Looking for Some advice on some recurring symptoms

J

jake1236987

New member
Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forums here, actually this is my first post. I could really use some help diagnosing some symptoms I am having lately. I am scheduling an appointment with my family doctor, but could really use some help until then. I will try to keep this short. The last couple of months I have been having some symptoms, that by themselves are not too strange, but together it has been making me feel a little crappy.

Dizzy feeling when standing, blacking out feeling, (no blackouts)-last 3 months.

Severe periodic headaches, usually on sides (temple area) of head. These I have had for a while, and never been diagnosed with migraines or the like. But never tested as well.

Tingling sensation/numb feelings in my arms and legs, particularly left arm and leg. last 2 weeks or so.

Shortness of breath, this is not an everyday thing. Happened last saturday.

fluttering feeling/Pain in my chest. Also happened last saturday.

After the last two symptoms I went to a walk-in clinic immediately, and she ran an EKG and said my heart seemed ok, and thought it was acid reflux but to make an appointment with my family doctor.

I have also had various symptoms of sinus infections with some liquid in my nasal area. But only occasionaly in my chest.

I recently started smoking after having quit for 4 months, and I do not smoke as much as I used too, around 8-10 cigarettes per day. Before it was about a pack a day, and for the last 7 years approximately. I do drink more coffee and caffeine containing drinks than i probably should, and have since stopped since my issue on saturday. Currently at the moment I have a bad headache, and I accidentally got choked up while drinking a soft drink, and my whole body felt racked with pain when I was coughing...and I have been sleeping a bit more than usually for myself...

I appreciate anyone who reads this and if you have ANY, information for me at all as to what this sounds like, please reply, I am deeply grateful!

Josh
 
The bad headaches can be the result of giving up caffeine. If you had a caffeine addiction, and gave up cold turkey-that is what the headaches are from. And they are nasty. They wil go away, but it takes probabaly a week to get it all out of your system.

While you are at it, do yourself a favor and give up the smoking too!
 
i totally agree ib&p. caffeine can create alot of issues when your body and brain get used to it then you suddenly stop? try using just a bit of caffiene and see if things get better with the head pain. anytime i have had to go into the hospital for like surgeries i have to give up the caffine tabs i take from time to time in small increments only becasue all the meds i have to take make me sleepy with no energy? i have to kind of taper off of it in order to avoid the rebound headaches from it just not being there anymore?(i don't drink coffee or drink pop with caffiene so i get it this way) caffiene is a vaso constrictor on the blood vessel which keeps them a bit more to the smaller/constricted side? so when you just stop suddenly, they will go back to the "norm' which simply increases bloodflow which will feel like headpain or a throbbing? just the reason why caffiene alone can create some issues.

seeing your doc is a fantastic idea. i am hoping at the very least he will see the need to at the very least here, refer you for a contrasted MRI done on not just the brain but the c spine as well? what you are describing as being ONLY on one side, really does need to be thoroughly checked out with at the very least, an MRI. the contrast just really helps alot to see certain findings and the important blood vessles within the brain as well, so it really does need to be added to the referral.

whever we have symptoms in the arms/fingers AND the legs, that brain and c spine need checking. the innervation of the arms just does not go past T 1 for most people,so that whole area needs to be checked out for a possible issue that could create your symptoms. any c spine MRI just will also include at least the first three to four T spine levels too, so that would also be looked at.

this would just be the very first type of real testing that would give your doc a baseline look into the possible areas of involvement. whatever may or may not actually show upon just getting those two areas more deeply checked would kind of dictate any next steps from there.

and by the by here, i also agree with ib&p on the smoking? god, please stop if you can again. i have beent rying like hell for years now to kick this crappy habit despite already having one brain aneurysm to deal with and the risks with just alot of my medical issues, i am still there not able to quit. do this huge huge favor for yourself before THAT actually starts to become a real medical issue too. nicotine is also a form of vasoconstrictor so that too does not help at all with the bloodflow either, ya know? if you were actually ableto go even a couple days or weeks before without this crap, go there again and mean it. trust me, it is not something you need or want to keep doing. i personally, with everything i am dealing with and trying to cope with, just cannot get those little mind controlling bas***** out of my life. they have over time just become a huge coping tool for me.

but DO see about the MRIs, they are just really needed in order to get the best look inside at those two key areas where your types of symptoms could just be generating from. i hope this is nothing major, but these areas just need a good contrasted scan right now. please keep us posted. FB
 
Thanks for the replies!

I am in total agreement on the smoking, I dont want to do it, that being said I did quit before, and I can quit now...there is no reason why I cannot. It is very hard though. I will mention those tests to my doctor, and tell him I want them to be done. Interesting though that you do mention that, because it occured to me that I forgot to post in my first post. When I was in highschool, about 8 years back, in my senior year. I had a pretty bad hockey related injury...I had a minor concussion, and a spinal contusion with some minor bleeding in that area...I had it checked out and everything seemed healed and better. My neuroligist did detect an arachnoid cyst wich he said I should not worry about. But being 8 years back I think I should definately be looked at again. But this doesnt sound to be bacterial or viral to either of you? No sickness or virus that could cause these kind of symptoms? Thanks so much for the wealth of answers...if you think of anything else let me know, I'm grateful that you took time out of your day to respond!

Josh
 
given what you just mentioned about that actual level of your injuries with espescially that spinal contusion? this really does require a repeat/ comparritive MRI study just to really see how things have healed over time. the one thing about ANY level of real spinal cord injury, and a contusion IS a form of spinal cord injury, is they can take a very long time to heal and also will create certain chemical reactions within the cord as well. these just occur over mostly that first year. what happened with the arachnoid cyst? has that ever been checked since you were "pronounced' just fine? the one thing you could have ended up with here is called arachnoiditis too, this is an actual inflammation of that arachnoid layer(there are a few different layers before you actually get to the real cord level inside) that covers the spinal cord.

i would just really make certain that your doc does that referral for the brain and the c spine MRI WITH a contrasting agent right now. once this gets done, it will at least give you a baseline to work from.

as far as any of these symptoms actually being caused by something viral or bacterial? only your doc can realistically determine that just by seeing how you look,how things feel when palpated and most importantly doing some bloodwork on you too. but just considering the symptoms AND your history, that MRI just really is much more needed now. just also make certain to obtain all your own copies of the reports from the MRIs. seeing what was found in the summaries of these reports if something were indeed found, the way any rad actually words any particular finding is just really important in defining much better. plus, you can actually type out and post the summary for us here too. that really helps. good luck and please keep us posted, FB
 
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