Frustratingly Ill

[Sun Tzu]

About three weeks ago I started having this odd nauseous feeling all over. It came and went in waves, but gradually started happening more frequently, and the waves became stronger. It eventually got to the point where the waves of nausea were so strong that I could barely function. I had to lay down and curl up until it passed. It seemed like the waves were worse when I had an empty stomach, but eating made me nauseous too, which as you can imagine made things quite frustrating.

I went to urgent care first, and they couldn't quite place their finger on it. They tested me for mono, which came back negative, and then sent me on my way with some anti-nausea pills for my stomach. The pills did nothing, so a few days later I saw another doctor who said it sounds more like an inner-ear infection. He gave me an anti-biotic (a combo of amoxcillin and something else) and told me that sudafed and meclazine can help with the symptoms. I took that round and felt like a million bucks until about 2-3 days after the round was over. The symptoms started returning, and I called my doc and he said I probably need a second round of anti-biotics. He prescribed me Biaxin, which I guess is much stronger(??).

I looked up the side effects of biaxin and noticed they were pretty harsh, so I decided to hold off on that to see if these symptoms got worse. Well...yesterday that got significantly worse, back to just as bad as I was when I went to urgent care. I ate some bread and chicken breast, took some ibprofen, and popped a biaxin. I'm really, really, really hoping this goes away this time.

The symptoms are so bad it's debilitating. I've missed a lot of work now, and I'm getting moderately depressed that I can't kick whatever the hell this thing is.

If I look up these symptoms online, it pretty much falls right in line with what I was diagnosed with. I'm wondering if anyone else has had something similar happen. I also know we have some MD's roaming about on here, so if you have any advice to chime in with, I would greatly appreciate it. The symptoms are as follows...

Bouts of nausea that range from severe to mild
Hot flashes that leave me soaked in sweat, and cold flashes and put me under two blankets shivering my ass off
Symptoms are less harsh after I eat, but still present
Head feels like it's kind of in a bucket...during the extreme bouts, I feel like my senses are muted slightly.
During the extreme bouts, I get a strong feeling of paranoia. I don't want to call it halucinating, because I don't see anything crazy, but my grasp of reality kind of comes and goes.

[digamma]

Sounds like you're pregnant.

[JediKooter]

Damn man. Sorry you haven't been feeling good. The only advice that I can think of is to follow your doctors advice. Could it possibly be an ulcer? You stressed about anything?

I know that's not much, but, I do hope you start feeling better soon man. You take a pregnancy test yet?

[Sun Tzu]

I doubt it's an ulcer. I don't have any pain...anywhere. It's just these massive waves of nausea that completely knock me off my feet.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I went to urgent care first, and they couldn't quite place their finger on it. They tested me for mono, which came back negative, and then sent me on my way with some anti-nausea pills for my stomach. The pills did nothing, so a few days later I saw another doctor who said it sounds more like an inner-ear infection. ...

This part sounds somewhat similar to the path to my son's recently diagnosed severe Vitamin D deficiency ... except that he'd substitute severe flu-like body aches for the waves of nausea.

Meaning that you might have something along those lines (i.e. a specific vitamin/mineral deficiency) ... or something completely unrelated.

Mostly just throwing out the amateur observation that if neither doc has ordered a thorough blood screening to look for something specific that's extremely high/low that it might be a good idea for a next step if the Biaxin doesn't do the trick. It was the 40th & final result in his blood work that revealed the problem.

[Sun Tzu]

I get flu-like aches too when I have the chills, but it's not noticeably bad. Thanks for the input...I'll forward this info on to my Doc.

[Sun Tzu]

FWIW, I drink probably the equivalent of 3 cups of milk every day, and take multivitamins 2-3 times a week. I'm fairly certain that Milk contains high amounts of Vitamin D. I also eat a pretty healthy diet, and exercise daily, which makes this all the more frustrating. I just...don't get it.

[JediKooter]

Milk is also very acidic. So keep that in mind.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

About three weeks ago I started having this odd nauseous feeling all over. It came and went in waves, but gradually started happening more frequently, and the waves became stronger. It eventually got to the point where the waves of nausea were so strong that I could barely function. I had to lay down and curl up until it passed. It seemed like the waves were worse when I had an empty stomach, but eating made me nauseous too, which as you can imagine made things quite frustrating.

I went to urgent care first, and they couldn't quite place their finger on it. They tested me for mono, which came back negative, and then sent me on my way with some anti-nausea pills for my stomach. The pills did nothing, so a few days later I saw another doctor who said it sounds more like an inner-ear infection. He gave me an anti-biotic (a combo of amoxcillin and something else) and told me that sudafed and meclazine can help with the symptoms. I took that round and felt like a million bucks until about 2-3 days after the round was over. The symptoms started returning, and I called my doc and he said I probably need a second round of anti-biotics. He prescribed me Biaxin, which I guess is much stronger(??).

I looked up the side effects of biaxin and noticed they were pretty harsh, so I decided to hold off on that to see if these symptoms got worse. Well...yesterday that got significantly worse, back to just as bad as I was when I went to urgent care. I ate some bread and chicken breast, took some ibprofen, and popped a biaxin. I'm really, really, really hoping this goes away this time.

The symptoms are so bad it's debilitating. I've missed a lot of work now, and I'm getting moderately depressed that I can't kick whatever the hell this thing is.

If I look up these symptoms online, it pretty much falls right in line with what I was diagnosed with. I'm wondering if anyone else has had something similar happen. I also know we have some MD's roaming about on here, so if you have any advice to chime in with, I would greatly appreciate it. The symptoms are as follows...

Bouts of nausea that range from severe to mild
Hot flashes that leave me soaked in sweat, and cold flashes and put me under two blankets shivering my ass off
Symptoms are less harsh after I eat, but still present
Head feels like it's kind of in a bucket...during the extreme bouts, I feel like my senses are muted slightly.
During the extreme bouts, I get a strong feeling of paranoia. I don't want to call it halucinating, because I don't see anything crazy, but my grasp of reality kind of comes and goes.

Ah, the "practice" of medicine!

I'd call back and ask for a full blood panel. Something is more wrong than an inner ear infection or general nausea. Call right now and don't take no for an answer.

Are you keeping food down? No puking? Are you drinking enough fluids?

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Rizon

Ah, the "practice" of medicine!

I'd call back and ask for a full blood panel. Something is more wrong than an inner ear infection or general nausea. Call right now and don't take no for an answer.

Are you keeping food down? No puking? Are you drinking enough fluids?

This, as it could be a viral thing that could lead to something more serious. Not to be an alarmist, but it is your health and you have the right to request this, much better safe than to let something go too long.

[Sun Tzu]

I haven't thrown up once, or quite frankly, been even close to throwing up. My symptoms are odd, in that they are sometimes persistent, and sometime sporadic. For example...

I started feeling the symptoms creeping up on (last) Tuesday after I had finished my first round of anti-biotics (I finished the round on Saturday). They were very sporadic, and very mild. they eventually died down to the point of being completely non-existent. This past weekend I was fine. By fine, I mean 100%. I considered going for a run. I helped around the house. I was feeling like a million bucks.

Monday afternoon I started feeling shitty again, but not terrible. I felt fine yesterday morning, but in the afternoon I started getting a headache, and in the evening it blew up into a massive bout of nausea. I ate something, took the meds, and felt fine again...well...fine-ish. Not quite 100%, but not god awful either.

I called my Doc's office and requested that they get me in for a full panel of blood work. They're about 150 miles away (where I use to live) and have to refer me to someone local, but this will at the very least give me some peace of mind. How long does it typically take to get these sort of results back?

[stevew]

A friend of mine is going through something similar, but I'm unsure exactly what her diagnosis is. She's lost a lot of weight, missed work. Keeps going back to the doctor and they don't know how to fix her issue. I have nothing to add really, but I think her symptoms are similar to yours. She thought it was food poisoning for awhile i think, but it's recurring.

[Sun Tzu]

My mother and two of my friends have had literally the same exact symptoms, down to the letter, all in the past two months. They were all diagnosed (eventually) with an inner-ear infection (the kind that you can't see just by looking into the ear). They were all prescribed two rounds of anti-biotics, as the first round either proved to not be strong enough or the strain was just flat out resistant. The second round knocked it out for all of them, and they're all recovered now. I don't like the idea of just saying that's what I have because our symptoms are so similar, but...if the shoe fits?

[Sun Tzu]

The way my Doc explained it to me was this...

Around this time of year when allergies start going ballistic (especially mine), some people have drainage issues. Every year I have some kind of nasal drip problem, right around this time, and this year was no different. He said that when this happens, some of that "goo" floats back into a cavity that it shouldn't be in, and kinda sits there for a while enjoying it's time in it's new surroundings, ultimately turning into an inflamed infection. The body tries to get rid of it by sending anti-bodies to the area, but instead of just attacking the bad goo, it also attacks the parts it's up against/close to, which supposedly looks extremely similar to a separate kind of infection. The part that your body isn't supposed to attack plays a major role in you in your equilibrium and all that business. Thus, when the body attacks that area, you feel massive bouts of nausea. It's entirely possible the the other effects (hot, cold, etc) are me freaking out (I think freaking out is an understatement actually) over my symptoms. I really wish I knew for sure, but when it was diagnosed as that, and he went over everything, it all made perfect sense to me. Like "holy shit, yeah, that's exactly what's going on" type of stuff.

That said, it's been about three weeks to the day that I originally started this whole thing. The randomness of my symptoms is what's most frustrating, in that I can be sitting there having a conversation with my wife, and a half hour later I'm in the fetal position.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I called my Doc's office and requested that they get me in for a full panel of blood work. They're about 150 miles away (where I use to live) and have to refer me to someone local, but this will at the very least give me some peace of mind. How long does it typically take to get these sort of results back?

Last time I got one, the results trickled back in. Some the day after, some about a week or so later. Each time some results came in my doctor left a note (I got these all online).

If you press into your stomach with your finger, is there any pain?*

Edit: stomach and general abdomen/intestinal area ... give it a good press.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I hope you have a "License to Ill." (Sorry, couldn't resist)

You should probably have taken the antibiotic when the doc gave it to you... I didn't fill a second antibiotic prescription when the doc told me to because a boil I had had cleared up more than a week before I finished the first round. A couple weeks later, it was back. Perhaps it is unrelated, but I'm now on 4 antibiotics fighting a staph infection.

Get your Sunny self back together, man.

[Sun Tzu]

No pain anywhere. I had the doc poke and prod at me in practically every place you can imagine.

M GO BLUE, you have no idea how many times I wished I had done that. Blegh...this anti-biotic is some strong stuff too. It's completely effecting my concentration, my overall body feeling, etc.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

No pain anywhere. I had the doc poke and prod at me in practically every place you can imagine.

Sweet, all good signs.

[Yellow5]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Bouts of nausea that range from severe to mild
Hot flashes that leave me soaked in sweat, and cold flashes and put me under two blankets shivering my ass off
Symptoms are less harsh after I eat, but still present
Head feels like it's kind of in a bucket...during the extreme bouts, I feel like my senses are muted slightly.
During the extreme bouts, I get a strong feeling of paranoia. I don't want to call it halucinating, because I don't see anything crazy, but my grasp of reality kind of comes and goes.

Similar thing here earlier this month that hit me and my girlfriend. Thought it was an allergy at first because it started with sinus/sore throat. All of the above except the paranoia. Fine for a few hours, no fever and lots of energy and them boom... 103 temp and wanting to sleep for 12 hours.

First was told it was the flu. Then after week two it was "well you have a viral something or other" and was told that I just need to get lots of rest and ride it out. We are both just now feeling better but it took a lot of of me.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Rizon

Last time I got one, the results trickled back in. Some the day after, some about a week or so later. Each time some results came in my doctor left a note (I got these all online).

Sounds very similar to our recent experience except that the very last result (as luck would have it the one we needed to see) took about two weeks. The others all came back within 2-7 days, apparently just one of those quirky bad luck deals on that isolated one.

[k0ruptr]

radiation. no , hopefully not, but to be honest that was my first thought :/

[RainMaker]

Have they run your blood for other things though? I understand the ear infection thing, but I think I'd also want to have other things looked at too.

You're also scaring me since I deal with major nasal drip this time of year too.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by k0ruptr

radiation. no , hopefully not, but to be honest that was my first thought :/

.......you haven't pissed off Vladimir Putin recently, have you Sun Tzu?

[Neon_Chaos]

Do you wear glasses?

If so, have you checked if your prescriptions are up-to-date?

[Sun Tzu]

No glasses, and I did fall into a massive vat of radioactive waste about a month ago. My skin started turning an odd shade of brown and getting all bumpy. Should I have mentioned that before? Just in case it helps, this was me yesterday...

[EagleFan]

Feel better Sun Tzu.

Must be some crazy **** spreading around out there. Some of this sounds like a few symptoms I had/have but definitely not an exact match.

A couple weeks ago I started noticing that there were times in the day that I started feeling light headed. I would usually take a break and grab lunch early or a snack and it would seem to go away. Was worried it was blood sugar at that point. Then I started getting a scratchy throat and assumed allergies but that went downhill quickly and I started getting sick over the weekend (two weekends back). Thought maybe flu as I had all the body aches, fever and chills. By the end of the weekend I was dehydrated as I couldn't keep anything down but worked through that once I finally started keeping liquid down. Went to the doctor on that Monday and she thought touch of the flu but also bronchitus. She gave me somethiing for the cough (which had me barely able to talk at that point) and an anti-biotic.

By that Thursday I was back in her office. The cough had gotten worse (the cough medicine was not working at all) and I had an ear ache (I don't remember having one like that since I was a kid) and felt pressure in my head when moving. She gave me a stronger antibiotic, something different for the cough (Something Perle) and something for the pressure in the ear. Not great when your doctor says she thought you would start feeling better by then but "instead you are getting worse"; followed by "I have never seen you this sick".

It's a week later and the cough is getting better but still have a ringing in my ear and slight ear ache off and on. Not done taking the meds yet though so I am going to finish them out and see how things go.

On the positive side at least... my doctor is hot so that is a plus for going there. (have to find the positive side right?)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

It's inexcusable that a moving pinwheel jpg hasn't been posted in this thread already.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

It's inexcusable that a moving pinwheel jpg hasn't been posted in this thread already.

[terpkristin]

Wonder if it's something related to labyrinthitis. I get that regularly. One day in college I was suddenly so dizzy just walking around that I had to stop and sit down in the middle of the quad. Once the vertigo (and associated nausea--and I don't get motion sick, this was just SOOO bad) calmed down, I went on about my business for another 500 feet until it happened again. Went right to the health center where they did a couple tests and diagnosed labyrinthitis. It's some inner ear thing that's caused by a virus (or can be bacterial sometimes) that when it flares up, gives one hella vertigo. And it flares up when the body is stressed (at least, for me). When it happens, I can't turn my head without having issues. They gave me motion sickness drugs for it to quell the nausea.

Also sounds a bit like when I had an inflamed cornea. Except for light sensitivity, I felt fine. But when I was in "bright" light (and "bright" is considered my office with the lights on), I would get so nauseated and need to close my eyes.

Not sure if either of these are like what you've got going on, but good luck, I know how unfun those feelings are.

/tk

[terpkristin]

Also, could it be a type of migraine? I had optical migraines once. Weirdest trippiest thing I've ever had happen. No pain, just wonked up eyesight (well, more than usual).

Also, if you weren't hurting, why take Ibuprofen (which can also upset the stomach)?

/tk

[Sun Tzu]

I think you guys are getting nausea and dizziness mixed up. I don't have problems walking, I don't get dizzy and I don't feel worse when looking at moving pinwheel jpg's. I think one person thought I said dizziness, then everyone else just assumed I meant dizzy, not nauseous.

[terpkristin]

I don't have nausea mixed up with dizziness, just saying that sometimes, things can have causes you wouldn't expect. (and you did mention inner ear which is why I brought up the labyrinthitis)

Still, feel better.

/tk

[Sun Tzu]

Ah...got it. Yeah, motion has nothing to do with how this comes on...nothing at all. I can be laying down for three hours straight, and have four massive bouts of this that last ten minutes each.

The Biaxin is strong...VERY strong. I'm having problems focusing my attention on anything, but at the same time, the bouts are getting gradually less severe. Things are moving along at about the same pace as when I was taking the Amoxicillin. After day seven I felt 100% fine, and even stopped taking the sudafed/ibuprofen/meclazine combo. I'm guessing things will go the same way here...my only hope is that they don't return again.

Would be odd if I were told to do a third round of anti-biotics, because the first and second rounds were separated by a week and a half?

[DanGarion]

I was sick on and off for nearly 2 months at the start of the year, my doctor narrowed it down to a tree pollen allergy. With all the waves of rain and sun we kept having it was causing an abnormal amount of tree pollen to get dispersed here in SoCal. It has finally cleared up for the most part. Good luck issues like these can be a major pain in the ass.

[Sun Tzu]

Thanks...I think the fact that anti-biotics seem to clear it up has to mean something...right?

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Thanks...I think the fact that anti-biotics seem to clear it up has to mean something...right?

Common sense would make you think that.

[Sun Tzu]

2.5 days worth of antibiotics in me, and I'm already feeling 2.5x better than before.

[Butter]

I was wondering what "Frustratingly 3" was for a moment.

I guess I'm an idiot.