Question: I have been having quite a number of issues over the last 9 months. I'm almost unsure of where to begin. I should say perhaps as background that I had been smoking marijuana chronically for almost a year before the symptoms began (but have since quit, only to discover that my problems have not gone away). I guess I should begin with my contacting chlamydia from a sexual partner about 9 months ago, which I treated shortly after discovering I had been exposed - about two weeks later. I did experience burning upon urinating, but that went away. Since then, I have been tested for STI's twice, and have been clean both times. However, at about this time, I started having severe anxiety symptoms, and I noticed at this time that a red "v"-shaped rash appeared around the (bottom of) the opening of my urethra. I went to a doctor to have this checked, and I was told to treat the redness with the
hydrocortisone and to stop using scented soaps; to this day, this redness has not disappeared, and it burns occasionally when I urinate. This doctor, however, noticed that my testicles were particularly red, and told me to use clotramazole in order to treat a potential fungal infection; despite constant treatment, this redness has persisted. These conditions remained, along with the anxiety for several months, at which point I also habitually used nitrous oxide (which I've discovered can deplete b12 stores in the body (as well as cause some nasty neurological problems/damage)) in order to relieve the anxiety; I have also stopped using this substance. In addition, about 7 months ago I moved into a new apartment, which smells musty and in which I have noticed some mold growth (which my landlord has ignored despite multiple complaints). About 1 month after moving in, I contracted molloscum contagiosum, which was diagnosed by a doctor and which cleared up a couple of months later, but as the molloscum was abating, I noticed that a red rash appeared on the underside of my scrotum, shortly after which I started noticing some strange neurological problems. My eyesight become poor - by this I mean, my ability to focus rapidly decreased - I became very depressed and was having fits of uncontrollable anger, and I was having lots of pressure in my forehead. At this point, I went to see a
psychiatrist, thinking my troubles were psychological, as I have been diagnosed with
depression and an
eating disorder (anorexia with some bulimia) in the past, and I was prescribed Zoloft, a drug which had helped me in the past. On the second day of my Zoloft treatment, however, I became extremely dizzy and started having tremendous difficulty thinking (a state which has persisted and is very hard to deal with as I am a graduate student at the moment). At this point, I quit the nitrous and I noticed that smoking marijuana was making me increasingly anxious. In any event, after 2 doses of the Zoloft, I stopped my course; however, my troubles did not go away. I become sick with an illness that was spreading around my campus at the time, and I noticed that the cavity connecting my nose to the top of my mouth was burning; I woke up after recovering from this illness with persistent tinnitus, which I still have 24/7, and a headache which I have almost all day every day. Several weeks after this, I noticed that my vision had became slightly better, but I was still having massive anxiety attacks, including several during plane trips I took across the country to visit my family, and tremendous difficultly thinking creatively and clearly. On one of these plane trips, I noticed that a large black spot emerged in my
visual field, only to disappear several minutes thereafter. However, since then my vision has become exceedingly 'weird:' not only can I not see well at a distance (for which I do have glasses), but everything I look at is covered in a light coat of static (very troublesome and distressing) and I am having trouble perceiving distances. This is basically the state I've been in for months now with no noticeable improvement, and I do not know what to do. I have seen many doctors, and no one seems to know what's going on with me. I have also, following the onset of these symptoms, been put on Pristique and Klonopin (which do little to alleviate symptoms). I am extremely distressed by what's been going on with me, and I have no idea where to turn. Is it likely that I caused
brain damage to myself due to the nitrous use, even though the problems did not surface until weeks after I stopped using? Could it be that the chlamydia did not cure (despite the negative tests) and that I have a bacterial infection? Could it be that I picked up a fungal infection at the same time I was exposed to the chlamydia, and that because I had multiple viruses/illnesses and was doing so many drugs, that the fungus somehow overtook my system and created these problems? I have recently been diagnosed with candida - though local - and just started a course of Diflucan last week, though at this point I have seen little improvement. I do noticed that the chronic
headaches I've been experiencing go away for about a day after taking the Diflucan, but come back between doses. What should I do? (Also, just saw an ophthamologist, and my eyes are 100% healthy.)