I have been to 3 GP's and 3 specialists over the last three years and no one can tell me what is wrong with me. My main complaint is shortness of breath, fatigue, very itchy skin with no rash and congestion/ringing in the ears. I'm at the end of my rope. Can anyone help figure out what is wrong with me?
In 2005, I began to have extreme fatigue and shortness of breath and occasional ringing in my ears plus very, very itchy skin all the time (no rash though). Then the ringing gradually became more frequent and in March 2008, it became constant and so has ear congestion. I don't get sick too often but when I do it always leads to bronchitis and a sinus infection.
I also get chills frequently and sometimes have a mild fever. Anyone who comes in my office tells my how hot it is and I think it's strange because I'm wearing a sweater and feel fine. My hair has always been dry and grown slowly but in the last couple of months I've begun losing more hair than usual. My formerly oily face is very dry, my throat is hoarse and it is hard to swallow and my nails grow slow and my cuticles have shriveled up and are cracking. I used to have rapidly growing nails and such beautiful hands that strangers told me so and people accused me of wearing fake nails. I also suddenly put on 10 pounds in March and cannot fit into any of my pants and only half my skirts. I'm not overweight and the weight gain doesn't look bad but it is strange to me how I just suddenly put on weight.
Anyhow, this is what I have tried/ruled out in the past three years:
- gave up smoking in November 2005.
- Summer 2006: gave up being a vegetarian because I thought the fatigue and slow nail and hair growth was due to lack of nutrients however, eating red meat didn't improve these symptoms.
- Summer 2006: two GP's in a row suggested I was stressed and anxious. I had just started a new job in a new city and my fiance moved in with me. I thought it was plausible so I tried anti-anxiety pills but they didn't do anything but make me more tired which was no good. Tried a second anti-anxiety pill and had a severe adverse reaction which led to insomnia, pounding heart, and very dialated pupils. The ER doctor and my doctor had the nerve to tell me I was having an anxiety attack until the hours of vomiting started then they realized I was not making it up. I swore off trying anti-anxiety medication. A second GP did a full bloodwork and said nothing was abnormal.
- August 2006: tested for Lyme's disease in 2006, bloodwork showed nothing. I gave up trying for awhile thinking maybe I was stressed out.
-November 2006: My fiance and I thought living near a concrete plant and having roaches was the cause of my symptoms. We moved. Our new apartment had worse roaches than before. Continued to think it was the roaches. My new GP prescribed Astelin and Flonase. She did a full blood work up and didn't find anything abnormal.
- in January and February 2007 I had a horrible chest cold that lasted more than 8 weeks. GP tried a Z-pack and Albuterol and inhaled corticosteroids. I eventually got over the cold but no improvement on the shortness of breath or fatigue. She became concerned and referred me to a pulmonologist.
- saw a pulmonologist in February and March 2007. X-rays and MRI returned no abnormal results. Was diagnosed with possible asthma.
- in April 2007 my GP told me since the pulmonologist didn't find anything and I didn't respond to Albuterol or inhaled steroids that I likely had mild asthma aggravated by a cockroach allergy. I thought this was reasonable because our apartment did have roaches.
- November 2007, we moved back to Washington D.C. and have lived in a roach-free home for ten months now.
-December 2007, had a particularly bad bout of ear congestion upon waking and very loud ringing in the ears. Took antihistamines and the ringing stopped after 36 hours. Developed an ear infection, took a Z-pack.
-February 2008, two particularly bad bouts of congestion upon waking and ear ringing. Again ended after 36 hours. Each episode was about 2 weeks apart. Mild external ear infections followed.
-late March 2008. mild but constant ear ringing and congestion always worst upon waking. Thought it was due to all of the tree pollen. Waited for pollen season to end while enduring the symptoms. Took benadryl for a couple of weeks and then Claritin for six weeks. Took Flonase this entire period too, twice a day.
-Visited an ENT who said I had no sign of ear congestion though he barely looked at me. Had a hearing test done, that was fine.
-June 2008, mild outer ear infections, constant ear congestion and mild but persistent ringing or roaring, then a terrible sinus infection that lasted nearly six weeks. I saw and allergist and tested positive for allergies to penicillin and dust mites. I told him all of the medications I tried and about the inhalers and such. He said he couldn't think of anything new to give me. He gave me some RhinoCort Aqua. I take the bottle until it is empty but it doesn't help. I get a neti pot and use it 2-4 times a day. After almost two weeks, it cleared up my sinus infection. I still use it but it hasn't helped my other symptoms. Stopped drinking coffee, sodas or alcohol. Eliminated cheese and milk and ice cream. Began getting very dry eyes that wake me up in the middle of the night. I get up rinse them with saline and go back to bed. This has become a nightly ritual. I also often wake up with a tickly cough.
-July 2008, We bought a new natural latex and organic wool bed and pillows and put high quality, fully-zipped up allergy covers on them. I began sleeping with a HEPA air purifier next to my side of the bed and a sheet over me and the air purifier so I get clean air all night. The bed and air purifier are nice but it doesn't cure the shortness of breath or fatigue. Also began taking sublingual B-vitamins and high quality multivitamins three times a day. Started getting irritating tics near my right eye. The shortness of breath has worsened a little and I frequently have this light dry cough. There's is no phlegm, my throat just feels irritated and "fluttery."
-Late July, I began to walk 45 minutes to work and home for the exercise. I figured it would lift my mood, energize me and help me get back into my pants. Instead, after I get to work, I get so unbelievably tired and feel like I have to push myself out of the chair. I'm too tired to finish a sentence and sometimes, I just don't. I get home and I’m exhausted. I just sit listlessly on the couch for an hour or so. I began oversleeping and not hearing the alarm. My husband has to try three times to get me up some days.
I recently talked to my Mom who is hypothyroid reminded me that I used to be treated for hypothyroidism and urged me to go to an endocrinologist. I researched hypothyroidism and was very surprised to see it fit all of my symptoms including the obnoxious ear ringing and disappearing cuticles.
I saw an endocrinologist today and he shrugged his shoulders and said he doubted I had hypothyroidism. He asked if I was depressed, I said no, I have a pretty happy life, I have a job I love, I'm married to a great guy, have great friends, I've started my own design business on the side and have no real money problems. I've got a pretty good life but sometimes I feel sad because I just feel awful. He said I needed to go to a psychiatrist because I felt sad about feeling tired all of the time. I told him not to insult me and he begrudgingly wrote a script for a thyroid test and a sonogram. I won't know my results for two or three days. In the meantime, I'm left wondering, if this isn't it, what the heck is it? I'm running out of ideas and I'm scared I won't figure out what it is until it's too late.
Personal Medical history: I have never had surgery or been hospitalized. I am allergic to penicillin. I don't take any medications other than the ones described above. I never take aspirin and I take an ibuprofen maybe 3 times a year. In high school, I was diagnosed with mild hypothyroidism despite being very underweight and not having an abnormal blood test. My symptoms were sleeping 15-20 hours, being cold and tired and my hair fell out. I took Synthroid for about 9 years and then my tests were always normal and perhaps being a stupid college kid and moving across the country I just stopped taking the meds. I thought I was fine. That was in 2000. I felt more or less fine until 2005.
Only other medical history: When I was in 7th grade I slipped on a plastic bag and broke a tiny chip off my elbow. I wore a cast for a few weeks. In high school, I had a back-injury due to slipping on a wet linoleum floor which led to a few months of physical therapy. In college, my knee was dislocated in a freak dancing accident. That's pretty much it.
Family Medical History: My mother has hypothyroidism and she had a goiter which went away upon treatment with Synthroid. She has also had fibromyalgia, acute appendicitis and Hodgkin's disease, which is now in remission of going on 3 years. My grandmother had an allergy to mold, her gall bladder removed and died of emphysema because she smoked for 60 years. My half sister has endometriosis.
posted by i_love_squirrels to health & fitness (23 comments total)
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I personally wouldn't give up on this as a possible explanation until you've actually been tested. You should find another endocrinologist
posted by The Light Fantastic at 2:38 PM on August 12, 2008