1. < Autoimmune Diseases

Trying to find out what's going on

Posted by terri23851 @terri23851, Apr 18, 2019

Hi my name is Terri, I'm 49 and I've been going through this since the end of January, It started with me feeling bloated, I could only eat small amounts of food and drink, felt like my stomach was about to burst open. Got colonoscopy done that came out good, had the light ran down my stomach, that was good. My vision became blurry and had to get eye glasses, been having headaches and dizziness, the neurologist gave me medication for the dizziness that hasn't helped, tried meclizine, that hasn't helped. Waiting to get MRI done. Went to cardiologist, something is going on with my heart. Had a stress test, he needed me to stay up there for 6 minutes. I could only stay up there 4:43, that gave him no lead way. he ordered labs and found out that my RA factor was high, now I have to see a rheumatologist, I feel tired and weak all the time, feels like I'm about to fall sometimes, off balance. Have a headache that wont go away along with the dizziness. Can someone please help: sorry for the long post.

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Apr 18, 2019

Hi @terri23851, welcome to Connect. It sounds like you certainly have a lot going on. I'm sorry you haven't been able to get any help yet. You might be interested in reading through the following discussion to see if it is helpful for you.

> Groups > Women's Health > Chronic Illnesses of Millions of Women Left Untreated
-- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chronic-illnesses-of-millions-of-women-left-untreated/

I have no medical training or background but it may be helpful to use the Mayo Clinic Symptom Checker so that you might be able to ask some questions when you meet with the rheumatologist.
-- https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptom-checker/select-symptom/itt-20009075

I found this article on a headache that won't go away that may give you some more information.

Long-Lasting Headache: What It Means and What You Can Do
-- https://www.healthline.com/health/headache-wont-go-away

Have you found anything that helps with the headaches and dizziness?

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Apr 19, 2019

Hello @terri23851

I would like to join @johnbishop in welcoming you to Mayo Connect. As John mentioned, we are not medical professionals, we just share from our own personal experiences. Many of us have had hard-to-diagnose problems and we are familiar with the intricacies of the human body and the difficulty of getting diagnosed for a rare or hard-to-diagnose problem. I think of problems like yours as a health discovery journey and this journey can take some time, so please be patient with the process and remember it is always your right (and duty to yourself) to get a second opinion.

The plethora of symptoms you have been having must be overwhelming at times. Have you seen a neurologist yet? That might be a good next step. You mentioned that you will be having an MRI soon, will the MRI be of the brain? So many of your symptoms could point to a neurological problem.

Will you keep in touch and provide updates along your journey to an answer?

REPLY
1 reply
terri23851 | @terri23851 | Apr 19, 2019
In reply to @johnbishop "Hi @terri23851, welcome to Connect. It sounds like you certainly have a lot going on. I'm..." + (show)
@johnbishop

Hi @terri23851, welcome to Connect. It sounds like you certainly have a lot going on. I'm sorry you haven't been able to get any help yet. You might be interested in reading through the following discussion to see if it is helpful for you.

> Groups > Women's Health > Chronic Illnesses of Millions of Women Left Untreated
-- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chronic-illnesses-of-millions-of-women-left-untreated/

I have no medical training or background but it may be helpful to use the Mayo Clinic Symptom Checker so that you might be able to ask some questions when you meet with the rheumatologist.
-- https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptom-checker/select-symptom/itt-20009075

I found this article on a headache that won't go away that may give you some more information.

Long-Lasting Headache: What It Means and What You Can Do
-- https://www.healthline.com/health/headache-wont-go-away

Have you found anything that helps with the headaches and dizziness?

Jump to this post

Thank you for the encouraging words and the links that you sent me to read.

REPLY
terri23851 | @terri23851 | Apr 19, 2019
In reply to @hopeful33250 "Hello @terri23851 I would like to join @johnbishop in welcoming you to Mayo Connect. As John..." + (show)
@hopeful33250

Hello @terri23851

I would like to join @johnbishop in welcoming you to Mayo Connect. As John mentioned, we are not medical professionals, we just share from our own personal experiences. Many of us have had hard-to-diagnose problems and we are familiar with the intricacies of the human body and the difficulty of getting diagnosed for a rare or hard-to-diagnose problem. I think of problems like yours as a health discovery journey and this journey can take some time, so please be patient with the process and remember it is always your right (and duty to yourself) to get a second opinion.

The plethora of symptoms you have been having must be overwhelming at times. Have you seen a neurologist yet? That might be a good next step. You mentioned that you will be having an MRI soon, will the MRI be of the brain? So many of your symptoms could point to a neurological problem.

Will you keep in touch and provide updates along your journey to an answer?

Jump to this post

Hello, yes the neurologist ordered the MRI I go on tomorrow, I’ve been loosing my balance so I see the ENT on Tuesday. Thank you for the encouraging words, I will keep you posted.

REPLY
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