing, fatigue, cold hands and feet. This was mostly triggered during physical activity or when I was in the heat.

Fast forward to now, I still have all the same problems except they occur everyday instead of a few times a week. Over that period of time I've been to my PCP (blood work), who referred me to a neurologists (brain & upper spine MRI's), who then referred me to a endocrinologist (more blood work). Nothing came of either of those besides a benign growth on my pituitary gland, which is apparently isn't a concern as a large portion of the population's something similar.

I would say my biggest issues now are
1) high heart rates (>100bpm basically anytime I get up and walk more than 100 feet, >150bpm anytime I do any sort of physical activity such as a jog)
2) Overall weakness, balance, fatigue. I'm always tired and feel weakness in my legs much of the time.
3) Dizziness, feeling like I am about to pass out. This mainly happens when I am being physically active. My exercise and heat tolerance are both basically nonexistent at the moment, but this will sometimes happen randomly such as when I'm walking around the grocery store.

I've got another appointment with my PCP in April so don't worry I'm valuing doctor's over TD, I just want to see if anyone has dealt with anything like this before. I'm a 25 year old male who was always relatively healthy and active up until these problems started 2 years ago, and it's frustrating knowing how I use to feel everyday vs how I feel now.
This post was edited on 3/10/24 at 10:15 pm
Posted by OysterPoBoy
City of St. George
Member since Jul 2013
35003 posts
Posted on 3/10/24 at 10:52 pm to
That’s a lot of issues for them to not find anything. I’d be going nuts.
Posted by LSUfan20005
Member since Sep 2012
8807 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 5:41 am to
Did you ever have a parasite test?
Posted by LSBoosie
Member since Jun 2020
7647 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 8:20 am to
quote:

That’s a lot of issues for them to not find anything. I’d be going nuts.

No kidding. Gotta keep chugging along but damn it’s frustrating
Posted by LSBoosie
Member since Jun 2020
7647 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 8:21 am to
I believe they checked when I was going to the gastro with my initial stomach problems
Posted by scottydoesntknow
Member since Nov 2023
1976 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 8:47 am to
I feel for you man. Ive never had anything like that but I do occasionally have some neuropathy. I theorize that it has to do with inflammation just from repeatedly eating things that trigger it. If I were you, id strongly consider an elimination diet like carnivore to see if your symptoms improve. It does help me
Posted by OysterPoBoy
City of St. George
Member since Jul 2013
35003 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 9:08 am to
You need a real life Dr House type guy.
Posted by NewOrleansBlend
Member since Mar 2008
1003 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 9:20 am to
Symptoms are pretty consistent with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) if your blood pressure is normal at rest and with standing and there is no medication that could be causing it. If bp is low or drops with standing, then other things should be considered like adrenal insufficiency. Of course you should see your doctor.

Initial POTS treatment from a respected medical reference (uptodate):
Water and salt intake — Oral fluid intake should be encouraged to a target of 3 L daily and a daily salt intake of 8 to 12 g of sodium chloride (3.2 to 4.8 g of sodium) [55,84,104,116]. Available sources of sodium include table salt, sports tablets, sports beverages, oral rehydration salts, and some soups.

Exercise— Patients with POTS benefit from an incremental program of aerobic exercise. Many patients with POTS are physically deconditioned and others are at risk for deconditioning by restricting their physical activity to manage POTS symptoms [15,55,123].

Despite intolerance of exercise in the upright position, many patients are successful in beginning an exercise program in a semirecumbent position, such as with a recumbent bicycle, with a rowing machine, or in a swimming pool. Exercise rehabilitation for POTS should include lower extremity resistance strength training, which helps to reduce venous pooling [15]. Supervised training may be needed for patients who cannot adhere to an exercise program on their own or believe exercise to be too difficult [124]. An approach that has worked well starts with training sessions three to four times per week for 30 to 40 minutes per session. During these sessions, exercise intensity is individualized to achieve 70 to 75 percent of maximal predicted heart rate. As fitness improves, patients should be able gradually to increase the duration, intensity, and frequency of exercise and advance to exercising in the upright posture [125].

Lifestyle management — Behavioral and environmental changes may help reduce systemic (nonorthostatic) symptoms. The efficacy of these strategies has not been evaluated systematically in POTS patients but may provide adjunctive benefit to many patients. Such strategies include the following:

?Encourage patients to be upright as much as possible during the day and to avoid prolonged bedrest, which can lead to further deconditioning.
?Manage catastrophizing, anxiety, and functional disability with counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy [63,128]. (See "Overview of psychotherapies", section on 'Cognitive and behavioral therapies'.)
?Develop physical habits to reduce triggering symptoms. As examples, lower extremity muscle tensing, leg crossing, and weight shifting engage the skeletal "muscle pump" to improve venous return and can provide immediate temporary symptom relief.
?Improve sleep quality by having a consistent bedtime and wake time, not spending time in bed during the day, winding down prior to going to bed, and ensuring that the bedroom environment promotes sleep [129].

Posted by LSBoosie
Member since Jun 2020
7647 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 10:12 am to
Yeah I’ve read about POTS and think that might be it. I’ve never had any specifics tests such as a tilt table test. Not sure what others tests they due to diagnose it. I think that will be my next request.
Posted by NewOrleansBlend
Member since Mar 2008
1003 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 11:46 am to
Basically 1) a persistent rise in heart rate of more than 30 beats a minute with standing and 2) symptoms. Tilt table testing would probably only be useful if basic testing was inconclusive
Posted by Odysseus32
Member since Dec 2009
7299 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 12:23 pm to
(no message)
This post was edited on 3/12/24 at 3:47 pm
Posted by LSBoosie
Member since Jun 2020
7647 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 1:08 pm to
quote:

Basically 1) a persistent rise in heart rate of more than 30 beats a minute with standing and 2) symptoms. Tilt table testing would probably only be useful if basic testing was inconclusive

What is considered basic testing? Is that just symptoms that I've been dealing with? From what I've read many people don't get diagnosed with POTS for a while because many doctors don't know much about it and symptoms can mirrors a ton of other conditions.
Posted by LSBoosie
Member since Jun 2020
7647 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 1:11 pm to
I don't doubt that I have anxiety at times. And I thought that might be it when it all first started, but I just have a hard time believing that anxiety is causing these problems daily. It also became more concerning when I began having problems doing things that I would do to get rid of anxiety & stress like playing golf, going on a jog, etc.
Posted by NewOrleansBlend
Member since Mar 2008
1003 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 1:40 pm to
quote:

What is considered basic testing? Is that just symptoms that I've been dealing with?


By Basic testing I mean heart rate and blood pressure measurements in different positions. If your heart rate shoots up and stays up after standing, you have symptoms (dizziness, lightheadedness most common but there are others), and your blood pressure doesn’t drop then it’s likely that you have POTS, particularly with how long this has been going on.
Posted by LSBoosie
Member since Jun 2020
7647 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 2:10 pm to
Gotcha, that makes sense. Out of curiosity, are you a doctor or do you have experience with POTS?
Posted by NewOrleansBlend
Member since Mar 2008
1003 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 2:19 pm to
(no message)
This post was edited on 4/2/24 at 7:41 am
Posted by Hot Carl
Prayers up for 3
Member since Dec 2005
59000 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 2:22 pm to
quote:

if your blood pressure is normal at rest and with standing and there is no medication that could be causing it. If bp is low or drops with standing, then other things should be considered like adrenal insufficiency. Of course you should see your doctor.


Isn't it natural for your BP to drop while standing too quickly? I'm sure there's a healthy range and if it drops too much, that would obviously be an indication of something else. Certainly not arguing, trying to understand as I've had issues with it that's lead to passing smooth out. 1st time I was being down looking at Mother's Day cards, stood up too fast, and the next thing I know I'm lying flat on my back, confused with the sounds of "Sir, are you alright? Do we need to call an ambulance?" They didn't.

I know nothing about POTS, but have had stomach issues that oftentimes lead to dehydration. I'm assuming a side-effect of undiagnosed POTS would also be dehydration? Which could cause or worsen some of the symptoms he's describing, like fatigue and dizziness, etc...I mean, it looks like your 2nd paragraph is speaking directly to dehydration without mentioning it directly. Would it be advisable for OP to take in fluids and electrolytes like he has chronic dehydration while he searches for a potential root cause diagnosis like POTS?

Just to alleviate the symptoms. I had no idea how dangerous dehydration can be. Obviously, severe dehydration can kill you, but just being slightly dehydrated, especially chronically, can make you feel like complete shite and cause other things itself.

Back to the dehydration making your BP lower, I wish I had known--what is apparently pretty common knowledge--that earlier. Especially since I've been on a BP med (relatively low dosage) since my late 20s. I took my BP med every day without checking my actual BP, so if I was dehydrated that day, my BP was already low, and if I took my med on top of that, sheeeeit. Took me passing out about 6 times in a 2-month or so span before somebody finally put that together. My BP was dropping into the 80s/40s pretty regularly for a bit.
Posted by WillFerrellisking
Member since Jun 2019
684 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 2:43 pm to
Do you drink energy drinks such as Monster, C4 etc? Those drinks are terrible!
Posted by LSBoosie
Member since Jun 2020
7647 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 2:43 pm to
Oh I understand and appreciate that. I was just curious as you obviously know what you are talking about and was curious as to if you were a doctor or if you just had experience with it.
Posted by NewOrleansBlend
Member since Mar 2008
1003 posts
Posted on 3/11/24 at 2:55 pm to
(no message)
This post was edited on 4/2/24 at 7:43 am
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