Ok, Let me tell you how my problem started.
1)I m a coder and spend most of day in front of a comp , I barely
excercise (i know i got to do something about it ). I don't overeat or
starve but sometimes miss meals or skip sleep.
2)Thats been my lifestlye for past 4-5 years. I'm a vegetarian , drink
rarely mostly wine or some vodka and never smoke or do any drugs.
3)My immunity has been pretty bad since I was a kid. I have had a common
cold pretty much all the time and few years back I had allergic rhinitis ,
was taking allegra and recently don't have any cold problems.
4)I have also had Gastric Reflux problem in the past and used to take
Neksium , Rantac . Moza which are pro-biotics.
5)i have had dandruff problem for a long time now. Once went to a skin
diagonized it as sebhorric dermatitis and early stage of androgenetic
alopecia.( i have lost so much hair in my head and i keep loosing hair all
over my body).Most of my ancestors have been bald by the time they were
middle-aged.Due to dandruff in my scalp sometimes flakes from the scalp
enter the eye and I have had itchy and watery eyes and have got to run on
a optician and get the eyes washed and cleaned.
6)Since recently i barely excercise and sit in front of a comp all day
long and for past 2 years been traveling around the world for work and my
weight has increased from 60 kilos to 75 kilos. I , 5 feet 6 inches tall.
I have also started to feel a lot more lazy.
==
1)Early last year , I had a itchy feeling in my chest and some raised red
spots all over the chest / hairy area. Went to a skin doctor who
diagonised it as a fungal infection Tinea Corporis. Gave me some creams
and a gel and it went away soon after and never came back.
Then I had some joint pains in neck and arms , visited an ortho and he
suggested my problems were work , stress related and advised me to do some
excerises and gave me some pain killers and a gel.
I followed them and pain subsided very well.
This summer i felt pain in heels / sole while walking. I did a little
America trip and I thought i was exherting myself a lot than usual and it
was coz of that.I tot shoe was having problem and problem was there even
after changing to a new shoe. Never realized back then.
2)Then around 3 months back , I develop unbearable pain in my wrists, I
can barely type or use the computer for more than a few hours.
Meet the same ortho who usually treats me and he checked me and said this
was not a problem with my hands at all. I also noticed some red spots and
patches on my palms (non-itchy , non-raised). I also felt as if my bones
below the palm were aching but orotho said it was not a local problem. He
pointed me to a skin doctor hinting it might be something allergic or some
thing more serious - vasculitis. He checked my BP , it was 140/90 a bit
high.
The Skin doctor gave me some pain killer and anti-alergic meds Atarax and
Trental which made me sleep like crazy. I had to run to Hong Kong for a
meeting and stopped them abruptly as I could barely stay awake with these
medicines. I learnt later these medicines were too strong and uncessary.
Glad I stopped them. While in Hong Kong , I developed some hives in my
arm and felt as if my BP was very high. I also felt as if i was having a
fever but i did not.
I again noticed i walked a lot in Hong Kong and my sole / heel had turned
red and I felt better after soaking them in hot water.
3)As soon as I reached my home from hong kong , I visited my regular
physician with the problems and he said BP was very high and due to stress
at work , i have developed hypertension. He put me on Revelol XL 25mg
which is used to treat hypertension and anxeity. I have to admit I have
been really afraid about my health after this issue came up as Im not able
to work like before.MY concentration has gone for a toss. Feel as if heart
is beating fast at times. ( this problem has gone almost fully after
starting to take Revlol XL.)
So since i asked the doctor about vasculities and diabetes (due to family
history).
4)He did a check for ESR and Blood sugar and both came back as normal. So
he said this might be a vitamin defieciency issue and asked me to take
Limcee which is a C vitamin supplement. He also told it could be something
called Urticaria.
Things got a little better but still these red/purple sports would appear
and vanish within days in both the palm in random locations. There was no
major pain or itch but i felt as if my skin was thinner as I could not
grip sharp objects easily.
5)Suddenly last month one day , i had experienced vommiting/ nausea. I was
constantly throwing up all food from a couple of days and I was throwing
up at a stage where there was nothing in my tummy. I even threw up bile i
think. suddenly i realized by body had turned super hot by the night and I
took a paracetemol hoping to reduce the fever.
I was still throwing up through the night and my early morning , I barely
had energy to even walk. I rushed to a nearby hospital and got an
injection to stop the vomitting and thank god it was over.
I got some medicines to control the fever and stomach. But my fever was
never going down. i had also developed constipation and a bad headache.
The doc said this was due to indigestion and this will reduce.
I did not have nausea after tat but i was eating very little.
2 days went by and my headache wont go away. Went to my usual physician
and he said I was still running a temperature. He could not figure out why
the fever wont go way even with some paracetomol and an antibiotic. It was
104-105. Apart from the headache and constipation , I was OK. I did not
have any cold / cough or sorethroat which usually happens during a flu
like infection.
5)I got a blood test done and my Platelets and WBC count were lower than
normal. My ESR seemed fin but Eosinophil seemed high as well. Doc
suggested it might be Dengue , Thypoid or Malaria as my fever was not
going away and counts were not normal.
6)He suggested I get admitted to a big hospital and get all tests done and
referred me to an internal medicine specialist saying that I had
Leukopenia or a low WBC or White blood count along with a fever.
7)I visit the big hospital and I got really upset about getting admitted
as I have never been to a big one all my life. Lukily the doctor was
cheerful and said I was doing pretty ok.
They test me for I dont know what all diseases including Dengue , Thypoid
, Malaria. They did a blood culture test too.Widal Test,Sugar test,
ultrasound of stomach, chest xray.
I was admitted for 3 nights and 2 days.I was given a strong anti-biotic
though IV 2 times a day along with some other medicines.I felt a lot
better doing nothing but relaxing all day. MY headache finally disappeard
along with the fever and I was given normal food.
8)All the test reports came negative except for the ultrasound which said
I might have a slightly enlarged spleen - Splenomegaly
9)I was discharged after the doctor saw my my blood culture test did not
have anything abnormal. I did not have any pain in my stomach so he said
there is no problem with Spleen
10)The diagnosis was respiratory infection. Strange enough , I never
coughed or sneezed during all of this.
11) During my time in the hospital I did not notice any redness in my
palms or feet and all seemed fine.
12)After getting discharged , I see my regular physician and show him the
reports and he apologized for sending me to hospital for this issue.
He said he had suspected some serious problem as fever was not going away
and did not want to take a 2nd chance as consequences are grave if dengue
or thypoid are not treated in time.
13) But after looking at reports he said the Platelets and WBC counts
were very low and said these needs to be investigated after my course of
medicines given at hospital is over.But all other params were fine and
that I can see him in 2 weeks.
14) He suggested I take Diapill (multivitamin) and Selace Forte(anti-
oxidant and immunity improvement) in addition to Revelol XL 25
15)I was following the same, felt a little better. But this Urticaria was
starting to appear again. Redness in palm when pressed against as a
surface.There were no spots in the palm though.
16)I had to rush to UK for an assignment and met the Doc before flying
out. He checked my BP and it was fine and he asked me to see him once I'm
back home and that i was all fine.
17)I had a great time in the UK. I was so fine that I extended my trip by
a couple of days and saw around London.I was regulary taking my medicines
and did not have any complaints.
18)Now I'm back home and I so tied up with work that I have not seen the
Doctor yet. I'm still taking those tablets. Revelol , Diapill, Selace as
the course is not over.
19)Now I noticed that my sole is dry and white and sometimes itchy. I
noticed that my palms stil get red on application of minor pressure. Also
those red/purple spots in my palm keep coming and going.
20)Was seeing some minor sking peeling and dryness in small area of palm.
(towards wrist) but now gone.
===
Here are the problems I have currently
1)when palm is placed on keyboard or mouse , skin turns red during usage
and turns back to normal within seconds or minutes of stopping use.
Actually even gripping a phone/steering seems to cause redness or a trace
in the skin. When doc measures the BP, skin gets red and see a mild rash
which goes away in an hour.
2)Those purple/red spots on palm still appear from time to time. But they
not permanent.
3)My fingers seem to have fattened / over-sensitive . Had to stop wearning
2 rings as they were causing immense pain.
4)heel aches mildly after a drive or after a walk. Skin around heels is
dry, white and sometimes itchy.
5)Whole body seems itchy at times
6)I have had pigmentation in my skin since an infant. Some areas of my
skin are slightly darker than rest.Mainly in chest , stomach and back.
7)feel drowsy and some times minor blurring in vision esp when watching a
monitor / tv or while using a camera.
8)I have had dandruff in my scalp for years and sebhorric dermatitis on
and off.But recently all over my body especially where there is hair , i
get a itchy feeling - chest, scrotum, shoulder , legs etc. Some times the
hair strands fall off easily due to my scratching.
9) I have to go see the doc soon and get a blood test done but I'm really afraid about my health as me and my doc have no clue what could be wrong.
10) Last 2 years have been hectic to me workwise , barely sleep and lots of pressure.
11)My BP is normal when i take Revlol. I'm pretty much the same weight but my junk food intake has reduced.
12) Does my history point to any major illness ? I guess not. This question is eating my head and my productivity. Would love to hear your thoughts.
Red Palms, hair loss, joint pains, high blood pressure, GI distress, low platelets, enlarged spleen, itching, fatigue... And vegetarian!
I'm not a doctor, but these are classic signs of an unhappy liver. I assume they checked your liver enzymes while you were in the hospital, but there are a few things they might have overlooked.
"Choline" is essential for liver health, and vegetarians often don't get enough choline, as meat and eggs are the only high choline foods in most folks diet. Can/do you eat eggs? Google around on choline deficiency and see if anything looks familiar. Eggs will fix you up in no time if this is the problem. If you don't eat eggs, you'll need to take some "Lecithin". Lecithin is a much better source of choline than simple choline supplements and is vegetarian safe. Avoid choline bitartrate and choline chloride... Take LECITHIN!
Also... Liver issues with joint pain and skin discoloration can mean "Hemochromatosis", or iron overload. Vegetarians don't normally get iron overload problems unless they have the genetic pre-disposition for hemochromatosis, or take iron supplements, but if you've got this, you MUST be treated. It's an easy fix and a good cure so don't worry. Did they test your blood iron levels in the hospital? Probably not. "Ferritin" and other iron tests are not part of routine blood panels. You MUST insist on a ferritin blood test pronto when you see your doc next (soon!).
Other than this, I would look into other deficiencies common in vegetarians... Vitamin B-12 comes to mind. A "balanced B-50" supplement might be a good idea. You may have gotten your B vitamins in the supplement you mentioned, but oral B-12 can be poorly absorbed. Your doc might be able to give you a B-12 shot, which should give you a dramatic improvement if this is your problem. You might also look into "sub-lingual" B-12 "dots". You dissolve these under your tongue and this is supposed to be an alternate way to get B-12 if you don't absorb oral supplements well. B-12 is safe and cheap... Give it a try.
Finally... I've been reading a lot about polyunsaturated fats and liver disease. It seems, though polyunsaturated fats are good for your heart, your liver may not like them as much as saturated fats. Google around on polyunsaturated fat and the liver and you may want to add more monounsaturated fat or coconut and or palm oil to your diet. If you're sold on polyunsaturated fats, then you NEED vitamin-E to help reduce "lipid peroxidation" of these polyunsaturated fats in your liver.
Do your homework on these things and I'm sure you'll shed some light on what may be causing your problems.
Good Luck & GodSpeed to you!
Thank you so much for reading about my problem and your valuable advice !
I would have an saliva adrenal test (4x I the day), and a full thyroid panel. As well as a test for canandidis.