stress/autonomic nervous system/digestion/erectile dysfunction

[Bigpete757]

About 8 months ago, I got involved in some online gambling. My body was under extreme stress and I could feel my stomach tightening up and had the nervous stomach feeling. A couple weeks into the gambling, I noticed pain/swelling coming from my middle/right of stomach (right upper quadrant). The swelling could range from about the size of golf ball, to half a baseball. I also noticed that I could not poop anymore (constipation) and felt very weak in the legs, had headaches, dizzyness, etc. Many symptoms of very high stress.

For the next few months, I visited docs running tests to see what it might be. One thing that showed up on an endoscopy was a doctor said I had, "very poor gastric motility consistent with severe gastroparesis." However, I had a gastroparesis test done month or two after this, and it came back normal.

In September, a surgeon I was referred to tried doing a pain shot in the area to bring me some relief. I was hoping this would work because my research led me to believe that what I could have been experiencing was a chronic abdominal wall pain, from nerve entrapment, nerve compression, nerve irration in the area, etc. After this shot did not help me, I read that massaging the area and putting pressure on it might restore blood flow and this could possibly help. Massaging the area ended up making problem worse and my stomach become very distented, bloated, more painful, symptoms worse, etc. My stomach is distented so much that it becomes very painful on a daily basis.

Since September, I have visited gastro docs at 3 big hospitals in florida, cleveland clinic, shands, and mayo. The mayo doc thinks some of pain might be coming from acid reflux (because I have a history of gastric ulcer and other acid reflux damage) and he thought maybe part of pain/swelling was coming from my spine because I have some disk deterioration. The Cleveland doc thought it was abdominal wall pain most likely being caused from some kind of nerve entrapment or nerve irration and this could be causing the muscles are the area to swell. She wanted me to see a pain management doc for nerve shots and utilize surgery as a last resort. The Shands docs wants to redo the gastroparesis test, do a small bowel bacteria overgrowth test, she said pain shots may or may not help, and she really didn't seem like she knew what to do.

I am very concerned now because it seems my autonomic nervous system might not be functioning right. In the past few months I have noticed my erectile dysfunction is gotten very bad, I cannot urinate like I used to (hold it in too long), sweat more often, have alot of chest pain, and have alot of headaches and feel dizzy often throughout the day. I looked it up and autonomic nervous system is connected with stress and maybe the extreme stress I went through for a few months could have altered this system in some way.

My questions to you are:

1. What do you think is causing the pain/swelling? It is near my right rib, but the pain can sometimes spread out in the middle and lower right of abdomen.

2. Do you think the high level of stress could have damaged or affected my autonomic nervous system? If yes, how do I go about trying to fix it.

3. What should I do about the erectile dysfunction issue? I already have had low T for many years and this has made things much worse.


Some important things for you to know:

--I have noticed since this happened that my stools will often be clay colored or very light brown.
--When I drink a green superfood vegetable drink, it used to turn my stools green colored. It now does not affect the color of stool at all.
--I am taking clomid right now to help raise my natural T level. I have not felt any positive benefit so far.
--When I stopped gambling completely, I felt so tired I could barely stand up. I ended up taking small doses of cortef and this helped me regain some energy.
--I do not have any more night time erections and this is affecting my sleep. Worse sleep.
--Taking prilosec (acid reducer) does seem to help a little with the pain in middle of stomach. Still have alot of pain in right area of abdomen.
--Have daily headaches, feel dizzy, etc. I am thinking this is blood pressure, blood sugar, or both.
--Since this happened, my appetite has increased alot. I have gained weight and body has basically went to shit. I think the appetite increase is probably due to increased blood sugar levels, higher insulin, loss of blood sugar control, etc.
--I am working with a surgeon who will do an exploratory laproscopy to see if he can find the problem. He mentioned there could be some scar tissue or something similar to this in the area that is causing a problem. I am trying to save this a last resort, and find another way to treat this if possible.
--There are probably more, but this is all I can think of right now.

My thoughts on the issue:

I do not think the pain and swelling are going to go away on its own. I think the area in my abdomen with the pain is causing some of other problems with digestion and could be affecting my autonomic nervous system.

I believe it is most likely nerve entrapment or nerve irration in the area and this causing the muscles in the area to swell. Abdominal wall pain in some form. The second thing it may be, but unlikely, is some kind of blood flow problem. Not having the proper blow to digestive system could cause constipation, but I am not sure. It could be a combination of these 2, or maybe none of them.

I am very concerned about the ED issue and need to address it asap. I do have an aggressive plan to treat my low T levels and I think I that will really need to focus on balancing all my hormone levels.

I am also pretty concerned about my autonomic nervous system. I am hoping it will get better with time and when I rebalance my hormone levels. I think my smpyphatic nervous system became very overactivated, and this caused alot of problems. I looked into trying to activate my parasymphatic nervous system through medications or lifestyle changes, but have not been able to locate too much info.

Any thoughts or recommendations is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[CubbieBlue]

You are not going to get any good advice here bud.

This sounds like a pretty complicated and odd issue, and you have had multiple doctors look at it. However it sounds like you are stressing yourself out over it pretty good. Try to relax.

You are sure it is not some sort of hernia?

What do they think about the distention?

I am assuming all blood work was normal.

You have had CT scans of that area?

What type of surgery is on the table at this point?

If it is a muscle/nerve problem have you seen an evidence based chiropractor?

 

[Bigpete757]

You are not going to get any good advice here bud.

This sounds like a pretty complicated and odd issue, and you have had multiple doctors look at it. However it sounds like you are stressing yourself out over it pretty good. Try to relax.

You are sure it is not some sort of hernia?

What do they think about the distention?

I am assuming all blood work was normal.

You have had CT scans of that area?

What type of surgery is on the table at this point?

If it is a muscle/nerve problem have you seen an evidence based chiropractor?

I know that this is complicated issue and most people might not know how to help, but I figured it is worth a shot. I am trying not to stress over it, but that is difficult. One, because I already had other health problems before this happened. Two, because some of my basic body functions are not working properly anymore and this has got me a little scared. I literally woke one up day and could not poop anymore without laxatives or fiber one. And had swelling in my RUQ that has not gone away, etc.

In spite of this, I am trying to take it easy, relax, and focus on trying to get healthier. I take ativan sometimes to help me relax, when I get very stressed out. It has helped since this happened.

One of the orginal local docs I saw swore it was hernia, but then I had a ct scan and it did not show up on there. I also had MRI of abdomen with no hernia, ultrasounds, etc. The doc at Cleveland thought it may be small hernia that scan/tests I had done were unable to see. However, I had had multiple docs say that they thought it was not a hernia.

About the distention, they are not sure. Could be problems from gastroparesis, or excess fluid/gas,/ my food not digesting right and just sitting there, consiptation, etc. I know that it not normal and is sign that something is not right.

Blood work is normal for the basic things. I have always been anemic/low cholesterol and the only things out of range are my hormone levels, which I am currently treating.

The surgery on the table is an exploratory laproscopy. It is a minor surgery where they make a few slits in your abdomen and go in there with camera to look around. I feel comfortable with the surgeon's creditials and think he could fix the problem if he see's it. I would rather have someone at major hospital do it, but the local surgeon would be fine.

I have not seen a chriopractor for this problem, but I am glad you mentioned it. Maybe they could offer some recommendation or solutions. Should I be looking for a specific kind of chiropractor (evidence based) or just a general one.

Thanks for replying. I know the situation is complex and out of the ordinary, but I have to try and fix it or manage somehow. I have alot of regret about choosing to do the online gambling and I think this never would have happened if I never gambled. That is weighing heavily on me everyday. I also am pretty angry in general because around the same time I started gambling and this happened, I finally had a good plan to treat my other health problems (hormones) and now this is kind of screwing it up. Even if I manage to balance my hormones levels, I am not sure I can get real healthy again due to this issue.

Regardless of what happens with abdomen and or other autonomic nervous system problems, I am going to be working hard to raise my T levels and rebalance my hormones in the next few months. Hopefully by raising my T, the erectile dysfunction/impotence I am experiecing will get better. It was already very bad, before this happened. And I am confident other areas of my health will improve once my hormones levels become balanced. In the meantime, I am just trying to figure out some solution to this problem and or find some way to improve my symptoms.

 

[CubbieBlue]

Whatever happened is not from you online gambling. Correlation is not causation.

Have you had your gallbladder investigated via an ultrasound or HIDA scan? Although the swelling is not typical some of your other symptoms point to the GB. I have had mine removed, with absolutely no issues, and it has solved my gastro problems:
GB attacks, indigestion

I figured the surgery would be of an exploratory nature. If your docs have recommended it, I would go ahead and do it. I think they will find a small hernia. Regardless, if you truly have a distention, they will find the cause.

If they find nothing odd and you think it is a problem with musculature then I would investigate with a chiro (EVIDENCE BASED) who deals with sports injury issues.

Good luck.

 

[Bigpete757]

Whatever happened is not from you online gambling. Correlation is not causation.

Have you had your gallbladder investigated via an ultrasound or HIDA scan? Although the swelling is not typical some of your other symptoms point to the GB. I have had mine removed, with absolutely no issues, and it has solved my gastro problems:
GB attacks, indigestion

I figured the surgery would be of an exploratory nature. If your docs have recommended it, I would go ahead and do it. I think they will find a small hernia. Regardless, if you truly have a distention, they will find the cause.

If they find nothing odd and you think it is a problem with musculature then I would investigate with a chiro (EVIDENCE BASED) who deals with sports injury issues.

Good luck.

Thanks alot for the response. When this first happened, I thought for sure it had something to with my gallbladder or liver. It all seemed to point to it. I also forgot to mention that since this happened, I have been craving bad foods, fatty things, sweets, which is way out of the ordinary for me.

I also looked into schinter of oddi dysfunction or liver inflammation from and abcess/injury.

I did have 2 ultrasounds done and one hida scan. They came out normal. I do plan on doing the surgery in the future if I cannot fix the problem in the next few months.

One of my local docs mentioned that most likely surgery was the only thing that would fix this problem. And thought I should get my gallbladder taken to see if it would help me. If it did not help, then at least I knew the gallbladder is not causing the problem.

If anything, I would do the exploratory surgery first and then possibly gallbladder removal later on.

I will keep you updated on the situation as time progresses. I really appreciate the help.

 

[hardasnails1973]

Due to the complexity of this case there is a place I can recommend in orlando florida that may be a good place to go. Combination of neurlogical and biological issues needs desperate medical attention I do agree. I highly recommend having a phone consultation with Dr Mariano as he now has incorportate more evasive testing to his backs of tricks that focus on healing the gut, help the brain and immune system.. If Combination of a good center and one of the best neuroendocrinologist out there can not help you then I do not what to say. I just had 2 freinds diagnosed with parvo virus that is now becoming more common. I also a guy that could just not put finger on things. I suspected a virus or infection but all test negatives. Finally after almost having a heart attack and being rushed to the hospital lyme was diagnosed.



Center for natural and integretive medicine
dr kirti M Kalidas
orlando florida 32819
407 355 9246

 

[james2012]

About 8 months ago, I got involved in some online gambling. My body was under extreme stress and I could feel my stomach tightening up and had the nervous stomach feeling. A couple weeks into the gambling, I noticed pain/swelling coming from my middle/right of stomach (right upper quadrant). The swelling could range from about the size of golf ball, to half a baseball. I also noticed that I could not poop anymore (constipation) and felt very weak in the legs, had headaches, dizzyness, etc. Many symptoms of very high stress.

For the next few months, I visited docs running tests to see what it might be. One thing that showed up on an endoscopy was a doctor said I had, "very poor gastric motility consistent with severe gastroparesis." However, I had a gastroparesis test done month or two after this, and it came back normal.

In September, a surgeon I was referred to tried doing a pain shot in the area to bring me some relief. I was hoping this would work because my research led me to believe that what I could have been experiencing was a chronic abdominal wall pain, from nerve entrapment, nerve compression, nerve irration in the area, etc. After this shot did not help me, I read that massaging the area and putting pressure on it might restore blood flow and this could possibly help. Massaging the area ended up making problem worse and my stomach become very distented, bloated, more painful, symptoms worse, etc. My stomach is distented so much that it becomes very painful on a daily basis.

Since September, I have visited gastro docs at 3 big hospitals in florida, cleveland clinic, shands, and mayo. The mayo doc thinks some of pain might be coming from acid reflux (because I have a history of gastric ulcer and other acid reflux damage) and he thought maybe part of pain/swelling was coming from my spine because I have some disk deterioration. The Cleveland doc thought it was abdominal wall pain most likely being caused from some kind of nerve entrapment or nerve irration and this could be causing the muscles are the area to swell. She wanted me to see a pain management doc for nerve shots and utilize surgery as a last resort. The Shands docs wants to redo the gastroparesis test, do a small bowel bacteria overgrowth test, she said pain shots may or may not help, and she really didn't seem like she knew what to do.

I am very concerned now because it seems my autonomic nervous system might not be functioning right. In the past few months I have noticed my erectile dysfunction is gotten very bad, I cannot urinate like I used to (hold it in too long), sweat more often, have alot of chest pain, and have alot of headaches and feel dizzy often throughout the day. I looked it up and autonomic nervous system is connected with stress and maybe the extreme stress I went through for a few months could have altered this system in some way.

My questions to you are:

1. What do you think is causing the pain/swelling? It is near my right rib, but the pain can sometimes spread out in the middle and lower right of abdomen.

2. Do you think the high level of stress could have damaged or affected my autonomic nervous system? If yes, how do I go about trying to fix it.

3. What should I do about the erectile dysfunction issue? I already have had low T for many years and this has made things much worse.


Some important things for you to know:

--I have noticed since this happened that my stools will often be clay colored or very light brown.
--When I drink a green superfood vegetable drink, it used to turn my stools green colored. It now does not affect the color of stool at all.
--I am taking clomid right now to help raise my natural T level. I have not felt any positive benefit so far.
--When I stopped gambling completely, I felt so tired I could barely stand up. I ended up taking small doses of cortef and this helped me regain some energy.
--I do not have any more night time erections and this is affecting my sleep. Worse sleep.
--Taking prilosec (acid reducer) does seem to help a little with the pain in middle of stomach. Still have alot of pain in right area of abdomen.
--Have daily headaches, feel dizzy, etc. I am thinking this is blood pressure, blood sugar, or both.
--Since this happened, my appetite has increased alot. I have gained weight and body has basically went to shit. I think the appetite increase is probably due to increased blood sugar levels, higher insulin, loss of blood sugar control, etc.
--I am working with a surgeon who will do an exploratory laproscopy to see if he can find the problem. He mentioned there could be some scar tissue or something similar to this in the area that is causing a problem. I am trying to save this a last resort, and find another way to treat this if possible.
--There are probably more, but this is all I can think of right now.

My thoughts on the issue:

I do not think the pain and swelling are going to go away on its own. I think the area in my abdomen with the pain is causing some of other problems with digestion and could be affecting my autonomic nervous system.

I believe it is most likely nerve entrapment or nerve irration in the area and this causing the muscles in the area to swell. Abdominal wall pain in some form. The second thing it may be, but unlikely, is some kind of blood flow problem. Not having the proper blow to digestive system could cause constipation, but I am not sure. It could be a combination of these 2, or maybe none of them.

I am very concerned about the ED issue and need to address it asap. I do have an aggressive plan to treat my low T levels and I think I that will really need to focus on balancing all my hormone levels.

I am also pretty concerned about my autonomic nervous system. I am hoping it will get better with time and when I rebalance my hormone levels. I think my smpyphatic nervous system became very overactivated, and this caused alot of problems. I looked into trying to activate my parasymphatic nervous system through medications or lifestyle changes, but have not been able to locate too much info.

Any thoughts or recommendations is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Think simple first before believing this is some esoteric disorder you have. Stress sounds like your main enemy, along with pain, and all the associated side effects of prolonged and uncontrolled stress up to and including adrenal fatigue.

Don't worry about the ED for now - I think its stress related. Your weight gain points to a possible atypical depression as opposed to a major depression where weight loss is a factor. Have you had any MRIs? A gall bladder test? My brother had similar issues and needed to have his gall bladder removed. Gall bladder pain is very nonspecific. It can hurt in an area where the gall bladder is not located. You need the test where they measure your gall bladder contraction by injecting you some sort of drug (I don't know what). I hurts for about 1 minute and they measure the amount of gall bladder contraction and can see if the organ is functioning. Gall bladder failure can happen with or without gallstones. My brother's pain was so severe he ended up with shingles which almost traveled to his eye. This would have blinded him in that eye.

Add on top of this his job - a cop - and he was breaking down pretty fast. He has also passed two kidney stones in his life - one of them had to be sonic blasted and he had to live with severe pain for two weeks while he was on a waiting list. He said it felt like someone was stabbing him in the back and kicking him in the balls at the same time. Worse two weeks of his life. Another attack of shingles.

Hernia? Gall bladder? Appendix?

Your nervous system issues are quite obviously tied to your pain and stress levels. That is my opinion. Find out what is causing the pain. Demand an MRI and have them check your gall bladder. Research any ways to check your pancreas. A very close friend of mine was bedridden for 6 months before some smart doctor (maybe a better word is competent) decided to check his pancreas. It had bloated to the size of a football. The pain was so bad and the concomitant issue of blood sugar regulation so severe he suffered a depression and had Epstein-Barr virus level titres that were off the chart. You are starting to sound a lot like his case to me. T replacement did not work for him until the issue resolved itself. Rest and as low a stress level as possible coupled with mild exercise (20-30 minute walks at a strolling pace).

Good luck to you. In the end I believe you will be just fine. Just take some time. I have suffered a similar fate in the past for a different reason, had three clinical depressions and it always feels like it is never going to end - that your life will be like this forever. It will not. You will recover. Be methodical, don't obsess - it feeds the stress - and work towards recovering.

 

[hardasnails1973]

After working with him in the past. I can say that his case is extremely complex and out of my realm as well as many other dr's because its a combination of structural imbalance, neurological, biololgical stressors are involved. A team of drs including mayoclinic for structual imbalances, good MD diverse in many aspects of chronic fatigue, and excellent dr dealing with neurological issue as DR mariano would be the optimal way to go.

I would visit www.definiteminds.com to get feed back from Dr mariano.

 

[Bigpete757]

Forgive me for not responding in a timely manner. I have been very busy and cannot think good enough sometimes to reply quickly. I will try to do a better job in the future. I do have 2 issues going on with my health which is the pain/swelling problems in my abdomen and also trying to rebalance my endocrine system. They do overlap in my case and I would like to address both in the thread if possible. I just think it would be easier for me and the other members trying to help if it was in one place.

I got some labs back from the doc and wanted you guys to check them out and let me know what you think.

Testosterone total 281 250-1100
Testosterone free 59.7 46.0-224.0
Testosterone bio 122.7 110.0-575.0

SHBG 16 7-49
Albumin 4.5 3.6-5.1
Lipoprotein(a) 27 <75
IGF I, ECL 338 88-374
Tsh 3.16 .40-4.50
T3, free 3.5 2.3-4.2
Uric acid 6.5 4.0-8.0
Vitamin D 25-0h 26 (L) 30-100
Hemoglobin A1C 4.9% <5.7%
Ferritin 96 20-345
Dhea Sulfate 367 110-510
Fsh 7.8 1.6-8.0
LH 4.5 1.5-9.3
Insulin 11 <17
Prolactin 15.1 2.0-18.0
Estradiol 41 13-54
Psa 0.4 <4.0
Cortisol a.m. 6.7 4.0-22.0

Creatinine Random 176.6 20-370
Cholesterol total 124 (L) 125-200
HDL 25 (L) >40
Trigylcerides 154 (H) <150
LDL 68 <130
Cardio Crp (r) 6.0 (H) 1.0-3.0
Homocysteine 4.2 <11.4

Glucose 84 65-99
urea nitrogen (bun) 22 7-25
creatinine 1.14 .80-1.30
sodium 138 135-146
potassium 4.5 3.5-5.3
chloride 104 98-110
carbon dioxide 24 21-33
calcium 9.2 8.6-10.2
protein 7.2 6.2=8.3
albumin 4.5 3.6-5.1
albumin/globulin 1.7 1.0-2.1
bilirubin .8 .2-1.2
alkaline phosphatase 80 40-115
ast 11 10-40
alt 23 9-60

cbc
Low hemoglobin, low hemocrit, and high rdw. This happens on all my cbc tests. Sometimes mcv, mch, and mchc is lowered as well.


The doc reviewed them and said the I need to raise my T levels to an optimal range (at least 564 total and 300 bioavailable). My growth hormone levels are good. She said I was very stressed out and needed to take a good amount of cortef to start raising my cortisol levels. My low cholesterol levels could be contributing to my low hormone levels and the tryglycerides need to come down. We should keep an on the cardio crp (r) level. She is happy about H1AC level. Vitamin D needs to come up. The low levels on the CBC are from iron and vitamin b-12 defiecies. My estradiaol level is not good for the amount of T that I have. My thryroid needs to be in optimal range.

This is my interpretation and things I have noticed from previous labs.
--My testosterone levels are about the same. (low)
--Shgb the same.
--Estradiol levels went up 10-20 points. The highest e2 level I had was about 30. Lowest between 10-15. 41 is pretty high for me and high in comparison to my T level.
--FSH went up about 3-4 points. My lh and fsh were always usually in the middle of the range. Now FSH is almost out of the top of the range.
--Growth hormone levels about the same. (good/high level)
--Vitamin D is same. (low)
--Cortisol levels dropped bigtime. First tested 1.5 yrs ago at about 12-13. Took cortef raised them to about 19. Now they are 6.7. This is due to the extreme stress I was under. I am pretty sure it is affecting other systems and causing multiple problems being this low.
--Insulin about the same. (too high) With at level of 11 and looking at my lipid panel, it probably indicates a big problem with insulin resistance is still going on.
--Dhea is same.
--Prolactin the same. (little on high side)
--Tsh level about the same. (a little high)


After I took these tests, I started clomid for the last month or so. It did not seem to help at all, so I switched to hcg only recently. I plan on taking this for the next 4-6 weeks to see if it will help. I also am taking synthroid 25 mcg, cytomel 5 mcg, and cortef 10-20 mg at day. Along with some supplements to help adrenals, sleeping, etc.

I am very concerned about my symptoms recently. In the last few weeks, I have noticed that I have went almost 100% impotent. This is hard to deal with at 27. I have had partial impotence for the last 10 years, but ever since I went through this extremely stressful situation and developed the pain/swelling in my RUQ/abdomen, it is almost impossible to get an erection. The first signs of this was that I was no longer getting an erection at night anymore or in the morning (morning wood). I have always had erections at night since I was a kid until now. After further research, I noticed this most likely is a physical cause behind this lost of erections from reduced blood flow to the penis or nerve damage/nerve related from the central nervous system. Basically, its probably either not enough blood going to my genital area from poor circulation/blocked arteries/reduced blood flow somewhere in the body, or my nervous system/brain is no longer sending the right signals to iniate the erection process, the nerve pathways for the erection process are not working correctly. Or it could be both of these.

Due to reduced erections at night, I am finding it harder to sleep. Maybe it from my cortisol levels being so low or out of balance endocrine system I am not sure. But sleeping just does not feel right anymore when I no longer can get an erection at night.

In regards to the stomach pain, I have noticed something important. If I do not take any prilosec or anti-acid medication, then after a few days, the middle of abdomen starts becoming extremely painful. It feels like it is burning and the pain is very close to my skin. It hurts to touch the middle of my stomach when this happens. And the area that is painful is a little bigger than a softball. It does not feel likes it is in my upper esphagus region, rather in the middle of the belly. I also noticed I have more pain in my RUQ where the swelling is. When I do take the prilosec medication, the burning pain in the middle of abdomen gets better and I do not feel the RUQ pain as much, but it is still there, just more dull instead of the sharp pain.

I have looked high and low of what could be causing the stomach and RUQ pain. The stomaach burning pain started a few weeks after I had a smart pill camera test (the camera that you swallow and takes pictures of small intestine). I never noticed the camera came out in my stools, but I have done x-rays and they docs said its gone. The doc also said I had an gastric ulcer at the time.

I have a strong feeling that the RUQ pain and swelling has something to with bile because I will produce clay colored stools sometimes and this has never happened before. It could some problem in the bilary system drainage (liver, gallbladder, or pancreas). Or maybe a problem in the small intestine, large intestine, or part of the stomach. All of these besides the pancreas I think in in the RUQ area.

Instead of searching for the exact cause of the abdominal problem, I think it is best that I just narrow things down and focus on doing tests and treatment until I can find a solution.

The current plan is to meet with the pain management doc on Dec 8th to see if a nerve pain shot might help the area. I probably will try multiple shots for about about 1.5 months. If no relief, then I am probably going to schedule laproscopy surgery with the doc for the end of January.

In the meantime, I could ask one of docs if they think I should do another ct scan or mri of the abdomen just to be safe. I had the test done locally where the equipment and techs are not the best. Probably could have it done at a major hospital. What do you think I should do here about testing? I don't know if someone would do a liver biopsy, but I could try to ask that as well.

I also am thinking of telling the surgeon to just take the gallbladder out and see if it helps. The surgeon now is just doing exploratory surgery and if he finds something out of the ordinary he is going to fix it, but if not then he does nothing. I am not sure he will go back in their a second time and take my gallbladder out if nothing happens the first time and my pain/swelling continues to be the same. I am kind of stuck on this situation. What do you think I should do here?

About my endocrine system and labs, the current plan is take the hcg, thyroid meds, and cortef for the next few weeks and see how I feel. I have felt jack crap from the hcg so far and do not expect it to do too much. I took it in the past briefly and did not notice any benefit. I am on 250 iu's eod. I most likely will be moving to T gel/cream in the next few weeks. Last time I tried this, I noticed a great boost in sexual function and drive for about 3-4 days and then I got alot of chest pain so I had to discontinue it. This time around I have to find a dosage that my body can handle and slowly make progress. Basically I have to make the T replacement work this time around. Either by titrating it or adding in other hormones at the same time, etc. I am probably going need your help with this part.

Right now is there anything I can do before my next appointment in a few weeks to help my endocrine system? I have some arimidex on hand and thought about taking that to help lower e2. I am going to boost my cortef dosages as per the docs instructions. I am using life flo preg cream. I am taking various adrenal natural boosters.

About the impotence issue, I looked into some kind of medicine to help calm down my nervous system too see if that might help or taking some kind of vasodilator to open up my blood vessels and improve circulation. Do you think I should try one of these ? One thing that may be of importance is that I can still get a partial erection if I look at some sexual images/porn online. It won't be as near as good as erection as I used to have, but it is at least something. Maybe this signals somethings, blood flow is at least working, brain signaling at least working, etc., I am not sure.

I am hoping that once my T levels raise that this issue should get a little better. What do you think?

Also about the endocrine system, I probably will be starting chelation soon to see if this will help my endocrine system and help the medicine work better.

 

[Bigpete757]

Due to the complexity of this case there is a place I can recommend in orlando florida that may be a good place to go. Combination of neurlogical and biological issues needs desperate medical attention I do agree. I highly recommend having a phone consultation with Dr Mariano as he now has incorportate more evasive testing to his backs of tricks that focus on healing the gut, help the brain and immune system.. If Combination of a good center and one of the best neuroendocrinologist out there can not help you then I do not what to say. I just had 2 freinds diagnosed with parvo virus that is now becoming more common. I also a guy that could just not put finger on things. I suspected a virus or infection but all test negatives. Finally after almost having a heart attack and being rushed to the hospital lyme was diagnosed.



Center for natural and integretive medicine
dr kirti M Kalidas
orlando florida 32819
407 355 9246

Thanks for recommending Dr. Kalidas. I looked into seeing him awhile ago. He seems like a pretty good doc, but is fairly expensive. The one I am working with now has more knowledge in the endocrine system area and this is where I need alot of help. Although, Dr. Kalidas is probably better with chelation/toxins, so we'll see how it goes.

Please read my reply posts to you on tnation and other recent posts. And thanks for the help.

 

[Bigpete757]

Think simple first before believing this is some esoteric disorder you have. Stress sounds like your main enemy, along with pain, and all the associated side effects of prolonged and uncontrolled stress up to and including adrenal fatigue.

Don't worry about the ED for now - I think its stress related. Your weight gain points to a possible atypical depression as opposed to a major depression where weight loss is a factor. Have you had any MRIs? A gall bladder test? My brother had similar issues and needed to have his gall bladder removed. Gall bladder pain is very nonspecific. It can hurt in an area where the gall bladder is not located. You need the test where they measure your gall bladder contraction by injecting you some sort of drug (I don't know what). I hurts for about 1 minute and they measure the amount of gall bladder contraction and can see if the organ is functioning. Gall bladder failure can happen with or without gallstones. My brother's pain was so severe he ended up with shingles which almost traveled to his eye. This would have blinded him in that eye.

Add on top of this his job - a cop - and he was breaking down pretty fast. He has also passed two kidney stones in his life - one of them had to be sonic blasted and he had to live with severe pain for two weeks while he was on a waiting list. He said it felt like someone was stabbing him in the back and kicking him in the balls at the same time. Worse two weeks of his life. Another attack of shingles.

Hernia? Gall bladder? Appendix?

Your nervous system issues are quite obviously tied to your pain and stress levels. That is my opinion. Find out what is causing the pain. Demand an MRI and have them check your gall bladder. Research any ways to check your pancreas. A very close friend of mine was bedridden for 6 months before some smart doctor (maybe a better word is competent) decided to check his pancreas. It had bloated to the size of a football. The pain was so bad and the concomitant issue of blood sugar regulation so severe he suffered a depression and had Epstein-Barr virus level titres that were off the chart. You are starting to sound a lot like his case to me. T replacement did not work for him until the issue resolved itself. Rest and as low a stress level as possible coupled with mild exercise (20-30 minute walks at a strolling pace).

Good luck to you. In the end I believe you will be just fine. Just take some time. I have suffered a similar fate in the past for a different reason, had three clinical depressions and it always feels like it is never going to end - that your life will be like this forever. It will not. You will recover. Be methodical, don't obsess - it feeds the stress - and work towards recovering.

Yes, stress was my main enemy for several months. I have been a little stressed out in general during the past few years dealing with some medical problems, but I was under extreme stress for 5-6 months when gambling.

I wish the ED was stress related. I have been stress free for the past few months and things have only gotten worse. Impotence is much more severe and affecting the quality of my life.

I agree that my gallbladder definitely could be a problem and am thinking about taking it out soon. Other doctors I have seen recommened that I get it out just to see if it would help, and if not at least I could rule it out. I have had the gallbladder HIDA scan, but it came back ok. However, I often have clay colored stools which normaly indicates some is wrong with the bilary drainage system (gallbladder, pancreas, liver). Maybe something is getting blocked from my liver or inside gallbladder or the tubes, etc.

I also think that my nervous system issues are tied into the stress levels. I am just worried about how much damage I did. It seems like many functions of my autonomic nervous system are functioning at a very low level right now and I am not sure if they ever will return back to normal. I think it I can rebalance my endocrine system and lose weight and improve my health that some things will get better, but I don't know just how much, especially in this area.

I had and EBV test and had elevated levels. But this is very common from my understanding. Pancreas looks ok from the tests they can see.

In the end, I think that I will be ok, but in my situation, it is taking a very long time and alot of things have gotten worse. Granted, I brought some of them on myself, but this whole thing for me has not been easy. I am learning ways not to stress out about things and trying to find good stress relievers. Thanks for the support.