Un-diagnosed illnesses are the worst. A former co-worker of mine suffered from violent episodes of illness for years, and various doctors guessed it was ulcers (which he did have, bit they weren't the issue), etc., and they tried treating him for all of those. Finally, a nurse he knew asked if he'd ever had a particular test done, which he hadn't. Turned out it was his gall bladder. They removed it and he's been fine ever since, but he sufferered through several years of misdiagnoses and incorrect treatment.
So, for whatever reason, my health situation has taken another 180 degree turn and dramatically improved over the last few days. I still don't have a definitive diagnosis, but it's looking more and more like a vagus nerve disorder triggered by acid reflux. Dietary changes and more regular eating habits seem to finally be having an effect. In the "really good news" category, I had a meeting with my cardiologist today to go over the results of my echo cardiogram from a month ago, and the conclusion is that I have absolutely nothing wrong with my heart. In fact, my heart action is actually stronger than normal. Tomorrow I'm getting an MRI to look for brain abnormalities like embolisms or tumors that might explain the ringing in my ears and occasional lightheadedness. It's entirely possible that those are an extension of the vagus nerve disorder, so I really don't expect them to find anything, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed regardless. As for Polaris, things are moving forward again now that I'm not so distracted and just plain out of it. It's not going to be done this weekend, but next weekend is a possibility. Stay tuned for more WIP images later tonight or tomorrow. And thanks again to everyone for all the good vibes.
On the contrary, Sojourner, it was my re-polarizing the vibe emitter to maximum good that helped him recover.
Small update. There's more than this but it's not quite ready to show yet. By the way, the results of my MRI came back and everything was... wait for it... perfectly normal. On the up-side, I don't have a brain tumor. On the down-side, they still don't know exactly what the cause of all these problems has been. Regardless I have been doing a lot better for the last week or so, almost back to my old self, so I'm not complaining.
I don't know about all your symptoms, and I'm certainly no doctor, but some of those seem similar to Hemochromatosis, which (as far as I know) is caused by a genetic fault on a single chromosome. I know about it cause my father was recently diagnosed with it and I need to go get a genetic test to see if I have it too. Likely not what you have, but you might get a genetic test done if you haven't already... --Alex
Glad to read it's not a tumor. Oy, great... Now I'm reminded of that bit from "Kindergarden Cop" and a comedian's expansion upon the scene. Maybe it's a sailing boat? It's not a schooner! Maybe it's chicken of the sea? It's not a tuna! Maybe he's a lounge singer? He's not a crooner! Maybe it's midday sex? It's not a "nooner"! Maybe it's someone who dropped his pants? It's not a "mooner"! ...and so on. Sincerely, Bill
I'll just about guarantee the issues have been dietary... I went through a period of stomach (and weight) trouble because I was getting a bit older, my metabolism had changed and I was still eating like I was a teen. Started eating a little more carefully, and exercising (a LOT more) and feel far better. I'm actually gaining weight again, but this time, it's not fat (really exercising a LOT more). None-the-less, it's always good to eliminate all of the evil things that could be wrong with your health, if for no other reason than to get them off your mind. Now - GET BACK TO WORK! (whip, snap...)
Heart-related stuff seems to be under control. Blood pressure is down to normal or a bit under. I just can't seem to shake this ringing in my ears and the lightheadedness. Got an appointment with an Ear, Nose, Throat doctor in the morning to see if it's some kind of inner ear problem. An infection seems unlikely since this has been going on to varying degrees for close to a year, but who knows? Someone recently told me about crystals that can form in the inner ear and cause problems. Another person mentioned blockages of the Eustachian tubes that can pump up pressure in your inner ear like a bicycle tire when you laugh or cough or even just talk a lot, which is just about exactly what's been happening. At this point I would welcome any of the above, mainly because I have no idea where else to go with this. In the mean time, I am eating a lot better and I do think that's made a big difference. Not to mention the fact that I've lost about 25 pounds over the last three months or so. I'm actually within spitting distance of 200 pounds again for the first time in probably 15 years. I'm also exercising regularly again, both martial arts training and weight lifting, so I'm also back in much better shape than I've been in at least that many years. Sucks to go through all of this, but I have to admit some good things have come of it.
The key is to face the problems head-on and plow on through... Attitude makes more difference that almost anything else.
Deja Vu. A few years back I had some funky health stuff, headaches, panic attacks, thought I might be having heart issues. Went to a doctor, did the brain scan, it came up clear. Have enough acid reflux to cause me to lose my voice for about three months last year. And I have a sporadic ringing in my ears....at various intervals it's been pretty loud...but the fact that it can go away means it's not the tinitus I feared it would be from torturing my ears at concerts for years. Stress was determined to be a factor in the first two, and I'll lay good odds the ringing since I notice it to be more prominent when I'm really upset about something. So you if you haven't already ruled out stress, you may want to give it a thought. At any rate, I hope you're feeling better.
Actually - there's a not all that well known culprit in tinnitus cases - aspirin... Too much aspirin, specifically...
Your experience sounds pretty close to mine, Lensman. The doctors wanted to diagnose my heart issues as stress-related generalized anxiety disorder, but I still don't think that quite fits. I have reason to think I may have either a thyroid or adrenal issue, which I'll be following up on in the near future. As for the ringing ears and dizziness, I've had a hearing test and a consult with an ENT doctor. Apparently I have some high frequency hearing loss and possibly a problem with the semicircular canals in my left ear. The doc insisted that the ringing in my ears is a consequence of the hearing loss, which frankly makes little sense to me. If that were the case, I'd think it would be constant. I tried to tell the doc that and he insisted that it IS constant, I'm just able to tune it out occasionally. Sorry, but that's simply not the case. The ringing is very definitely NOT there at times, often when it should be most noticeable if it were indeed constant. I'm scheduled for another CT scan next week to take a closer look at those semicircular canals, and a procedure in August called an ENG exam, which I gather is basically an equilibrium stress test. Hopefully something will turn up, but when your doctor is insisting to you that something is true when you know for a fact that it isn't and basing most of his diagnosis on that determination, it doesn't fill you with a lot of confidence. Much of this whole experience has been like that. I often get the feeling walking out of one doctor's office that I could walk into another's and they'd come up with a completely different diagnosis. Very frustrating, to say the least. Anyway, now that this thread has turned into my own personal medical drama, I think I'd better start showing some more progress on Polaris. Hopefully will be able to do that in the next day or two. Stay tuned.
Hear hear! More pretty pictures, please. And less squishy stuff that keeps us hypochondriacs lying awake at night. Although it's good news that things don't look quite so grim for you, Vektor.