Light-headed, palpitations and abdominal pains for over 5 months
Posted , 5 users are following.
Let me start off by saying that I am a 20 year old male in good shape who was perfectly heatlhy up until September 2016.
?Right before my symptoms started I noticied I had got a bruise across my upper abdominal region (right at the bottom of my ribcage) after being at the front of a concert mosh pit and being shoved up against a railing for a few hours. However the bruise seemed to fade away normally after several days and I thought nothing of it. At that time I was also on a mostly soy-based diet and took large vitamin supplements that had metabolism boosters daily to increase my energy.
About a week later while I was eating dinner I expierenced a sudden palpitation, dizziness, shortness of breath, and feeling so unwell that I had to stop what I was doing and lay down and almost called an ambulance. After about half an hour the palpitation slowly went away, but I still had a feeling of being light-headed and generally unwell. At that point in time I cut off taking any vitamins/supplements and switched to a healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegtables. I also decided to cut out all caffiene from that point onward, which I was consuming copiously large amounts of at that time.
At first I thought I was something like the flu, but after a week of being constantly light-headed I was woken up suddenly in the middle of the night (which is very rare for me) with the most severe chest/upper adominal pains on the left side and the most extremely intense palpitation imagiable. I was genuinely concerned for my life as it felt like a heart attack and I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance, but I was able to walk it off and went back to bed within an hour.
Two days later at work my symptoms were so bad that I had to leave the office early because of the palpitiatons and abdominal pains. On the train on the way home from work I experienced what I can only describe as a palpitation so intense that I could feel my pulse almost jumping out of my body. I immeditley went to an urgent care clinic where they did an EKG which only showed a rapid resting pulse of 100bpm and a slightly elevated blood pressure. They did some of the standard blood work which all came back fine. The doc told me to take few days of work to relax and eat healthy. I did that and it had no effect on my symptoms at all.
I went back to work and the palpitations and pain prevented me from doing anything so I left and went straight to the hospitial ER. They did a chest x-ray and a CAT scan of my appendix and found nothing. The doc refered me to go see a GI as my symptoms seemed to be worst when eating or drinking was involved.
The GI did an upper endoscopy and didn't really find anything so he put me on a PPI to see if reflux was causing some of the pain. It didn't help my symptoms so I was refered to a cardiologist for my palpitations.
The cardiologist did an echocardiogram, stress test, and 30-day ekg event monitor. The only thing he noticied was that my heart rate was high occasionaly when I was walking but didn't think it was a big deal. Then I was refered to a neurologist to be checked out.
The neurologist did a brain MRI, Lyme test and EEG and said all tests were fine. I also saw an endocrinologist who ran some thyroid tests and those came back normal as well.
Now I'm stuck with the lightheaded/dazed feeling which seems to get worse after eating or any excersise. The lightheadedness is almost always the worst when the abdominal pain is present. I've also noticed that my ears get red and hot at completely random times throughout the day.
I can say that after 5 months the symptoms seemed to have leveled off, especially the palpitations which seem not as bad or frequent as they were in the first two months, but the light-headed/dazed feeling has not had any improvement. I have trouble focusing and when speaking it is difficult for me to form my sentances and hold down conversation.
The nearly constant light-headed sensation is interfering with my ability to do my job and I'm desperate to find any answer on what to do next. Thanks for your help and support!
1 like, 8 replies
lilian05079 stumped21
Posted
Do you exercise regulary if do this can cause high levels of cortisol from the adrenal glands which in turn can cause light headedness brain fog and interfere with other bodily functions...Also, have you had your B12 checked because low B12 can cause similar symptoms..go to doc and get cortisol levels and B12 checked...best wishes....
sara0969 stumped21
Posted
As suggested above, def get your B12 and cortisol levels checked out, sounds as though you could be lacking in something. Also, are you getting a balanced diet? You mentioned briefly about your eating habits but if there's something missing from your diet it may be that and therefore causing a deficiency in something.
stumped21 sara0969
Posted
lilian05079 stumped21
Posted
Hi stumped21
I forgot to mention that cortisol is a stress hormone so when you exercise regularly and intensely you are stressing your body and bringing your cortisol levels up causing a 'fight or flight' response that we get when we are stressed thus causing rapid heart beat and light headedness.....also, perhaps you are taking too much soy is there a correlation between starting the soy regime and your symptoms....perhaps the excessive exercise and too much soy are causing your symptoms....
lilian05079 stumped21
Posted
Hi stumped21
I forgot to mention that cortisol is a stress hormone so when you exercise regularly and intensely you are stressing your body and bringing your cortisol levels up causing a 'fight or flight' response that we get when we are stressed thus causing rapid heart beat and light headedness.....also, perhaps you are taking too much soy is there a correlation between starting the soy regime and your symptoms....perhaps the excessive exercise and too much soy are causing your symptoms....
lilian05079 stumped21
Posted
stumped21 lilian05079
Posted
lilian05079 stumped21
Posted
Yes they can if you are still exercising even though not as much as before your cortisol levels may still be raised.....causing mild palpitations and light-headedness....get the cortisol level checked and maybe you will have to stop exercising....