Greetings,
Pardon the long post. I have had a bit of communication on this forum for a week. I told the poster I was communicating with that I would try to go through my notes and list my symptoms. I hope that someone can relate and/or help:
December 2004 Bitten by our family dog, had tetanus shot
January 2005 Had 3 weeks of nausea without vomiting
February 2005 Diagnosed with hypertension, put on Lisinopril
March 2005 quit Lisinopril due to side effects; stomach pain, not from pancreatitis, possible intestinal angioedema?
March 2005 to present PVC's. I have had these most of my adult life. Occasionally I will have spells that last a week or more. Alternately, they may be nearly absent for several weeks.
April 2005 Ct-scan for left sided abdominal pain. Negative. I believe the pain was intestinal angioedema brought on by the Lisinopril
1998 to present Intermittent tinnitus lasting anywhere from a few days to a few months
From age 23 until present, chronic recurring prostate issues; enlargement. PSA is a 1.0
May 2005 Began Celexa 10 mg.
August 2005 Discontinued Celexa due to side effects.
August 2005 TSH test 1.73. Have had several since that time, at least 4. Last one in May of 2011, 1.00. The trend has been a lower TSH every time it is tested.
October 2005 Noticed a trend toward a lower heart rate. Not uncommon to have a resting pulse of 50.
November 2005 ENT visit. Cleaned out alot of wax from my right ear. CT Scan of sinuses. Said rear sinus was plugged but shouldn't cause symptoms. Referred me to Neurologist.
November 2005 Had MRI ordered by Neurologist. Father had MS. Came back clear.
December 2005 Had echocardiogram for pulse issues. Normal. Had thought perhaps that Celexa had effected it?
Sometime in 2006/2007 had sleep study. No apnea. Slight breathing issue but not significant.
Early 2007 started on Cozaar. Added Beta Blocker (Metroprolol) Stopped Beta Blocker due to HR too low. Added HCTZ.
May 2007 Had serious PVC issues with lightheadedness. Went to ER. Everything negative. Sent home with holter monitor. Saw cardiologist; said, “Yep, you get em'”.
November 2007 Had stress echocardiogram. Results showed mild left ventricular hypertrophy. (3 years later repeat test said no LVH)
During 2007 had several bouts of carpel tunnel like pain on my left hand between base of thumb and wrist. Also, 2 years prior had same pain on top of left foot at base of big toe (top) and up towards ankle when flexing foot out straight. "Tarsel Tunnel"? Both included numbness. Foot pain continued until 2009.
June 2008 Started St. John's Wort. 2 months.
December 2008 Bloodwork shows elevated fasing blood glucose(112). Possibly due to HCTZ use?
January 2009 stopped Cozaar and started Captopril, due to cost.
Discontinued after 2 months.
February 2009 Started Lisinopril again.
April 2009 Laying on my bed I had my right eye closed, looking at the lamp on the end table. The lamp was on. The lamp appeared to vibrate back and forth like it was sitting on the washing machine during the spin cycle. I closed my left eye, and looked at it with my right eye and it appeared normal. Did this a few times in different positions. Nystagmus?
July 2009 Noticed a fair amount of pain in lower left chest when swallowing food. Lasted a few months and seemed to abate.
October 2009 Noticed enlarged gland in right side of neck below jawbone “hinge”. Had ultrasound. Enlarged submandigular gland. No concern noted. Slightly enlarged thyroid gland.
Early 2010 Pain in chest on swallowing. Food felt as though it were getting stuck.
February 2010 Upper endoscopy. Polyps in stomach. Negative.
January 2010 I developed a rash on my stomach, right side as well as my back, right side. It was about ping-pong paddle size. At first I was concerned it was shingles since it had the location and pattern that usually comes with it. My doctor prescribed antivirals just in case (didn't take them). After 2 days the rash on my stomach shrank slightly, while the one on my back got larger, spreading a bit towards my left side. The rash looked very much like contact dermatitis. It itched alot. I had not been exposed to any chemicals, poison oak, ivy or anything of that nature. I have thought and thought and can come up with nothing that I had touched. No one in my family had this. The day before the outbreak I drank a GI cocktail at the hospital, but the doctor thought if it was an allergic reaction to that, it would have been broadcasted more widely and resembled hives.
May 2010 Had episode of vertigo while driving to work. Felt as though things were moving, maybe an earthquake. I pulled over and realized I was quite dizzy. I couldn't keep my head upright, almost as though it was being drawn towards the headrest and it felt like my right face was getting numb. I thought maybe it was a stroke so I dialed 911. They came out and got me to the hospital. All the tests checked out okay and they said it was probably an attack of vertigo. I didn't feel nauseated however. They gave me meclizine which seemed to help and off I went.
Later in the evening I discovered that the tinnitus episode that I had been experiencing for 1 month prior was gone. The following morning it was still gone. Now, was this due to the meclizine, or could something have happened in that episode that somehow managed to get rid of the tinnitus while also causing the vertigo?
September 2010 Cozaar starts to lose effectiveness. Tried Enalapril. Thought it caused muscles cramps. Was probably wrong.
Late September/Early October 2010 Had a virus that lasted for several days. During this virus I had four or five days straight of PVCs; night and day. After four days I developed a fever and had an increased heart rate of 95 BPM (normal for me is 60 to 70) even when laying down, but the PVCs stopped. After a day, the fever and elevated heart rate stopped. Felt poorly for many days after. Believe this is probably the time when orthostatic hypotension began.
November 18th(?) Woke up in the middle of the night and didn't feel well. My pulse was up to 90 (normally always 60-70). I felt kind of hot. I laid down on the sofa for a while and then after an hour or so I sat up. After sitting for a bit and sipping some water, I took my pressure and it was 180/118. I woke my wife up and we went to the hospital. They took blood tests, urine sample, etc. Gave me ativan and told me to call my doctor. Discharged with 150/100.
Next day spent the whole day in bed and checked my pressures laying down. I was getting 135/82 laying on my right side. However, whenever I would sit up, my pressure raised to 160/110. Went to the doctor's and they checked my pressure 3 times in both arms and consistently got 138/92. I'm pretty certain about my monitor since it was new and it matched what I got at the hospital. They told me to double my med and talk to them on Monday.
This was the first spike that size I have ever had to my knowledge. 4 years ago when I was in a very high stress period I had a reading of 180/111 for one evening, but it dropped 10 points a day after the stressful period was over, until it returned to "normal" for me.
November 23rd(?) 2010 Repeated stress echocardiogram. Told all was fine. LVH was deemed not present.
Late November/Early December 2010 Notice pain in shoulders and torso. Probably had it earlier. Didn't make the connection to alcohol consumption until later. I noticed that after even the smallest amount of alcohol consumption, I would develope core muscle soreness and pain starting in my abdominals, up through my chest and into my neck and arms. I have been a regular 2 beer a day guy for years without any problems whatsoever. The only alcohol related pain I can find on the net has been from Hodgkin's. Had a CT scan of my torso in January and it revealed nothing. Also, my kidney and liver functions all look fine. The best way to describe the pain would be if you did some strenuous workout and strained your muscles. This pain/soreness happens anytime I drink alcohol of any kind, within 15 minutes after consumption. don't care if I can't drink again, but something tells me that this symptom is tied in to my overall feeling of fatigue and lack of energy.
Have had major brain fog/spaciness for 7 years without let up. Noticing increasing pain in mid-upper back and wrap around to chest. Pain meds help a little. Pain is deep and feels like a raw burning sensation.
Thanks for listening, Brenden.