Something Is WRONG With Me.. Long but PLEASE Read!!!!!!!

[Kate]

Okay.. At first I thought I had the flu. This started a week and a half ago. I was throwing up.. sore all over. Had diarrhea also. Well.. it got to the point where I quit throwing up, and was sleeping ALL the time.. I just thought my sleeping pattern was off from my flu..

However, I wasn't really eating. I would eat a little bit at night, some toast, etc.. and than be up ALL night with diarrhea, go to sleep at 4 AM, wake up at 3 or 4 PM.. and I've been in this cycle ever since.

It's weird.. Last night, I decided to just not eat anything to see how I felt.. and I FELT FINE. I was able to go to the movies. My headache was gone. I was still ON FIRE while everyone else is cold.. but other than that..

But.. by the time I got home, I was STARVING.. but I thought since I felt so good, my flu was gone. So, my parents made me a ham and cheese sandwich.

I spent last night in the bathroom with the WORST diarrhea I have EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. I was sobbing.. We almost went to the ER.. It was constant at points.. I mean seriously.. I can't describe how bad it was.

I should have went to the Dr. last week, but I just thought it was a flu and would get better. Now its a weekend. I am miserable. Tonight I have friends coming in from up to SIX HOURS AWAY for my birthday, and I HAVE to go to my birthday party. *sigh* Even though I feel like I could die.

Okay.. So here are my WEIRDEST symptoms that I have never noticed with ANY other flu.. Despite the fact that I weighed myself and I LOST weight (10 lbs.. probably more by now!) My stomach is EXTREMELY swollen like.. I almost look pregnant. I can't hold it in.. I'm not that fat.. lol, but I always hold in the tummy I do have.. and right now it's physically impossible. It's sooo swollen. It's WEIRD.
Imagine, how you feel after eating like a HUGE Thanksgiving dinner. THAT is how my stomach looks and feels. Like I need to unbutton my pants. (I can't fit into jeans.. have to wear a cute sweat pant set to my freaking birthday party!!) I feel SOOOOOO full even though my stomach is totally empty!

Also.. my bladder is WEIRD. Whenever I have diarrhea I have trouble pottying.. I don't know if it's unrealted.. or I'm just REALLY dehydrated..

Okay.. so should I go to the ER? Last night I almost did. I really really really can't let my friends down.. I'd feel HORRIBLE. I should have called them all yesterday and told them not to come.. but I honestly thought I felt better last night. (The diarrhea didn't start till after midnight.)

I know this is a gross post.. and so long.. I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do. This is probably the most ill I have EVER been in my life.. (stomach wise) and I am just going nuts. I also can't stand to let people down..

I missed physical therapy twice last week and missed an important lunch date because I was sick... I cant miss tonight.

[mamaruns]

I would see a doc asap. Are you sure it's actually your stomach that's swollen? I'm wondering if it's your spleen, and maybe you have a case of mononucleosis. I wouldn't wait any longer, see a doc now! Even if it's not mono, it sounds pretty bad.

Hope you feel better soon!

[Meetz1064]

with mama, you need to go see a doctor, and ASAP. Once you start throwing up, and as often as you say you have, you throw your electrolytes (amongst other things) off balance.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if you're dehydrated either, losing that amount of weight in that short span of time.

It could be your spleen, it could be mono, it could be Epstein Barr (mono variant), it could be any number of things..........get your arse to the doc NOW!!! THE LONGER YOU STAY AWAY, THE MORE DAMAGE YOU DO!!!!

WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF TO TELL THE DOCS BEFORE YOU GO. Especially because of how weird this illness has been, and the patterns you have noticed.

[Eyes_herself]

my cousin had similar symptoms and turned out to be allergic to gluten AND dairy!

DEF DEF DEF write down everything AND get checked out ASAP! i'll pray for you.

[Bernard]

If it were me, I would be seeking medical attention right away. That is not normal and sounds like it could be serious.

[RobinN]

I hope you are being taken to the doctor for your birthday party.
If we can take bets at this point, I would also be thinking maybe celiac. Have you ever been tested? There is a connection between celiac and seizures. Have you read Dogtor J's bio?

[brain]

Go to the Emergency Room and be
checked! Better safe than sorry!

[BuckeyeFan]

Get checked out soon kiddo. The only way you lose that much weight that fast is through fluid loss. You sound dehydrated and some IV fluid sounds in order.

Keeping you in my thoughts.

[Meetz1064]

I think it may be celiac, too, now that I reread your post....What really stuck out to me at first was the diarrhea NOT the fact that you'd eaten TOAST. Duh.

Robin's right. You need to be tested for celiac. That rapid of a weight loss for that small of an amount of food is usually indicative of it. You need to have an endoscopy done...

[BuckeyeFan]

Hope you get better fast Kate!!



Robin

I had never heard of Celiac before, so I did some searches on the web. Based on my limited research, this does not sound like something that would have came on this rapidly. Can it hit that rapidly if she never had trouble with these foods in the past???

Either way, she needs IV fluids if she lost that much weight that quickly.

[RobinN]

My understanding is that it can go undetected for a long time. Seizures can be related and perhaps that was her first warning sign, but instead of being tested for celiac she was put on an anti-epileptic drug.

There is a medical study that says celiac should be one of the first tests done when seizures occur outside of trauma. How often does that happen?

Individuals...whether they are humans, dogs, cats, or horses... can go years and years before the bottom drops out of this condition. And it takes the bottom dropping out for most of us to wake up to what’s going on, doesn’t it? We are the masters of denial as well as the patsies of deception. “I’ll do it ‘til I have problems. Then, I‘ll quit.” (e.g. cigarette smoking, drugs, alcohol, or over-eating). The bad news is that by the time you have obvious problems with your lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, brain, immune system or duodenum, then you are waaaay down the wrong road. It is a consistent pattern that we can live on about 25% of our organ function...one half of one kidney, a fourth of our liver, multiple coronary arteries occluded, numerous neurons destroyed, etc. before (BEFORE) we even start having symptoms. That’s a good news/bad news thing isn’t it? As vets, we know that most of our conditions in the pet are “acute-on-chronic“...acute manifestations of chronic problems. I used to think that this was due to unobservant owners or the laid-back lifestyle of the pet. But when I started seeing friends and loved ones dropping dead of heart attacks and strokes without warning and I found out that atherosclerosis starts as early as 5 years old, I knew that we were missing something. Yep, we are made to take a licking and keep on ticking as the old Timex ads used to say. The bad news is that we are beating our poor bodies (and those of our pets) to death and don’t know it or, at least we don’t fully understand the magnitude of what we are doing with every bite... and breath.

www.dogtorj.com

Of course I am not making a diagnosis what so ever. However, I do think she needs to consider this and perhaps do an elimination diet to see if it relieves her of some of the recent symptoms that she has been having. It is actually one of the easiest ways we can heal many symptoms, yet we wait until it is too late. Believe me, I play the game too.

I also wanted to add that I had never heard of celiac disease before I began this roller coaster ride along side Rebecca.

[Kate]

Thank you all sooo much for all the responses. I have been drinking a ton of fluids. Especially the Gatoraid, which is G2, and has less sugar, etc.. but still the electrolytes you need. I was unable to read this until this morning.. and before I read this, I ate more toast, as well as some chicken noodle soup.

I have switched from Pepto to Imodium.. which HELPED. So, the diarrhea stopped for a little while. I was able to go to the movies, go out to eat with my friends (I did not eat.. I did throw up when we got there from the smell. I just sipped a sprite and watched them eat.) Then we went to my party.. I handled it much better than expected.

Unfortunately, after I got home this morning, after being up all night, which I had been anyway with my sleep schedule so off.. the diarrhea returned. I took more Imodium, was able to go to sleep around noon.. and slept until 4. Since then my stomach has still been in a TON of pain.. I am either on fire, or freezing. I get so cold I shake and shiver. In the movies last night I had to take my sweater off and wear just the tanktop I had underneath, while my friends were so chilly they had coats on..

Well, I am about to try and eat some soup, I haven't eaten since I woke up earlier today, and hopefully I will go to sleep tonight, and at least get on a normal sleeping pattern..

All the information about that disease is VERY interesting, thank you Robin! I have looked it up and shared it with my mom.

I wish that my mom would take me to the ER to get fluids.. I have asked her and I keep going on and on about how important it is.. Back when I was in pageant and had the flu for like three days she took me, but now that I'm not doing a pageant.. it's not as important. I mean she loves me and cares.. but I am so miserable. She hears me crying and moaning in the restroom from the pain, how much pain I'm in all the time even so, and I even got on the scale and showed her how much weight I lost, and she claims it's not that big of a deal and to just try to keep drinking.. but it just comes right out of me.. *sigh.* I cant' drive.. so I can't take myself.. My dad TOTALLY doesn't care about anyone when they are sick, he thinks getting sick is a sign of weakness.. sooo he won't take me either.... It's just so awful..

I really have to wait until I can go to the Doctor.. AND my mom can't take me until Wednesday or Thursday. I REALLY don't see how I can wait that long.. I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I can get my brother to take me. I wish my friends didn't live so far away.

[RobinN]

Kate - you also need to know that this is not a "bad" thing. Having D is the bodies way of cleaning up. You will be okay. Some of the weight you lost is water weight. You are coherent and able to be feisty so hang in there.

What kind of soup are you eating? That might be a big clue....

[Zoe]

Kate,
What you describe also sounds like possible food poisoning, or a bacterial infection. Dehydration is serious. I hope you have gone to a doctor or the ER by now. Hope you will recover quickly too!
Zoe

[Kate]

I've just had Campbell's chicken and noodle soup. I also ate one of my brother's chicken nuggets because I was jealous of his normal food.. and it was okay.

I'm exhausted actually, even though I slept today, so I'm really really praying I am able to go to bed at a reasonable time.. and don't get sick all night. *keeping my fingers crossed*

[brain]

If you get sicker, call the Hospital, or
take a Taxi .. an ambulance - just don't
wait for someone to take you.

Also - if you continue to have low grade
fevers, then if you won't go to the ER,
then at least call your Primary Doctor
first thing in the morning!

[RobinN]

Do you know that Campbell's has MSG in it? Says it right on the label. It is known as an excitotoxin. JFYI

Glad that you are feeling better.

[skillefer]

Ok....go to the hospital. Call an ambulance. I don't care what your parents say, they aren't the ones that are sick. Ok? Dehydration is NOTHING to laugh at, and it can screw up your seizure medication levels. So go to the hospital. And you know what? If anyone gets their knickers in a twist because you can't make an appointment with them, I hope you puke on their shoes.

[Kate]

Okay.. to make a long story short, my Aunt who is a nurse talked to my parents and decided we should go to the ER.

We did.. I have a horrid case of the stomach flu. I was given fluids and medicine, and I slept allll day today, and already am starting to feel better.

They took a sample of everything... and will get results in two days, and I'll know if it is food poisoning then.

I'm on a liquid diet, and than I move to the BRAT diet.. just in time for my 20th birthday, on Wednesday.. fun. lol.

I have a suppository for nausea and an anti-diarrhea pill that the doctor wrote an Rx for.. haven't gotten ill since I got home. I slept from when I got home in the AM till 6 PM tonight!! It's the first time I woke up without stomach pain.. so it's nice. = ) Maybe I am getting better.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

[alivenwell]

Keep pumping fluids through your body. That's really really important. My son who is close to your age was really sick a few months ago with a very high fever. Within a few hours of pumping fluid through an IV in his arm, his temp started to come back down. They thoroughly tested everything in him.

He's usually very healthy. There's a nasty major flu going around and the flu shot didn't cover it. He got the shot, so did I and we both had something close to what you described, but not as severe. I lived off toast and fluids for a week.

The other thing you might want to check out is MRSA. Most college students living in dorms have to get a MRSA shot. If you're living off campus, that may be something your parents missed or forgot. It might be worth your while to see if that's what they're checking out. MRSA causes major dehydration. Fluids are extremely important, especially ones with electrolytes like gatorade. When my son was really sick, they told him to have gatorade, powerade, and totally lay off any tea.