A cluster of issues, no help from MDs so far (sinus, flashes)
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I think you should look into Feldenkrais. It's totally non-invasive, and you can most likely find classes (depending on your area) that are reasonably priced. The one-on-one appointments are more expensive, can be around $100. Once you learn to do it, you can do it to audio tapes (or mp3s) on your computer.
Here is an example of one for TMJ. I didn't watch it so I don't know if it's a good one or not. Generally they are audio and not audio/visual.
The only other thing I can think of is that I had a friend who was diagnosed with cluster headaches. He said they were most likely triggered by PTSD (having been near bomb blasts and hit by shrapnel) but maybe you could Google "cluster headaches" as well.
Looks like you are under a severe stress all the time. Except for the shoulder, everything else lines up perfectly, creating a circle of problems that produce one another. You will need to break it, and it's not very difficult. Try to fix your shoulder (chiropractors won't help if you tore your muscles, go see a good sport medicine surgeon) - it's a real problem. For the rest of what you described:
1. Main thing: start your day with a mantra - "Life is wonderful in all aspects, thanks for letting me have it." End your day with it. When you are panicking about something (job-related), ask yourself - is it THAT important, ultimately? Try to have some nirvana in yourself all the time.
2. Don't eat crap, reduce salt intake, don't eat late, don't overeat. 150 for 5.7 is a bit too much. Don't drink milk, use buttermilk or other probiotic-containing products. For your own sake, stop using all deli meats and other processed food. Forget about (or seriously reduce) sour and spicy products, especially all these condiments.
3. Be seriously worried only about serious things, and they can be counted on one palm: your health and well-being, same of those who are very dear to you, and clean conscience. Everything else passes. It does. If someone bothers you, send him/her a mental f--k-off, wish them to age in poverty, and move on. Don't wish really bad things, they may happen and you'll feel bad.
4. Don't worry too much about the job, everybody gets what h/she deserves. Think about it.
5. Think more, worry less.
6. Live, don't struggle thru life.
I'm extremely frustrated and so far have had no luck getting any help from either my internist or specialists....Just went on vacation and the symptoms were largely reduced
No question about it -- you're dying.
You have a classic case of hypochondria. Have a glass of wine and some sex every night, and you'll recover.
Stress/trauma build up to our body/minds can be doing so much damage. My daughter just had her 3rd D.O. session and this includes cranio sacral work. She says she feels lighter and walks better. This 52 yr old has had many stressors in her life and they just build up and up and up until the body is breaking down.
So, a couple of things. I think that you could have something foundational, and other symptoms that are related to your "main issue", and then things that could be related to what you are doing to treat it.
- The glasses are a good idea if you do have a migraine disorder. The blue light does worsen migraines, and in studies this glasses treatment was very effective. It is a small investment if this is the issue. However, you do not present with classic migraine symptoms. That said, you could be causing chronic rebound headaches if you are taking headache medication more than 3 days a week (e.g. Excedrin, ibuprofen, Imitrex, etc.). If the sumatriptan medication didn't work, I would ignore all medications in that class and consider discussing with your provider a trial of a TCA (tricycic antidepressant, but at a very low dose at bedtime). It could help with the headaches and with the sleep disturbance/pain.
- With the GI issues and the headache, you may well have a food allergy, especially as the symptoms are coming on mid-day. I would consider getting tested for celiac. Do not attempt an elimination diet of gluten before testing, as it would alter the test results. If the test comes back positive, you would want to get a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. There is a type of celiac called transglutaminase-6 that when positive/elevated affects the nervous system and can cause depression, insomnia, balance issues, headache, etc. Cyrex is the best lab in the country to get accurate testing done at. Additionally, with the type of headaches and GI issues, you could have a dairy intolerance. You could go ahead and try a total dairy elimination diet x 1 month and see if it helps. With this, you should certainly print out a headache diary (or keep one in a notebook) and monitor how many headaches you get, description of where you get them, how long they last, possible triggers, what you treated them with, and how well it worked. This will be important both for diagnosis and for any consults with a neurologist (it will save you a visit when they say "Ok - now spend a month keeping a diary and come back then.").
- Stress releases hormones that cause the proton pumps in your stomach to secrete more acid than normal which could be causing the reflux/stomach pain. PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) like prilosec work well, however they deplete magnesium from you system which can cause problems. You should supplement while taking it. Also, don't take prilosec for more than 2 years as it can cause you to be at an increased risk of bone fractures. Note, it also puts you more at risk for infection with C. dificile diarrhea infection (very contagious and problematic). Zantac 75 twice a day or 150 in the morning may be a better substitute if it works or you. If not, be sure you are taking the prilosec at least 30 minutes before your first meal of the day or it doesn't work as effectively.
- I doubt you have MS, but if they didn't do the head and spine MRI with contrast (and do both a head and spine study), you have not ruled it out. I discourage a series of spinal x-rays at this point because over 90% of people your age will have abnormalities, and it is unlikely that is the cause of your symptoms. Additionally, since it is unlikely to be helpful, it is exposing you to needless radiation at this point.
- What is your blood pressure normally? There are a few syndromes that could also be contributing depending on what your BP is.
- You live in Michigan. If you haven't gotten your Vitamin D level tested, you could have such a low number that you would need to be taking a prescription level dose x 12-24 weeks until it is high enough to go down to 5000 IUs daily. I like my patients between 50-75 when tested.
- Why did they test you for diabetes? Are you thirsty/hungry/peeing a lot? Did they test you for diabetes insipidus as well?
So, my first guess would be a food allergy such as celiac or dairy, and I think that is a good first bet. You could also try and treat the migraine with the glasses and switch to a TCA like amitriptyline. If you are thinking about further testing for a low-likeliehood possibility, I would consider diabetes insipidus, myasthenia gravis, or Lyme disease. MS could be a possibility still if the correct imaging wasn't done, but is unlikely.
I am a board certified family nurse practitioner, but as you are not my patient and I have never met you, all my recommendations need to be taken in that light. It is always safer and better to take the counsel and advice of a real human being. Anyone on the internet could be...well, anyone. Best of luck.
Living in MI and Most other U.S. cities, public water is fluoridated and this additive is from Lead waste. Talk about the crimes on people. I agree on the D and I live in So. Calif and my town got the lead toxin added in 2009. Grand Rapids was the first city in the U.S. to be fluoridated....another issue to add to the mess.
So the headaches now at least are predictable: towards around 2 pm, I start getting a pressure-like cramping feeling on the top right and left of my head...
This made me think of a possible caffeine withdrawal headache, as the half-life of caffeine is 5-6 hours after ingestion (presuming morning coffee or tea). You could experiment by having a cup at 2 pm to see if there's any relief.
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