Health Problems

Ok I have some medical problems. I know we have some big brains here and maybe some people that are also doctors or scientists or whatever. I have done a lot of labwork and stuff but I don't think I am communicating with these German doctors very well about what is going wrong so I bring it to you guys. Maybe one of you have similar problems and your labs look the same so I added scans of my labwork.

Symptoms:

- Stuttering randomly, this one is odd because I will know what word I want to say, I can't say the word but if I choose a synonym in my head I can work it out. I also can say it over and over in my head sometimes and eventually will get it out but it's awkward.
- Memory loss like big time. I don't remember what I ate for meals last week. I don't remember half of the people I meet. All kinds of issues here.
- I am starting to have trouble using homonyms and screwing up a lot of my typing. Some of you might have noticed it here on the forums but probably not. I lose track of my thoughts a lot of the time during a post or typing an email or something else. It's super annoying.
- Joint pain, arthritis pretty much.
- Extremity numbness at times and twitching.
- Extreme headaches.
- Fatigue all the time. I could sleep for the rest of my life and probably still be tired.
- Light sensitivity.
- Dry eyes.
- Rash under my eyes that comes and go and nothing clears it up.


My general practicioner is American and she feels there is some kind of issue. We were looking at MS and Lupus but just can't back it up I don't think. Right now I am trying to just wait it out until some bigger symptoms show up but I am getting extremely frustrated.

I have an MRI that had nothing show up out of place. I don't have the pictures from that with me but I doubt anyone would want to see my brain anyways.

The lab work that was an issue was the ANA was positive and high. I also have markers for Lyme disease but not the rash and it isn't high enough for the amount of time that I have had symptoms.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Know some specialist in their family they could refer me to that I could email labs to?

Deathwing_sl said:

Did you throw in Lupus just so no one could make a joke about it?



To be fair, I don't remember what I had for dinner last week either. I mean, I know I had pizza one day. Reubens another day. But I'd really have to sit down and think it through to nail down each specific day. It's just not that important so I don't remember it. Maybe the people you meet are boring too.

Sorry that I can't be of any help. Some of those symptoms said Alzheimers to me. NOT QUALIFIED TO DIAGNOSE IN ANY WAY.

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No we actually looked at Lupus even though we joked about it when we did it. The symptoms kind of line up but the cases of males and just everything about that disease just make it unlikely.

I have looked into Alzheimers unfortunately there is no test for that. There is just the autopsy. According to a DNA profile I did a long time ago it says I have one copy of the APOE ?4 variant. APOE ?4 is not the only factor contributing to Alzheimer's disease. Although it is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's, many people with the APOE ?4 variant never develop it. This puts me at around 15% likely to develop it. This is double the average. Alzheimer's at 32 though is not very common. It would also be a real shitty diagnosis I think

Eomer_sl said:

Hope it's not that. I have a friend whose dad was diagnosed with it in his 40's, and was dead by his 50's. It's extremely rare though.

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Yeah would rather not know that I have Alzheimer's if it's that. There is nothing you can do about that one at all. Would rather have something worse that is quicker.

joeboo_sl said:

Yeah, no way its Alzheimers(unless it's that, combined with something else), too many physical symptoms(rash, headache, etc) to be alzheimers.

This is totally out of left field, but have you had your home tested for mold levels? Mold can do some crazy stuff to people, many of those symptoms could easily be due to mold issues in your home(or even just in your bedroom or mattress or something you are in regular contact with)

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We looked into mold. The symptoms have been progressing over years and we have lived in three different houses in that timeframe and one of those is now in a different country. Unless I have some kind of trunk I am taking around that is full of mold then it isn't that.

Yeah Alzheimers isn't super likely even if the other symptoms just happen to be other minor issues. I will keep saying that like a mantra.

Dashel_sl said:

Out of curiosity how long has this been going on? Did the onset coincide with any other event? Moving to a new house or new job, any injury, change in diet, trips outside the country?

In any case good luck with finding what's wrong. I wish I had something to offer.

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How long? Joint pain and snapping plus popping noises when I walk sometimes since I was probably 17. Couldn't ever sneak out of the house you would hear me in the hallway. The headaches probably noticed really in my early 20's. The rest of it probably in the last 3 - 5 years and steadily progressing. It comes and and goes though in what you could call "flares" if you would which is why we explored Lupus a bit.

No diet change.
Not coinciding with a move.
I don't get stressed and haven't had any stressors other than this in my life.
New job but the new job was a huge plus for me.
It started before I moved to Germany.
No injuries but my appendix did decide to give out on me so they removed the rebellious organ.

joeboo_sl said:

You haven't been using the same mattress in your bed that whole time have you? We had a customer who thought they had mold issues in their apartment, so they moved, and still had issues. It was in her mattress.

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Two different matresses. All new pillows, hers and mine. I usually smash a pillow every other month from the weight of my head and have to buy a new one anyways.

sl4ck3r_sl said:

I can't tell from the lab results, but low testosterone values played as a factor of a relative's fatigue problems, receiving shots have helped them tremendously. I've always had terrible eye sensitivity to light and could never go outside without sun glasses otherwise my eyes would water up. Eye dryness has come about due to working in an IT datacenter with the constant airflow, has dried my eyes and now I can't wear contacts without irritation after a few hours. Drinking an excess of caffeinated drinks made my eyes twitch as well as headaches. I share a lot of these symptoms, wow, probably not as severe from the sounds of it.

Also, where's the joint pain located at? Is it always in one particular area or all joints? Hopefully this is just a bunch of small unrelated symptoms, and can be resolved...

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Yeah if you sit down and try to tabulate all your "symptoms" for anything you really feel like you are blowing out the most minor things way out of proportion.

I haven't gotten my testosterone tested. I will look into that, thanks. The dry eyes is a recent thing and could be a non issue. I went no caffeine for a while and a bunch of other things for the headaches, nothing so far has done what I need. Excedrin Migraine is the only pill on the market that helps also. When that was off the market I just had to power through.

The joint pain is elbows, knees, ankles, and finger joints. Wrists are generally ok and that is about all the major joints except hips. I think my left elbow is ulnar nerve entrapment because my left pinkie and ring finger randomly go numb and twitchy. I am going to get a nerve conduction study done on that arm to see if that is what it is. The joint pain goes away with Tramadol but I can't be taking that every day for the rest of my life. The Tramadol does absolutely nothing for the headaches though, I am pretty sure it shouldn't though.

McCheese_sl said:

Are you sure all of the symptoms you listed are related? It sounds like you're going about this assuming everything is connected, but isn't it possible that some of them are completely separate issues?

For example, the joint pain (arthritis) and headaches. What makes you think these are connected to the other issues? It seems likely that some of the physical symptoms might be separate problems in their own right and unrelated to some the mental problems you've noted.

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Not sure they are related at all. They "seem" to "flare" up around the same times though. I have arthritis like pain but not all the time. Sometimes it's all good in the hood. That and they all seem to be progressing at the same time which could be old age only.

Maebe_sl said:

How is your sleep? My first thoughts were exhaustion/fatigue and then mold. Due to the duration of symptoms exhaustion/fatigue would need a root cause. Considering where we are and what you've done in the past (I know what you did last summer........thatyou play MMOs) sleep deprivation seems logical.

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I sleep a lot. I mean a lot. I can easily do 12 hours of sleep a night with no issue. I also sleep super solid. The wife comes in and I don't move at all or anything when I sleep. She has checked if I am dead before. The neurologist blamed it all on sleep and dismissed me though so it was a good idea.