I went to the doc last night

[ChadK]

I went to the doc and was a spec ialist on hand. He felt my abdomen and listened to my heart and lungs and then took a stool sample and urine test along with BP AND Heart rate of course. He said a lot of my problems could be coming from the fact that I have been in bed almost 2 weeks . He assured me I did not have colon cancer or any other ailmenst for that matter , he did think I have temp postural intolerance because of weight loss and anxiety , is what he said . Everything in all my test done last night came back ok. So I am only to assume the problems I am having is due to the POTS or just pure nerves. Not usre but either way the doc said I was in good health . I had no blood in my stool or urine nor anything else wrong. He did not order no further test due to the test already taken by him himself. So I guess this is goodc news but for some reason I still have gas or something in my abdomen all the time. He said the reason I could feel my pulse in my stomach so much is because of how light I am and how much weight I have lost over the course of the past 3 weeks and said this was normal. So if any of you want to chime in and give me your thoughts that would be great and as always sorry for the poor spelling.

[melly4]

Chad, I'm glad you checked out with nothing life-threatening, and I hope you start feeling better. I'm new here, but I've been around the track with many stupid docs and some good ones. And I've come to the conclusion that autonomic dysfunction causes anxiety, and the combination of the two causes weight loss. I have lost 18 pounds that I did not need to lose in the last 2 months. I eat like a horse. My son is the same way, and he is also gotten thinner since his symptoms started. If I lose any more weight, I'll have to start shopping in the pre-teen department. So maybe the weight loss is a part of the POTS? I don't know, but that's my educated guess.

Take care of yourself.

[KathyP]

Hi Chad;

I am glad to hear that you got a clean bill of health from your doctor!! That is very good news. Now you can look for ways to strengthen yourself to feel better, such as dietary changes, exercise and increasing fluid intake. Increased gas can be caused by many things like being nervous or what you eat. I know from my own experiences that my dysautonomia causes me to have bouts of excess gas. No matter what, physical exercise is extremely important no matter how much or how little you do. Just start moving a little more every day even if you have to push yourself. The more you move the better you will feel. The better you feel the hungrier you will be. Think positive!!!

I am sorry not to agree with Melly's statement that dysautonomia combined with anxiety is the cause for weight loss. I have had both for over 10 years and I am overweight and have an extremely hard time losing it. I wish it were true. I have been trying to lose weight for some time.

Please, don't stop searching for what is best for you. Now that your doctor knows that you don't have anything life threatening you can begin to find things that make you feel better and stronger. Don't give up hope. There are many options out there. You can do it!! I was once bed ridden and now I fought my way back to going shopping, doing things with my friends and family, and most of all ENJOYING LIFE!!! Take care!

KathyP

[MomtoGiuliana]

Chad--glad you have ruled out some serious things. Regarding weight loss--there has been much discussion on this topic on this board in the past. Some people with dysautonomia seem to have trouble maintaining a good weight, others have trouble losing weight. I am not sure that anxiety is playing a large role in that, generally, either way.

I agree with KathyP that it would be good for you to try to keep moving. If that just means a few leg lifts a day or a 5-minute walk a day for now, that is better than lying down too much, which unfortunately exaccerbates POTS.

Has your doctor suggested increasing salt and fluids and does that help?

I hope you can find the right treatments that will help you feel better.

Take care,

Katherine

[melly4]

I also hate to disagree. But anxiety can definitely make people lose weight. Any excess release of catecholamines will cause weight loss because it revs up metabolism. That's what my son and I live with every day, and that's why we were initially thought to have pheochromocytoma or thyroid dysfunction (hyperthyroidism). When the symtoms started, the weight loss started. And my son will be 13 next month. He shouldn't be losing weight. But I see Kathy's point, some people will gain weight when they're under stress. My mother is one of those. She can't lose weight no matter what. She has hypothyroidism, takes her thyroid meds, exercises, and barely eats anything, and she has been overweight most of her adult life. It is so aggravating and depressing for her. So I sympathize with you, Kathy. I guess we just all have some variation of symptoms.But I'm glad you are enthusiastic about exercise, Kathy, because I think it's important for us all. I wish you could give me some of your weight, and then we'd both be happy!!

[KathyP]

Oh Melly;

Thank you for your kind words!! Exercise is very important. It is so easy to fall into a POTS hole and not get the movement we need. I wish I could give you some of my access weight, but I wouldn't have enough for me. I am not severely overweight. But I would love to give you my extra 30 pounds if you need it!!

I can not say that I am under any stress but I can say that I have an anxiety disorder that ties in with my dysautonomia. This anxiety has nothing to do with weight gain or loss. Hormones are usually the cause of weight fluctuations. I will have to check with my doctor about this since he was the one that explained this to me. I could see where hyperthyroid can cause weight loss because of the influx of catecholamines and the thyroid hormone.

Anyway, everyone is different. What hurts one is best for another. We just need to find our own individual healing. Take care!!

KathyP

[steph37822]

oops

[melly4]

Steph, I don't think my "way of thinking" is what it came across as. I have gone through the whole anxiety disorder misdiagnosis, and I certainly don't feel ganged up on. It's okay. I did not mean to suggest that any of us have an anxiety disorder. I have spent the last 7 years of my life trying to lose that tag that ignorant doctors left me with because they didn't have a clue to what was really going on in my body. Anxiety and an anxiety disorder are completely different in the context that I was mentioning. When my heart starts flying or I'm having a day where I'm having numerous palpitations, I feel anxious. That's not the same thing as PTSD or any of the other anxiety disorders that so many physicians will try to label you with. And I refuse to let my son be labeled with them. So I know exactly where you are coming from. I am also trying to lose that stygma. I was only saying that certain hormones released with certain autonomic dysfunction, whether anxiety-stimulated or not, can and will make people lose weight. I know that my son and I have autonomic dysfunction. What I am wondering, is if the anxiety caused by the dysautonomia symptoms are causing us to lose weight or if the dysautonomia itself is causing us to lose weight. As you must have read, so many of us have varying symptoms. Some people gain, some people lose. I am a laboratory scientist by trade and like to ask a lot of questions about cause and effect, and I love to argue with stupid doctors like the ones I'm sure you have associated with. I did not mean to imply that anyone on this forum had an anxiety disorder!! That is definitely NOT "my way of thinking"!!So, please don't misinterpret what I said.

[Guest Finrussak]

Chad

I am SO glad that nothing serious is going on. I absolutely agree with Steph that you would be supported by a therapist/counselor. It is so hard to be ill, have crazy different symptoms always popping up....everyone needs support. It would really take the edge off, even while you continue your search for answers if that is what you feel you should do. We all have our own inner voice and when it says "something is wrong" we should listen...but sometimes we should share the voice with another, while we go on that journey.

Wishing you a calmer night

Melly

I too have looked at the whole chemical- dysauto weight loss issue. From both personal perspective, and for my 16 yr old; and from the perspective of a developmental biologist struggling to understand her condition well enough to fix it!! ( so far illness 3, me ZERO )

There are MANY ways of coaxing the body to lose weight or gain it for that matter. There are hormones, endocrine and exocrine, neuroendocrine,etc beyond the usually thought of estrogen etc. for example:Adrenaline is a "hormone"...PLUS There are releasing factors coming from the brain telling the body which hormone to release and how much.

Also there are nerves that direct both hormone release,/inhibtion and functions such as hunger, digestion and intestinal motility. ( and muscle and other tissue that can either ignore this or respond) So that even if the "right" chemicals are there in the right amounts, the nervous system may be telling the intestines to contract too slow or fast to absorb nutrition properly; etc etc...thats why people with ANY type of nervous sytem malfunction ( POTS, Dysauto in general, stroke, etc) can manifest in weight gain OR loss...depending upon what of many things are affected and how much and even how each individual body reacts ( or compensates). Therefore it IS just as possible for the dysauto itself to blame OR the Hormones/chemicals OR even the chemicals DUE to the dysauto...its a very complex interconnected web with many paths...any disruption of any path can cause probs. This is also why each one of us has gotten relief ( or not) from so many different things.

Its also why those chemicals can manifest into symptoms "like" anxiety or even anxiety itself...and why docs have a hard time distinguishing is that often the SAME chemicals are "off" whether its a psych origin OR physical!!! end result is the SAME!!!...similar to blood sugar...a very simplified comparison: if youre diabetic and take too much insulin, youll go hypOglycemic with all the symptoms...and if you have the disorder hypOglycemia, well, the 2 people will show up in ER looking a lot like the same disorder...and blood tests will be similar...only if they are not unconscious and can say what they have, or if they take insulin....will they be treated appropriately. and yet both can honestly be diagnosed with HypOglycemia!!! and both may be due to pancreatic probs too!!! yet one can argue that they have diabetes and the insulin caused it ( hed be right) and the other would argue, NO his symptoms are due to an illness/ metabolic defect etc...and hed be right too!!!

Biochemistry of the human body is amazing and complex

Hope this answers the questions and debate as to which can cause what...it ALL can cause symptoms directly or indirectly!!! and those symptoms can even be OPPOSITE!!!( like weight loss vs gain)

[melly4]

Finette, thank you for the kind words and for so eloquently putting into words what I meant to say. Yes, the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system are very complex. What makes matters worse is that disorders of any system in a clinical setting do not follow the picture-perfect "textbook" definition, even in well-known and well-studied medical conditions. It takes experience and an open mind for a physician to take into account all of the variations of medical conditions and how each patient will respond differently to various treatments.

I'm sorry you feel as if you are losing the battle "3-0", but you are trying to educate yourself like so many of us, so you are heading in the right direction. I wish the best for you and your 16-yr-old. It's so frustrating when it's happening to your child, as well. I found out yesterday that my 6-yr-old's BP is out of whack, just like mine and my 13-yr-old's. I just wanted to cry at first, but then I realized how fortunate I was that the new pediatrician was top-notch and immediately referred him to a specialist. How refreshing!! My oldest son's BP issues were documented, but never properly worked up for over 3 years. I've decided to be positive, and that is helping me to help them and to stay well myself.