Hi! A good friend of mine has been having some problems, and I am concerned about her. She is concerned about herself, too. She has been experiencing different symptoms. It started out with fatigue, but that went away...yet came back out of nowhere just last night. She said it was a different type of fatigue this time, though. Before, she just felt sleepy and had no energy. Last night, she said her muscles felt like butter... She has also been experiencing headaches (but not migranes), and she says that the headaches will turn into lightheadedness and then cause a little bit of nausea. She has also experienced a racing heart...but she said it wasn't extreme or anything, and she also gets a feeling that her lungs are compressed - and has to take shorter breaths more often, instead of just normal breathing. She has also noticed that her body temperature stays around 97 degrees. We've been doing a lot of research and keep coming up with anemia. She eats healthy, though...and takes a multi-vitamin. She read that your heart can race from a lack of potassium, so she has been drinking gatorade and juices, too. I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but...there was that stomach bug (the getting sick and visiting the toilet problem-putting it in a discreet way) going around in Feb., and she got it twice. It was a 24 hour thing both times. However, it went around again and she got it again 2 or 3 weeks ago, I think. However, that third time, she only had half of it (going back & forth to the bathroom), but she had it for about a week. So, she thought that her body was just a little off from being sick with that stuff, so she made sure to eat healthy, normal stuff when she got well. We're starting to think that the problems she is having now are not really related to her being sick that 2 or 3 weeks ago.
She also experiences little body trembles.
Not bad ones...only she notices it, but she says that she just gets a little jittery in her hands and arms sometimes.
So, I thought I'd get on here and see if anyone has any ideas for my friend. Any ideas and advice on what to try are appreciated.
She knows that she should go to the doctor, but since she has no insurance and doctors are so expensive...she is hoping that she can figure out and help the problem herself.
I'm sorry this post is so long. I was just trying to give enough information to get some ideas.
Thank you!

*Felicty2

Because there is such a list of symptoms and each of them individually could indicate different things, it's impossible for her to be able to diagnose herself (if not dangerous!) She needs to see a doctor! I'm curious as to how old your friend is.

The list of symptoms that you talk about could be any number of things...as simple as anxiety and as serious as heart problems with even fibromyalgia in between. The only thing that she is going to do to figure this out on her own is to cause even more stress and prolongue any diagnosis.

Tell your friend that her health isn't something to wait and see on.....see a doctor!

Has she started any new medications lately? Has she changed her birth control pill? Many times there are adverse side effects to medication. My first thought was- Does she have a carbon monoxide detector in her house? Is anyone else in her household experiencing symptoms? While I am in no way a doctor, it does seem like similar symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. See here and here too.

I agree that she needs to see a doctor. I read once to never read a book of symptoms! You won't know how sick you really are until you do.

Have your friend call her local health department. They can help assist her in finding free medical care. Keep us updated!

Hi! Thank you for replying!
To answer your questions, which are facts I forgot to put on the post (Sorry about that)...
My friend is 23 years old and will be 24 in about 4 months.
She does not take any medication at all, except ibuprofen when she is going through her menstrual cycle. She doesn't have any problems with that, though. She is single, so does not have the need to take birth control pills.
No one else that she lives with has any problems.
She has thought about it being anxiety attacks, but still thinks it has something to do with anemia. She doesn't know why she would get anxiety attacks all of the sudden, when she's never had them before.
All these things that are going on with her is always on her mind, and we both think that her worrying about it might make it worse.
Thank you for replying!
I look forward to any other replies as well...

*Felicity2

Good thoughts above, anemia would fit the symptoms, or some of them anyway. What about her blood sugar? Any problems there?

Mono can present itself in a similar way as well.

Let us know when she sees the doctor...that is the only way she'll find out.

I agree that she needs to see a doctor but from my own experience, I had a few of those symptoms when I was diagnosed with over-active thyroid. I had the racing heart, the weak muscles, fatigue, and no energy.

Thank you, Shelster & Honilov, for your replies.
She can't really be sure how her blood sugar is...as far as she knows, it's fine. When she does have the slight trembling in her hands & arms...eating something doesn't help.
She has read the symptoms of an overactive thyroid, and she doesn't really feel that she has that...because she only has a few of the symptoms on the list. She has the majority of the symptoms on the anemia list, though.
Someone else she knows suggested an inner ear infection. She looked that up, and it can cause headaches, lightheadedness, & nausea...but it also says that your ears hurt and your hearing is not right. She has not had any problems with her ears.
It also wouldn't explain all the other symptoms...
We have also wondered if it could be some problem with her teeth making her lightheaded and all that. However, nothing in her mouth has hurt.
Last night, she got the headache/lightheaded/nausea thing, and she said
it almost got to the point of vertigo (room spinning), but it didn't do that. Her eyes hurt, too. I don't know if I mentioned that or not, but when she gets the headache/lightheaded thing, her eyes will hurt. She has a hard time describing what her eyes feel like. She can see fine, and nothing is blurry...she said it was almost like a headache in her eyes. Closing her eyes seems to help, but only as long as they are closed. She said it was as if her eyes were...seeing too much-taking too much in. It was really hard for her to describe.
Thank you to everyone that has replied. I look forward to any more replies...

*Felicity2

Low body temperature can be a sign of an underactive thyroid.

Thank you for your reply, Dixie. I had her look at the list of symptoms on the link you provided, and she only has had 2 on that whole list...which were the weakness and fatigue. However, she hasn't had much weakness and fatigue lately. That seems to have gone away.
It's very mysterious. I hope she finds a doctor she is able to go to soon...
I know she is also worried about going to the doctor & them not finding anything...that would put her at a loss as what to do.
So, we'll have to see, I guess.
In the mean time, I look forward to any more replies.
I appreciate the replies I have gotten so far.

*Felicity2

Hi, everybody!
My friend went to the doctor. They couldn't see anything by looking at her (which was expected, so she went prepared to take a blood test also), and they did one. She just got the results and told me.
So, I have good news & bad news. The good news is: there's nothing abnormal. They checked her thyroid, her renal panel (which is checking for anemia, electrolytes, etc...), her blood sugar, and her kidneys...everything came back normal.
So, the bad news is...she's back where she started. She went and paid a lot of money, and they couldn't tell her anything. She's glad she went, though...it ruled out several things. They suggested that it may be some sort of virus that has to work it's way out...and that if she gets worse or it doesn't go away, then to call them.
So, we'll see.
In the mean time, any ideas on what type of virus could do this stuff...or any suggestions she could try...?
We're at a loss, now.

*Felicity2

Did they check her for mono?

I had some of those same symptoms a few years ago... I stopped drinking caffeine and it all went away. Fatigue, anxiety and heart racing are especially similar to how I was feeling. It wasn't that I drank a lot of caffeine by anyone's standards, it's just that I was having a bad reaction to it.

Hope that helps. Lack of regular exercise can also cause similar reactions.

Unfortunately, I also went through all those kinds of symptoms some time ago (more than 10 years now!) - and it took alot of doing, but after a very bad episode, I found out that I have MS (Multiple Sclerosis)...so I would say that if her symptoms worsen...she really does need to see someone else for more intricate testing!!! I am very lucky though - - after an initial very bad situation, I ended up not having any residual symptoms or problems, but stuff like this is just not to be ignored.

It doesn't sound like she presented her ailments in a serious enough manner to warrant more extensive testing. And if she did, the doctor would have done more than a blood test. Thing is, certain ailments can never be detected by a blood test. Lydia's MS and my GBS (Guillain Barre Syndrome) are both neurological diseases that are determined from MRIs, Nerve Conductive Tests, and Electromyography. And like Lydia, I went through a majority of the same symptoms your friend is going through.

As for answering your question about what sort of virus could cause these symptoms there is a "disease" called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and she sounds like a textbook example of someone who has that. Some of the symptoms are:

unexplained muscle soreness
low body temp
headache of a new type, pattern or severity
sleep disturbance
extreme exhaustion after normal exertion
dizziness
irregular heartbeat
nausea
shortness of breath
tingling sensations

CFS can occur after an infection such as a cold, bronchitis, and mono. It's a flu-like condition that drains you of energy and can last for years. People previously healthy and full of energy may experience extreme fatigue, weakness and headaches as well as painful joints, muscles and lymph nodes. There is no treatment for CFS but doctors can help relieve the symptoms.

its a a very good thing that she went to the doctor even if they didn´t find anything. Doctors go step by step to find a solution - so if her symptoms come back, at least the first step is done, and the next doctor will be able to go one from there - it also sounds to me like it could be chronic fatigue syndrome or a neurological problem.

she could try seeing a homoepath or a chinese medicine doctor - also mre moeny, I guess, but one visit may be all she needs to get her pointed in the right direction.

It could also be some kind of nutritional deficiency that doesn´t show up in a standard blood test - lack of B12 for instance, produces the symptoms you describe. She could try taking a sublingual B12 tablet ( these are not expensive - tablets that dissolve slowly under the tongue).

Good luck
Linda

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Silja,

Hi! I wanted to get on here and tell everyone the latest. My friend seems to be fine, now. All of it went away. We're starting to think that maybe it's just female hormones triggering all these things. The symptoms were happening for a while, went away, came back for a short time, and are gone now. So, maybe it's hormones or something.
Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know she's okay now. Thanks to everyone who posted a reply. I really appreciate it a lot!
She also does make sure she gets plenty of B vitamins, iron, protein, etc...


*Felicity2

I am glad your friend is doing better.

Thank you, Sherasi.
I am glad, too.

*Felicity2