occasional short bouts of itchy hands and feet, dizziness, palpatations, fainting, nausea

Hi Everyone, 

I found this post a few months ago and have been reading it ever since to see if anyone has discovered a diagnosis. Like most of you, I was relieved to know there were others going through this. Hopefully we can find a diagnosis together. I am a 24 year old female and have been having attacks for 2 years. My symptoms are very similar to everyone's and they are:

vomiting

diarrhea 

itchy hands and feet

severe stomach pain/cramping

blotchy rash all over body (only in 2 of the attacks. there was no itching and the rash was not raised) 

dizziness

fainting (only happened once) 

Low blood pressure

I've been to the ER twice for this and both times they told me I had a stomach virus and sent me home. The only thing they did for me was give me Benadryl for the rash or itching and then i started to feel better.  My attacks come on very suddenly with very little warning. They only last for about an hour and then I feel perfectly normal. I'm even hungry! All but one of my attacks have been on the first few days of my menstrual cycle. They usually occur in the mornings or afternoon and shortly after I eat. I can't pinpoint it to any certain food. I've since eaten all of the same food with out an attack. 

I've been to many doctors and have had a plethora of test done including numerous blood tests, two 24 hour urine tests, Endoscope, colonoscopy, octreotide scan, ultrasound and full panel food allergy testing. All were negative, except for one 24 hour urine test (5 - HIAA) that came back at 8.3 (normal is 2-6) which prompted the octreotide scan to check for carcinoid syndrome. But that was negative...thank god!  Also, I had my gallbladder out 9 years ago and have been checked for stones in the bile ducts. That was negative. 

I suspected that gluten was the culprit, even though the tests for celiac were negative, and have been on a gluten free diet for about a month. Overall, I feel better. My everyday stomach pain is gone along with the severe bloating. If I eat something with gluten, all my symptoms come back about 15 minutes after ingesting it.  But my allergist seems to think that my attacks are not related to to the gluten intolerance, otherwise I would have an attack every time I ate gluten. She suggested idiopathic anaphylaxes and prescribed me with an EpiPen. The next time I have an attack, I'm to inject myself with the EpiPen, and go to the ER and have blood work done to check for signs of anaphylaxes. 

I've been reading this thread which is where I heard about histamine intolerance, and it seems to fit a lot of my symptoms. I'm still waiting for the results from another round of tests and if those come up negative, I'm going to talk with my doctor about histamine.  Do any of you have an issue with your liver?  I wanted to list some other everyday symptoms or conditions to see any any of you have them as well. Maybe we can find a link? 

Acid reflux (take 40mg of prilosec daily) 

High Blood pressure

Gall Stones (gallbladder removed 9 years ago) 

Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Irregular bowel movemets

Stomach pain

Severe bloating

Headaches/migraines

History of asthma

 

Kelly

Hi, I am a 19 year old female and very healthy, I found myself on this post because I just had itchy palms, tingly lips and an itchy tongue whiles experiencing severe abdominal pains and diarrhea. This has happened on a large number of occasions and within an hour it settles to just a tummy ache. It happens at night every time, I wake up in severe pain, I then go to the toilet and end up getting really hot and sweating and can't sit still because my stomach hurts so much. I do suffer with ibs, but this isn't like when I have a spell of that. I don't know if it is associated but like others who have posted I am rhesus negative. I always mean to go to the doctors but because it's better by the next morning I never bother

ANA positive didn't mean anything, all the other tests were negative, again.
Jacqueline

It has taken me years to finally find out why I have sudden onset of severe abdominal pain, itching and redness on palms of hands and soles of feet, profuse sweating nausea and diarreah. I'm allergic to a chemical in ice crean, coffee creamers, deli meats. It's a chemical that makes food hard but creamy Carrageenan. Look it up, it's red seaweed. If I stay away from anything with this in the ingredients im fine. I had a bad attach last night because I ate a all natural granola bar yesterday. CARRAGEENAN was on the list of ingredients but I missed it :(

Check out the chemical Carrageenan. It's in most ice creams and coffee creams. Makes me very ill everytime I eat it. It has taken me years to find out it's CARRAGEENAN!

CARRAGEENAN is in ice cream and other products. Makes me very ill has taken me years to figure out what was wrong with me. Look up the side affects on the web and good luck.

Did you put creamer in your coffee? CARRAGEENAN is in ice cream and other products including coffee creamers. Makes me very ill has taken me years to figure out what was wrong with me. Look up the side affects on the web and good luck.

CARRAGEENAN could be your problem too. It's in ice crean, coffee creamer and a whole lot more. Look up the side affects on the web its really bad stuff. Hope this helps yoi

So i can't believe this is happening to everyone. I'm 19 years old, and this; so far, has happened to me 4 times in my life. it was about 3 years ago when it happened, and each year i usually only have one 'episode' but this year of 2013. I've had two, so far. 

The first time it happened, (I was 16 years old) I was at my house with some friends, and we were all playing video games in my living room. All of a sudden, my stomach begins to have EXCRUCIATING pain. and i got up from the couch and went into my room. I was holding my knees to my chest, and it seemed to hold off the pain so it wasn't as bad. But as the time kept going, it started becoming worse and i couldn't handle it anymore, so I went in my moms room crying, telling her I couldn't move because my stomach pains were so bad. She seen the worried look on my face and immediately suggested we go to emerge. My mom called my sister into her room to tell her to let my friends know that I wasn't feeling well and that I had to go to the hospital. Once they left, my sister came and picked me up and brought me down the the foyer so that we could leave. At that point, I threw up everywhere. and was getting really hot and sweaty. Once we finally got everything together, we started to drive there, and on our way there the palms of my hands started to become really itchy, including my feet. Once we got to the emergency, I began to feel really faint and dizzy and I passed out. After I awoke, I went to the bathroom and began having really horrible diarrhea, and still feeling faint. They took me in to the hospital, and as I was sitting there in a hospital bed for 2 hours, they told me that my blood work came out fine, and that there seemed to be nothing wrong with me? So the doctor said it could have been something I ate.

A year goes by, and it occurred again when I was in Waterloo with my boyfriend visiting my friend. We were on our way to bingo, when my ears and hands started to become itchy. Once we got into bingo, and sat down, I began to feel extremely faint, my heart started pounding, and i started feeling extremely hot, and i could feel sweat on my face. Immediately, my friends got worried, and said my face looked extremely pale like I was going to pass out at any point. So quickly my boyfriend returned our bingo tickets, since we weren't there for very long, and my friend brought me to the washroom. I immediately began having horrible diarrhea. Once that was over, I started vomiting as well. Still feeling really faint and nauseous and still sweating. My friend wet a paper towel and tried to cool me down because I was sweating so bad. Once we got out of bingo, I started throwing up outside again, and my stomach pains were so bad that i had to sit down and bring my legs to my knees. (This was definitely the worst experience yet, since I was in public) Once we got back to her apartment, the symptoms slowly went away and I began to feel better.

The third time I was at my boyfriends, and all the same symptoms were happening again, but all in different order. then maybe about 4 months later, (Last night) I had another episode. This was the first time, I had the episodes twice in one year (SO FAR) Last night was the fasted episode that I've ever had, but the itching was a lot worse. I was itching my scalp, back of my neck, face, stomach.  my palms were red, and it was not a pleasant feeling at all. I vomited, diharrea, sweating, feeling faint, heart beating extremely fast, shortness of breath, horrible stomach pains and a pale face. 

Since I've had it so many times, I now know exactly what will happen and I prepared myself for it. Once I felt my stomach pain last night, I was like hmm, ow? then all of a sudden my hands and feet started to get itchy, and I knew exactly everything that was going to follow. So I warned my boyfriend since I was with him, and hes already seen me go threw it 3 times now, so he knows what to expect. 

Idk.. all I want to have is answers. It cant be anything I eat, because each time I eat different things, and the symptoms come in different orders. At least it doesnt happen that frequent, but it did happen twice this year, so I'm worried. 

 

Dear Guest, try taking 10mls of liquid zirtec or any liquid antihistamine it stops it in its tracks for me, then try and get an appointment with an immunologist and ask them to take a tryptase blood test, it's the only way to measure the histamine levels in your body and if like me you have a lot of histamine then you just have to take a antihistamine every day.

I want to thank the person that posted about taking zyrtec and prilosec.  I started using it and so far so good.  I sleep great now too! MY Dr. said that its ok to take it forever and that the prilosec is good for my stomach. 

I have been having the bouts since my 30's which is over 20 years now.  They always happen between 2-4 AM.  But this last one i thought i was actually dying.  What a discusting way to go too! Flat out on the bathroom floor in my own mess! I think i might be allergic to bleu cheese so no more of that for me.  I take my pills at night and sleep like a baby! 

i also have a bottle of childrens liquid benadryl just in case!

wishing everyone the best of luck with whatever it is that we have...i call it the belly ache from hell! hope everyone feels better soon!!!

Well everybody, I have just today been diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, that came after have numerous blood test for Trytase Levels and a Bone Marrow Biopsie, so now its just trying to find medication to keep it at bay.

Hi Everyone,

I've been having these same symptoms for about a year now, starting during my always second pregnancy. It always starts with itchy palms which then swell. This is quickly followed by stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting, a full body rash of hives and swollen body parts, my lips tongue and neck also swells up and i often find it hard to breath. My blood pressure drops and I feel very faint, dizzy and weak, the most recent time actually fainting twice during the episode. 

I have had 15 episodes in the last year, getting worse and more frequent. Like many others on here my doctors have suggested many different possible diagnoses to be tested including carcinoid, allergic reactions, histamine intolerance etc. However, the one that seems to fit best (given that i we cant find any common trigger between the incidents) is called Hereditary Angioedema. There are three types so it can affect men and women but the one that fits me best is type 3 which is only recently discovered and it is exacerbated by high oestrogen levels, such as pregnancy or oral contraceptives. I remember reading some other posts from women who started having the symptoms during pregnancy and thought that if any of you are still undiagnosed you might want to look this up and see if you think it fits with you. 

My doctor has done a blood test so waiting for results. Good luck to everyone! I hope we all figure this out soon!

hi everyone!

i thought i was cured with the zyrtec/prilosec combo but i had yet another attack! so i saw an allergist today and he said he thinks he knows whats wrong!!!

he said its caused by a tick bite! Tomorrow i go for my blood work to see which meats and the severity of each one of them.  Beef is the main culprit.  But he knew exactly what was going on!!!!

 

he said regular food allergies you get really sick right after eating the offending food, but the tick bite one is different!

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hopefully this information will shed some light on some others suffering from this because this is truly suffering.  NOw i have a epipen? and hopefully i will never have to use it! 

 

good luck to everyone!!!

cheers!

Thank you for this - I had baby #2 three weeks ago and just experienced the cycle of stomach cramps, extremely itchy palms & feet and diarrhea. While on the loo noticed my palms were really red and my fingertips were swollen like marbles. Immediately searched online and was very relieved to find this thread (as in, oh good, I'm not along and it should be safe to go to sleep tonight!). I have never experienced this before and wondered if it might be hormones. Will be giving a call to my dr in the morning. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences in this thread - best wishes to all of you in diagnosing the issues.