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Suggest Treatment For Diarrhea, Shortness Of Breath And Numbness

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Posted on Mon, 9 Mar 2015
Question: Hi my name is XXXX. I have a concern about my health. I recently visited a small clinic to seek help. I don't have insurance so it is not a regular doctor that i have. This past Saturday i woke up with a really bad headache so i took some Excedrin migraine pills. an hour or so i felt cramps in my stomach and had diarrhea. well couple more hours within the day. I felt pressure on my neck and head to where it felt like i had no circulation on my hands and feet and had shortness of breath. i honestly felt like i was going to die for some reason. Well my husband called 911 and paramedics said i was having a anxiety attack. To be honest everything in my life is good. iam a stay at home mom and all no worries. the doctor from the clinic did thyroid exam and did a ekg and everything is good. i did go in today because i started feeling almost the same symptoms. the headache and follow with diarrhea, pressure and headache and little of numbness on hands. so he gave me a shot of B12 for my pain in my chest and did a general blood work to check if i am diabetic. but still no answer on what is causing me to feel this way.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Shoaib Khan (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
I have a list of most probable causes ma'am

Detailed Answer:
Hello ma'am and welcome.

Thank you for writing to us.

I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. To be XXXXXXX while reading your query initially I too thought this could possibly be related to your blood glucose (sugar) levels, but there are a few other causes on my mind along with that as well.

I would like to list them all, and provide you with a basic understanding which should help you to relate to the possible cause and help me to understand how that cause could be the culprit better. We can take things forward from there, as I shall also provide you with information on how to possibly treat the cause.

+Hypoglycemia: This means a drop in blood sugar which can happen due to a variety of reasons, some of the most common one being long gaps between meals, extreme diets, rigorous exercise, infections, poor intake of food, malnutrition, etc.

+Anemia: A low blood haemoglobin is encountered more often than not in young women, especially due to their menstrual cycle and poor diet

+Acute gastroenteritis: This is a stomach infection (a.k.a stomach flu) which can occur due to intake of contaminated food or drink. Usually the symptoms appear within 2-6 hours of intake of the contaminated food. Symptoms include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating or excessive gastric irritation, vomiting (not always), diarrhoea (almost always), etc. The diarrhoea causes an excessive loss of fluids and nutrients from the body (including vitamin B12) which is absorbed in the large intestine normally, but during an infection is excreted without being absorbed.

Also seen with acute gastroenteritis due to the excessive loss of fluids through diarrhoea is dehydration which can manifest with symptoms like headache, numbness or tingling sensation, general poor feeling, feeling of wanting to pass out, dry lips, weakness, etc.

+Menstrual cycle-related: In women, even the slightest change in regularity or normalcy can cause a hormonal imbalance. Some of the most common causes include stress, medications, infections, birth control, etc. These causes can result in a hormonal imbalance which can cause symptoms like headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal bloating, etc.

Now that I have listed the most probable causes, I do have a few questions for you ma'am. Your co-operation would greatly help:

+When did you start experiencing the diarrhoea and when did you start experiencing the headache, abdominal cramps, neck pressure, shortness of breath, etc. ? (i.e. what was the time gap between the two set of symptoms, if at all there was any)

+What was your last meal prior to the initiation of the abdominal cramps and diarrhoea? What did it contain, and how many hours prior to the diarrhoea was it consumed?

I look forward to hearing from you in order to help you further. Please do not hesitate to write to me with any extra information that can help, or if at all I have failed to explain anything in a manner best understood by you.

Best wishes.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Shoaib Khan

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2009

Answered : 9409 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Diarrhea, Shortness Of Breath And Numbness

Brief Answer: I have a list of most probable causes ma'am Detailed Answer: Hello ma'am and welcome. Thank you for writing to us. I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. To be XXXXXXX while reading your query initially I too thought this could possibly be related to your blood glucose (sugar) levels, but there are a few other causes on my mind along with that as well. I would like to list them all, and provide you with a basic understanding which should help you to relate to the possible cause and help me to understand how that cause could be the culprit better. We can take things forward from there, as I shall also provide you with information on how to possibly treat the cause. +Hypoglycemia: This means a drop in blood sugar which can happen due to a variety of reasons, some of the most common one being long gaps between meals, extreme diets, rigorous exercise, infections, poor intake of food, malnutrition, etc. +Anemia: A low blood haemoglobin is encountered more often than not in young women, especially due to their menstrual cycle and poor diet +Acute gastroenteritis: This is a stomach infection (a.k.a stomach flu) which can occur due to intake of contaminated food or drink. Usually the symptoms appear within 2-6 hours of intake of the contaminated food. Symptoms include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating or excessive gastric irritation, vomiting (not always), diarrhoea (almost always), etc. The diarrhoea causes an excessive loss of fluids and nutrients from the body (including vitamin B12) which is absorbed in the large intestine normally, but during an infection is excreted without being absorbed. Also seen with acute gastroenteritis due to the excessive loss of fluids through diarrhoea is dehydration which can manifest with symptoms like headache, numbness or tingling sensation, general poor feeling, feeling of wanting to pass out, dry lips, weakness, etc. +Menstrual cycle-related: In women, even the slightest change in regularity or normalcy can cause a hormonal imbalance. Some of the most common causes include stress, medications, infections, birth control, etc. These causes can result in a hormonal imbalance which can cause symptoms like headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal bloating, etc. Now that I have listed the most probable causes, I do have a few questions for you ma'am. Your co-operation would greatly help: +When did you start experiencing the diarrhoea and when did you start experiencing the headache, abdominal cramps, neck pressure, shortness of breath, etc. ? (i.e. what was the time gap between the two set of symptoms, if at all there was any) +What was your last meal prior to the initiation of the abdominal cramps and diarrhoea? What did it contain, and how many hours prior to the diarrhoea was it consumed? I look forward to hearing from you in order to help you further. Please do not hesitate to write to me with any extra information that can help, or if at all I have failed to explain anything in a manner best understood by you. Best wishes.