multiple wierd symptoms.

April 12, 2009 1:50 PM

you are not a/my doctor. EMT's, ER doc and my Dr haven't a clue. Have made appointments with a vast array of specialists. Body temp of 94 and other strange details inside

About a week agowoke up around 8am threw up and passed out, repeatedly for several hours, mid afternoon I tried to get some gatorade, weak as a kitten, passed out. My last memory is sweating profusely, pillows were soaked through, some time later BF finds me unconcious. I was semi-concious until some time that evening. I remember bits of what followed. Like EMT trying to get IV started (I have veins the size of dental floss) they injected fluids and put a compression bandage over it and got the IV going just as we got to the ER (45 miles from home).Temp was 94, they used 5 different instruments before they believed it. BP 212/112, heart beat, don't remember exactly, the dr said it was unusually low. I felt very, very cold, but my face was burning hot. Sometime that evening I threw up for the last time, nothing but stomach fluids all day but that last time contained black olives I had eaten 7-10 days earlier...YECCCH. After lots of phenergan, IV fluids, a shot of Reglan, x-rays, ekg,
ct scan, etc. they sent me home.

I am on meds for: blood pressure, thyroid, allergies, gerd, but hadn't kept them down that day.They ruled out food poisoning.

Allergies to just about everything, had the skin test. Also allergic to band aids, eyedrops, lots of other stuff not on the skin test. plusTwo pages drugs I can't take. Pretty much have every allergy symptom you can name. Have oxygen at home used it that day. Also diagnosed with thyroid cancer, bladder cancer. Both under control, up to date on check ups. Periphreal neuropathy, degenerative disk disease, stenosis, fractures, bone spurs, spine totally FUBAR. Have had back trouble the last 2 weeks or so.

Had something quite similiar 'bout 4 years ago, it was like 10 months of flu, then it went away. Drs blew off the more unusual things like profuse sweating, low body temp, and said it was a virus.

Daily it takes all I have to drag myself out of bed and get going, then I'm good for 2-4 hours and my temp starts bouncing around from 95.6-99.9, and I feel like I am getting a bad case of the flu, I come home rest/nap and feel marginally better. Same routine the next day. Aspirin seems to normalize my temp, which in turn makes me feel a bit better.

Have appointments with neurology, rheumatology, GI, already see endocronologist, urologist. I am 63 yrs old, volunteer full time and don't have a stressful life, eat sensibly.

Anyone got a clue or suggestion?

posted by misspat to health & fitness (10 comments total)

This is just a shot in the dark...but maybe it is chronic fatigue syndrome? That doesn't explain the really low fever though. Here is a link from the CDC
posted by slc228 at 2:10 PM on April 12

If this goes on long enough, you may want to look up getting treated at the NIH if you can afford it.
posted by kldickson at 2:47 PM on April 12

Medicare/Medicaid, so can't afford it.
posted by misspat at 2:58 PM on April 12

I don't know if this is what kldickson is referring to, but the NIH runs an Undiagnosed Diseases Program for a small number (50-100 nationally) of extremely rare cases each year.

A NYT Magazine article What's Wrong with Summer Stiers? was the subject of a post on Metafilter a few months ago.

You must be referred by a physician to participate and if you're chosen, there's no cost (but may be no diagnosis either).

I'm not in any way medically inclined, so I have no idea if your condition is unusual or not, but I remembered the article and thought that's what kldickson might be referring to, so I thought I'd put the information in the thread.
posted by clerestory at 3:29 PM on April 12

Doesn't all (or a lot) of this point to hypothyroidism?
posted by ethnomethodologist at 4:01 PM on April 12

[comments removed - please start over, thank you]
posted by jessamyn at 5:13 PM on April 12

IANAD, but HIV? Many doctors are remiss in testing older patients for HIV, but 50+ year olds are one of the fastest growing HIV+ populations. HIV will weaken your immune system, which can cause all kinds of other illnesses and diseases to flourish. And, confirmation (or ruling it out) is just a blood test.

Also, even with all the specialists, it will help to have a primary care doctor who can view your illness holistically. Most specialists will view your problem through the lens of their specialty. Good luck.
posted by batcrazy at 5:18 PM on April 12

This sounds alot like adrenal fatigue/insufficiency and hypothyroidism. Especially the "allergies to just about everything"...

Allergic hypersensitivity is one of the earliest and most typical signs of an imbalanced immune system. And an overly sensitive immune system may be the result of weakened adrenal glands.

And also having trouble getting going in the morning... The adrenal glands control your daily cortisol levels which helps your circadian rhythm. With adrenal fatigue, your cortisol level will be suboptimal low in the morning and you'll have trouble getting up. (If you also are wired at night and have trouble getting to sleep, that's very typical of adrenal fatigue.)

And also the fact that doctors can't find anything wrong with you. Many conventional doctors don't view adrenal fatigue as needing treatment (unless it's to the point of being life-threatening) and until recently, there was not a decent way to test it. There is disagreement on how we currently test the thyroid, so it's entirely possible that you are hypothyroid even though your doctor tells you your thyroid is fine. Your adrenal glands and thyroid function are closely related - if your adrenal glands are not working correctly you will have thyroid problems as well. Adrenal fatigue can be caused by too much stress, but it can also be because of chronic physical stress/inflammation. More here.

You might find this page on using metabolic temperature to help diagnose adrenal/thyroid problems interesting, as well as this whole site. This page lists some recommended lab work if you want to pursue this angle.

(All based on personal experience with similar symptoms, being told for years that 'there's nothing medically wrong with you', finally stumbling on to the right google combination of symptoms that led to one of those pages, and ordering tests on my own that confirmed I had adrenal problems.)
posted by ghostmanonsecond at 6:44 PM on April 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

Seconding the article clerestory mentioned.

No further advice, really, but I wish you the best of luck in managing your condition, whatever it is. Keep your chin up!
posted by lolichka at 7:53 PM on April 12

Thank You for your support. It isn't HIV, I've been celibate for a long time.
I see an endocronologist who is top notch, he listens to his patients and doesn't
go by tests alone. I take synthroid and cytomel each day, and see him twice a year, so not apt to be that. I tested positive for barr epstien virus a few years back, and the sympyoms seem to match up, so I'll mention that to my dr. Thanks
posted by misspat at 10:52 AM on April 13