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Headaches, Toe Numbness, Weight Gain, Green Diarrhea, Fatigue, Knee & Back Pain, Acne, Poor Memory & Eyesight, Thyroid. Cause?
Question: There are several things I am concerned about and my doctor is not helping me. Within the past year, I have developed the following:
1) frequent headaches (had my first migraine ever)
2) numbness in my big toe on the right foot
3) excessive weight gain
4) Hard time loosing weight (6 months of doctor prescribed diet pills and constant working out and only lost 5lbs.)
5) XXXXXXX diarrhea (this only started happening within the past few weeks and it's been daily)
6) bloating
7) No energy
8) Constant fatigue
9) back and knee pains
10) Acne (I've always had acne issues but I'm 25 and on birth control as of last month)
11) Male facial hair (I'm female but the birth control seems to be helping with this)
12) Soreness in my abdomen
13) Cramping even when I'm not on my period which is not normal for me
14) Hair thinning
15) Cuts now leave scars
16) Poor memory (My memory is getting worse than my 96 yr old great-grandmother)
17) Hard time focusing
18) Eye sight is getting worse
19) My doctor has found sever nodules on my thyroid and I seem to be producing a new one every 6 months
20) Acid reflex, which I've also never had before.
Please help me figure out what's going on with my body. I know some of this has to do with the weight I've put on as well as age but I feel like there is something seriously wrong with me. All I want to know is what it is so I can fix it.
1) frequent headaches (had my first migraine ever)
2) numbness in my big toe on the right foot
3) excessive weight gain
4) Hard time loosing weight (6 months of doctor prescribed diet pills and constant working out and only lost 5lbs.)
5) XXXXXXX diarrhea (this only started happening within the past few weeks and it's been daily)
6) bloating
7) No energy
8) Constant fatigue
9) back and knee pains
10) Acne (I've always had acne issues but I'm 25 and on birth control as of last month)
11) Male facial hair (I'm female but the birth control seems to be helping with this)
12) Soreness in my abdomen
13) Cramping even when I'm not on my period which is not normal for me
14) Hair thinning
15) Cuts now leave scars
16) Poor memory (My memory is getting worse than my 96 yr old great-grandmother)
17) Hard time focusing
18) Eye sight is getting worse
19) My doctor has found sever nodules on my thyroid and I seem to be producing a new one every 6 months
20) Acid reflex, which I've also never had before.
Please help me figure out what's going on with my body. I know some of this has to do with the weight I've put on as well as age but I feel like there is something seriously wrong with me. All I want to know is what it is so I can fix it.
Hello,
Thanks for your query.
I appreciate your efforts for medical consultation in so much distress.
I would like to consider following condition in your case:
• Acne and men pattern hair: both these conditions are exacerbated by obesity and common problem in your age group.
• Obesity: it is exacerbated by thyroid problem.
• Thyroid problem: it is a risk factor for anxiety and depressive disorder.
• Anxiety and depression: lead to change in diet pattern-obesity, increase acid secretion, muscle spasm and pain in multiple parts of body.
Common symptoms which can occur with anxiety disorder: nervousness, restlessness, mild irritability, excessive worry regarding own well-being and health, tremor, muscle spasm leading to pain in multiple parts of body (like headache and cramp like pain), heaviness in body, body numbness, easy fatigability, dizziness, palpitation, sleep difficulty and dry mouth.
In general for drug treatment of anxiety disorder two types of medicine used. For immediate relief from anxiety, benzodiazepine group of medicines are used and for long term relief most commonly SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) is used. SSRI takes around 3-4 weeks to show its effect. Apart from that meditation, yoga, gradual weight reduction and aerobic exercises help in reducing anxiety.
In addition you need multidisciplinary approach of endocrinologist, psychiatrist and dermatologist. Keep on reducing weight. Adequate management of thyroid problem will help in weight and anxiety symptoms reduction.
I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. In case of any doubt, I will be available for follow ups.
Wish you good health.
Regards,
Thanks for your query.
I appreciate your efforts for medical consultation in so much distress.
I would like to consider following condition in your case:
• Acne and men pattern hair: both these conditions are exacerbated by obesity and common problem in your age group.
• Obesity: it is exacerbated by thyroid problem.
• Thyroid problem: it is a risk factor for anxiety and depressive disorder.
• Anxiety and depression: lead to change in diet pattern-obesity, increase acid secretion, muscle spasm and pain in multiple parts of body.
Common symptoms which can occur with anxiety disorder: nervousness, restlessness, mild irritability, excessive worry regarding own well-being and health, tremor, muscle spasm leading to pain in multiple parts of body (like headache and cramp like pain), heaviness in body, body numbness, easy fatigability, dizziness, palpitation, sleep difficulty and dry mouth.
In general for drug treatment of anxiety disorder two types of medicine used. For immediate relief from anxiety, benzodiazepine group of medicines are used and for long term relief most commonly SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) is used. SSRI takes around 3-4 weeks to show its effect. Apart from that meditation, yoga, gradual weight reduction and aerobic exercises help in reducing anxiety.
In addition you need multidisciplinary approach of endocrinologist, psychiatrist and dermatologist. Keep on reducing weight. Adequate management of thyroid problem will help in weight and anxiety symptoms reduction.
I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. In case of any doubt, I will be available for follow ups.
Wish you good health.
Regards,
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Shanthi.E
Hello,
Thank you for your reply. Since I have become obese very recently (went from 170lbs to 220lbs in about 2yrs for reasons I can't explain), this is what I thought too and as such I asked my doctor to run tests on my thyroid. He did run the tests on my thyroid and they came back normal with the exception of the nodules. He has also done blood work which he says I am completely fine. My diet consists of whole wheat products, 2 percent milk, lean meats, veggies and a few sweets (about once a week I'll have a sweet). I do not drink a lot of soda (once a month), drink mostly decaffeinated teas and water, and I am always on my feet.
Also, I little bit more information I should have given you before. They did a CT scan when I was having my migraines and they found I had a sinus infection. Also, there is cyst on my left ovary that they said not to worry about.
I believe you are right with my anxiety. I have been very stressed out. Do you think this would cause my inability to lose weight, the numbness in my big toe, the XXXXXXX diarrhea, hair thinning and the scaring?
Thank you for your reply. Since I have become obese very recently (went from 170lbs to 220lbs in about 2yrs for reasons I can't explain), this is what I thought too and as such I asked my doctor to run tests on my thyroid. He did run the tests on my thyroid and they came back normal with the exception of the nodules. He has also done blood work which he says I am completely fine. My diet consists of whole wheat products, 2 percent milk, lean meats, veggies and a few sweets (about once a week I'll have a sweet). I do not drink a lot of soda (once a month), drink mostly decaffeinated teas and water, and I am always on my feet.
Also, I little bit more information I should have given you before. They did a CT scan when I was having my migraines and they found I had a sinus infection. Also, there is cyst on my left ovary that they said not to worry about.
I believe you are right with my anxiety. I have been very stressed out. Do you think this would cause my inability to lose weight, the numbness in my big toe, the XXXXXXX diarrhea, hair thinning and the scaring?
Hello again,
As I told your multiple symptoms can not explained by one illness only. So a multidisciplinary approach is needed for diagnosis and management of your case.
Weight gain may be because of multiple reasons in your case:
-Depression
-Poor eating habits in past
-Hormonal problems
-Side effects of medicine if used during in last 2-3 years
Anxiety may lead to increase eating-weight gain, toe numbness, simple on and off diarrhoea. But before diagnosing these problems because of anxiety we need to concurrently rule out other physical illness like: infection, hormonal imbalance, neurological and vascular illness.
Hair thinning and the scaring may be due to:
-Vitamin deficiency
-Skin diseases or infection
-Poor protein intake.
Following steps will be helpful to reduce weight:
• Buy one weighing machine preferably digital and measure weight every week, on a fixed day and on empty stomach in morning. Write weight in front of date in calendar or diary.
• Most important thing to lose weight is to remain motivated towards your goal. So fix your goal in form of target weight like start with target of 7kg in 4 month. Target around reducing 2 kg weight in every month as it will not disturb physiological functioning of body. So it will take around 3.5 month to achieve your goal.
• Inform your family members about your plan to reduce weight as it will help to continue your motivation towards your goal.
• It is better to maintain diet chart by simply daily food intake items in diary. Also calculate your calorie (take help of net to calculate calorie of individual food article) intake from that diary and restrict it 1500 k cal per day.
• Eliminate food items containing sugar and fat from your diet. Increase consumption of salad and fruits in your diet as it will mobilise your fat. Using these principle and according to your dietary habits prepare your own diet chart and stick to that plan.
• Do not try to reduce weight very fast as it is harmful to health.
• In exercise plan: Incorporate aerobics and brisk walk in your exercise plan at least for 30 min a day. It is better to follow a daily exercise program rather than alternate day for more benefit.
• Drugs are helpful but personally I do not favour them because of side effects and interaction with other medications.
I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. Wish you good health.
Regards,
As I told your multiple symptoms can not explained by one illness only. So a multidisciplinary approach is needed for diagnosis and management of your case.
Weight gain may be because of multiple reasons in your case:
-Depression
-Poor eating habits in past
-Hormonal problems
-Side effects of medicine if used during in last 2-3 years
Anxiety may lead to increase eating-weight gain, toe numbness, simple on and off diarrhoea. But before diagnosing these problems because of anxiety we need to concurrently rule out other physical illness like: infection, hormonal imbalance, neurological and vascular illness.
Hair thinning and the scaring may be due to:
-Vitamin deficiency
-Skin diseases or infection
-Poor protein intake.
Following steps will be helpful to reduce weight:
• Buy one weighing machine preferably digital and measure weight every week, on a fixed day and on empty stomach in morning. Write weight in front of date in calendar or diary.
• Most important thing to lose weight is to remain motivated towards your goal. So fix your goal in form of target weight like start with target of 7kg in 4 month. Target around reducing 2 kg weight in every month as it will not disturb physiological functioning of body. So it will take around 3.5 month to achieve your goal.
• Inform your family members about your plan to reduce weight as it will help to continue your motivation towards your goal.
• It is better to maintain diet chart by simply daily food intake items in diary. Also calculate your calorie (take help of net to calculate calorie of individual food article) intake from that diary and restrict it 1500 k cal per day.
• Eliminate food items containing sugar and fat from your diet. Increase consumption of salad and fruits in your diet as it will mobilise your fat. Using these principle and according to your dietary habits prepare your own diet chart and stick to that plan.
• Do not try to reduce weight very fast as it is harmful to health.
• In exercise plan: Incorporate aerobics and brisk walk in your exercise plan at least for 30 min a day. It is better to follow a daily exercise program rather than alternate day for more benefit.
• Drugs are helpful but personally I do not favour them because of side effects and interaction with other medications.
I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. Wish you good health.
Regards,
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Aparna Kohli
Answered by
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