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I'm extremely frustrated and so far have had no luck getting any help from either my internist or specialists, so I'm now appealing to the collective wisdom of C-D. I'll try to make it as brief as possible so as not to overwhelm. These issues may or may not be related, but in order to paint a holistic picture I'll list them all.
Vitals: 33-year-old male, decent physical shape (5 ft. 7, 150, almost-daily exercise, no smoking, virtually no drinking, no recreational drugs of any kind), office job.
0. I lived in L.A. for 14 years before moving to VA for school (for 2 years) and MI/PA for work (currently live in MI). During my first winter in the Midwest, I started having symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, so I've been taking Vitamin D almost daily now for three years and change. Have been under quite a bit of job- and family-related stress in the last year, so I'm sure it's not helping any of the points below.
00. About eight years ago I was diagnosed with TMJ. Have worn a mouth guard when sleeping on and off.
1. A year ago, while at the gym, I pulled my right shoulder while doing shrugs. The pain gradually went away but not entirely. I went to physical therapy and it didn't really help.
2. While in said physical therapy I had a bad migraine episode bad enough to require an ER visit. Loss of peripheral vision, tingling in limbs, aura, loss of coherence (which I was more than keenly aware of at the time and which, to a much milder degree still sometimes reoccurs), the works. Ambulance driver let slip something like: "Well, looks like the early onset of MS." CAT scan, MRI - all negative. Was given prescription for sumatriptan and advised to take it whenever symptoms start. Luckily those same symptoms have not reoccurred; I have taken it on occasion for bad headaches, but it doesn't do anything. Saw a neurologist, she said it's probably related to stress in my neck and shoulders.
3. Last fall I started having symptoms that were eventually diagnosed as reactive hypoglycemia: getting really sleepy with my temples feeling like they are in a vice grip, usually after lunch. Tried messing around with my diet, the worst of the symptoms gradually went away but not entirely. Did a 5-hour glucose test, didn't really show anything except the fact that my sugar levels fluctuated around 90 in a fashion opposite of normal (i.e. spiked late and then fell). Got a thyroid and insulin test - all normal. Meanwhile, I will often feel lightheaded in the afternoon, like one would with a low blood sugar level.
4. Started trying to take care of the shoulder, went to a chiro. After a bunch of sessions, I'm not really any better than when I've started in that I don't have constant pain, but putting even a little bit of effort on that shoulder results in soreness. Meanwhile, the crick in my neck on the same right hand side that has come and gone over the past few years flares up every so often (often after adjustments). MRIs and x-rays all negative.
5. Around this same time (the worst pretty much accumulated around this last winter), after years of occasional heartburn, started having symptoms of not just heartburn, but also excessive saliva, trouble swallowing, etc. Had an upper GI, was diagnosed with GERD and mild gastritis, given a prescription for Prilosec, which actually does seem to be helping (been taking it for a bit over a month now).
6. Finally, in the most recent development, I've been having, on an almost-daily basis, headaches of a different variety. Basically, they feel like cramps in my head (similar sensation to either strained facial muscles after laughing too hard, lactic acid buildup in shoulders when you run or, pardon the visual, being kicked in the balls, only if the sensation is in my head), which start around the temples and radiate to the nose and cheeks, then spreads to shoulders and neck. Gradually goes away, basically like another similar sensation - an ice cream headache - but does linger longer than that. Sometimes also accompanied by similar feelings in my stomach. I just came off one of the worst episodes ever, actually, which is prompting this post - can't take it anymore. My neurologist has basically said that this is all related to stress in my shoulders and neck and recommended physical therapy. I recommended that she... Well, let's not go there. Did a little bit of research and it sounds like it's possible that these are side effects from the Prilosec. Going to try to drop it for a week and see what happens.
Any of this ring a bell? I know I need to find a good internist and neurologist (so far zero luck), but I'm exhausted from all of this and just want to know I'm not alone and that this can have a resolution of some sort. Just went on vacation and the symptoms were largely reduced (though never went away completely - they generally take a back seat if I am active and I usually walk around a lot on vacations) but as soon as I came back home, boom, there they come again. Any time I sit at my computer at home or at work or drive, or am not very active, I may as well lie down and fall asleep.
Cheers, good shout with the licorice. I've heard of it before and have tried supplements that contain it, but never regularly. I'm guessing Vitamin Shoppe will sell it?
Stress can cause headaches and stomach troubles. You mentioned family and job stress, maybe that's related to some of your troubles. When your symptoms are less troublesome on vacation, that can be a sign that stress in your daily life is causing some of your problems.
The ambulance driver shouldn't have mentioned MS, many of us get migraines with symptoms like that and do not have MS. And some people who have MS do not have symptoms like that...my dad has it and he used to have vision loss in his left eye and trouble picking up his left foot, but never any headaches.
Headache and stomach pain can be a side effect of Prilosec, maybe you should stop taking it for a while and see if your symptoms improve. I was taking zantac and had to stop because of side effects (ringing ears, headaches) and it took more than a month for my symptoms to improve, even though I had only taken the zantac for a week.
Sometimes massaging your head will help with a headache. Migraines usually have one or two spots that are extremely painful, and you can apply pressure to those spots to get some relief from the migraine. It might work with headaches of shorter duration too. You have to get past the pain of pressing on the tender spots for it to work.
Are you sure your blood sugar is low when you're feeling sleepy? Because that's how diabetics feel when their sugar is too high, really sleepy, and a low feels like being dizzy and shaky and cold. It sounds like whatever it's doing, your body isn't processing simple carbs the right way and you should limit or avoid them for now.
If you can figure out the main causes of stress in your life and work on managing the stress better or limiting contact with the people causing the stress, it can help a lot. I was getting a migraine once a week that lasted three days each time, plus lower back spasms, until I started limiting contact with my main source of stress, who used to visit me a couple times a week and call me several times also, with each conversation lasting an hour or more. Now, I'll text her three times a week, talk to her on the phone once every two weeks, and I've really minimized the visits. I still get a three-day migraine after our phone conversations but it's much better than it used to be.
You should try a physical therapist that specializes in myofacial. The TMJ can affect the muscles in the neck and shoulders. This also can trigger migraines and headaches. I used to have severe migraines and neck and shoulder pain that no one could adequately treat. It turns out my TMJ was causing it all, and I just needed the right physical therapist. I don't have a clue about the other symptoms. Good luck!
Try a different chiropractor. You might even have to try several to get one that works for you. It's as much an art as a science. Drink plenty of water and you might want to try massage and meditation too.
What food and drink do you take daily? Do you take constant medication?
You mention when on vacation your symptons largely subside, while sitting at the desk whether it's at home or work , the symptons return, this says that your circulatory, including lymphatic, system is blocked, and your usual exercise routine is insufficent or ineffective.
Try stretching several times a day, incorporating them to as many daily tasks as possible: walking on stairs rather than taking elevators, stand tall (as if an invisible string is pulling up the top of your head) while waiting for green light at the intersections, consciously breath with lower abdomen instead of shallow chest breathing, do a few push-ups against the kitchen counter before the cooking timer sets off, etc.
You should try a physical therapist that specializes in myofacial. The TMJ can affect the muscles in the neck and shoulders. This also can trigger migraines and headaches. I used to have severe migraines and neck and shoulder pain that no one could adequately treat. It turns out my TMJ was causing it all, and I just needed the right physical therapist. I don't have a clue about the other symptoms. Good luck!
This is really helpful, especially considering the doc I just saw today immediately zeroed in on clenching and grinding. I'm going to look for one in my area.
OP, I sent you a DM, what I've done in the last 20 yrs or so is pretty much left conventional medicine and worked with integrative MD's to get to the root of issues...I'm much older than you but want to stay as healthy as I can till I'm no longer around. I've been burned from drugs and so have family members and we've learned the hard way.
My daughter who is left with too many issues from allopathic medicine is seeing a D.O. now, going into her 3rd treatment next week and she "feels" an overall shift in her body.
D.O.'s are Osteopathic doctors who have gone the extra miles to work on body alignment. I had a D.O. work on my back from my 30's into my 60's...he's gone now but he saved me for a long time. You might seek out a D.O. some time.
I have no doubt that some of this is stress-related as the first half of the last 12 months was insanely stressful for me with a job change and struggles, marriage and some of my family's thoughts on it, etc. The severity of those issues has subsided dramatically in the second half of the 12 months, but I'm sure the lingering effects are still with me. What does bother me is that they keep manifesting themselves in different ways.
I'm also starting to think that maybe staring at a computer screen all day is hurting my eyes in a subtle way (I do have 20/20 vision, but sometimes I have trouble focusing my eyesight). These symptoms do get better on weekends when I'm out and about doing stuff and not at home on my computer (hence my saying that if I'm active, I don't feel this as much), so maybe it's not so far-fetched that this is another contributor. A coworker just mentioned he'd had similar issues in the past due to reading too much and too intensely, so I'm going to see a vision specialist once I get a referral.
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