New Here, Belgium, Chest Pressure

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ightDennisclark

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Hi guys,I am new here but I have been visiting this forum for about a good year and a half. And this is my story.I am Dennis I am from Belgium, 24 years old and my symptoms started about 2 years ago around. In the beginning I only had chest pressure and sometimes heart palpitations and muscle cramps when I was lying in bed, because of it I was getting very little sleep and was very stressed during the day. I went to the doctor allot he kept saying that it was stress/anxiety it did not take too long before I was unable to go to work, so the doctor subscribed me xanax, sertraline, ivega (antidepressants, benzodiazepines, anti-psychotics). He said that I had a lack of serotonin, panic attacks and chronic hyperventilation. I was constantly twitching, fatigue, almost fainting. So wasn't able to go to work for about 2 weeks and did anti stress/hyperventilation practices, read a book about it but I wasn't convinced that it was hyperventilation so I kept searching. The first thing that I thought I would have was cryptotetany (Spasmophilia) so I asked my doctor that to be tested for that, at that point my doctor was getting really annoyed that I kept coming that much and did not believe he's diagnoses. Then after those 2 weeks when I was working again I was getting chest pain and my left arm hurt, I felt my heart pounding (slow but hard) in the middle of the night. So I called an ambulance they took me to the hospital, when I explained my past doctor visits they concluded that I was indeed hyperventilating they did not even test me just sent me home. They said I should get psychological help and consult a neurologist just to be sure so I did both. The neurologist did a lot of test but didn't find anything, he said that my symptoms could be hyperventilation related. The psychiatrist said that it didn't look like I was paranoia that I had a realistic view on it and that it looked like I just wanted an answer. The doctor gave me 4 more weeks from work (6 weeks in total). So everyone at work started saying I was faking it just to get some vacation, and almost every doctor was calling me a hypochondriac.I also did a Pulmonologist (lung specialist) they said that they hadn’t test results that terrible in a while and that my symptoms where from hyperventilation/asthma for sure. At that time everything was itching and I had difficulty breathing. I had to go back in 4 months during that time almost all my symptoms went away, I stopped taking the antidepressants/psychotics and only the fasciculation’s and the numb feeling in my feet/hands never went away.4 months later I was feeling better and went back to the Pulmonologist they said my results were very good for an asthma patient. Which is weird because before they said that they hadn’t seen results that terrible... Not much later I had a normal cold and all my symptoms where back. (Numb limbs, fasciculation’s, cramps, always feeling restless, sweat attacks, itching skin, difficulty breathing) So I was back at square one. So I went to another family doctor who was surprised that I had been taking that much medication, this was the first time in a year that understood me and didn’t call me a hypochondriac. At that time I was on this forum a lot and wanted to be tested for BFS. He sent me back to a neurologist who did all test that he could do to rule out ALS, MS etc… But to be honest I was never scared about any of those diseases I was 90% sure it was BFS (at that time). He ruled out everything and let me do a MRI and would sent the results to my doctor. My doctor never got the results only the info that nothing abnormal was found. So months went by where my symptoms where mild but then when It started again after a flew. I started filming my fasciculation’s contacted the neurologist again and I asked him for the detailed results of my previous tests. When I came in he asked me how I was and said that he had no conclusion. So I showed him the movies and he was astonished and apologized for calling me a hypochondriac. While I was there I had fasciculation’s all over my leg so he apologized 5 times and said that he had never diagnosed a BFS patient in he’s whole carrier. He started joking and asked if I could send him the movies, so that he could go show off with his findings at the neurology conference because it is so rare. So this was the end for me after a year and a half of tests, no more doctors! I finally got a diagnose and it was benign, hooray! (30/01/2014) Since a few months before my diagnose I was going skydiving I and picked up rockclimbing again. Went outside again started partying like it was the end of the world again. Even though it felt like I needed to recuperate longer after sports and partying all night my symptoms where under control. And where a little irritating at the most until a while back it started again and worse than ever.When I lie in my bed I am shaking out of control. (I also have this at day by now)Fasciculations everywhere.I can hear/feel my heart pound tough its only about 57bpm to 65bpm 13/7 blood pressure (at rest)I get chest pains.Everything is itching.I am always hungry even when I at so much that I have to go lie down, and I am even losing weigh tough I eat a lot.And sometimes 10min after showering my sweat stinks like ammonia.(Tough i am not nervous at all, I am a relaxed as can be)Thanks in advanceDennis
 
Dennis,have you ever seen endocrinologist among other doctors?extreme appetite plus losing weight might indicate some endo troubles. Specific smell of sweat, low heart rate (practically already at the level of slight bradicardia) may indicate some endo troubles too. Thyroid most probably. Your symptomes are pointed towards both hyper and hypofunction, and there is a disease called Hashimoto disease (many of us are suspected to have it), at which thyroid acts like crasy first, and only then comes usually to hypothyroidism...as for candidosis, I doubt you may have it becasue symptomes you list are so vague and non-specific... as a female, I often enocunter episodes of candida in my life becasue it dwells in some parts of our body ;))) believe me, to have symptomes like specified, you need to have SYSTEMIC candidosis, whic is usually a fate of people having HIV or other severe immunosuppressing diseasestreatment. Candida is a fungi, and we usually are not a good substrate for them, unless something do not change out normal flora (which may be casued by immune system suppression or... by change of ouor physiological fluids pH which is possible in case of hypoglicemya (low blood sugar), thyrois issues or hyperventialtion (as it changes pH of your blood, and therefore may change pH of saliva, mucus etc.)usually candidosis is manifestesd as ulcers at the mouth or, well, for ladies.... in the intimate places, but not like yours. Males can have urination pain, as it is listed, but usually nothing more.Overall body itching and even urticaria is a symptom of BFS (or atl least it is a common complain for BFSers).Your heart symptomes also fit somatization picture (it is one of the most common form of somatization disorder, while the heart in fact is usually stronger than average)Hyperventialtion is really very possible (as it was confirmed by tests) - your symptoes are very consistent with it and asthma is know to be in fact a hyperventialtion issue, so breathing practices usually help.Asthma also is know to be one of 'grey' diseases with a lot of connection between nervous system and breathing regulation (involuntary spastic activity in bronchi).which means that something in your nervous system (including autonomous) is wrong and this is a long story.So for me (however I am not a doctor, just a medical translator) your condition looks like typical 'grey' disorder, as BFS, with a great deal of autonomous system involvement, causing heartbeat issues, hyperventialtion, itching etc., and, probably some endocrine issues which may be worth to check.
 
Dennis,I was one of those folks who was able to associate my onset of BFS in a big way (but not entirely) with candida overgrowth. You may want to google a condition known as 'leaky gut syndrome' (LGS) which is caused by candida overgrowth. See if it fits you and trust your gut. Har har... (Pun intended)Seriously though, once I went on a special diet and took supplements that aided in my healing and recovery from LGS my BFS symptoms greatly diminished. Because LGS was not soley responsible for my BFS I had to make other lifestyle changes, including the integration of stress management and relaxation techniques like self-hypnosis and meditation. This is greatly simplified of course, but I don't want to overwhelm you in the beginning of your journey. LGS is completely treatable and I believe BFS is too based on my own experience. Not everyone with LGS gets BFS and not everyone with BFS has LGS. Everyone is different, so you will need to be strong and determined to persevere. You can do it though. Hang in there.
 
I would recommend seeing a doctor who has experience in successfully treating LGS for a second opinion, but that is just my 2 cents. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a holistic doctor who had successfully treated others before me with the condition. There is a supplement called Interfase Plus from Klaire Labs that is good at breaking down the colonies of candida in the gut and greatly speeding up recovery time. Diet alone is a method of starving the candida out and that can take many many months. The supplements available today such as Interfase Plus can speed that up to just weeks.
 
Dennis,64 to 70 bpm at rest is normal, so then probably bradicardia is not your actual symptome. People from this board often complain for heart palpitations, however it may no be a KEY symptome for BFS but indicates overall autonomous system mess :)))Several symptomes in your selected list still suggest that you may need to see endocrinologist.For me those symptomes are: stable low weight, constant feeling of being hungry, low body temperature, tiredness.Bad taste in the mouth usually indicates methabolic issues (if not caused by gastritis or oral inflammation or so called ozena), bad/strange odor of other bodily fluids might indicate therer is something to look in your kidneys, pancreas and liver (but you say your blood tests are ok - then maybe it is your hypersensitivity? Does other people note you smell bad?) Sometimes bad smell of the sweat is caused by GIT troubles which you have, but you say it smell ammonia - so I would expect that your urine analyses should be deviated or your blood test may show uremia...all the rest of the symptomes you list fall mostly into the list of symptomes common for 'grey' disorders from IBS to BFS and from migraines to neurodermitis :))) which in fact means that your autonomous nervous system in in mess. Autonomous nervous system rules operation of your heart, breathing, sweating, GIT movement and digestion itself (gastric and other GIT juices), it is involved in swelling reactions and in inflammation regulation etc. it is strongly related to pituitary gland operation, and pituiatry gland in fact may be rsponsible for many of your issues as well as thyroid. Pituitary gland regulates many important hormones, regulating ans stimulating all other endocrine systems in the body.So I would suggest you to see one doctor you did not see before - endocrinologist - and ask if your endocrine system needs to be checked.I may assure you that all the rest of the symptomes like uncontrollable shaking, cold hands, allergies, muscle pain, alco intolerance, irregular heartbeat, easily swelling mucosa (weather effect, cold, pain in the throat), shrtness of breath and pain in the chest, migraines with aura etc, etc. are typicalfor BFS people and usually are related to stress and stress related dysautonomies. You may also have your immune system a bit down, but of course not to the point of systemic candidosis I think.The problem of dysautonomias is that it is easy to get it and hard to rid off... Well, check you endo status and then you would see if you need a hormonal therapy or rather serious antistress program and maybe a diet to improve your guts condition (but usually guts are also going better when autonomous storm is calmed).
 
Dennis,another questiondo you take any supplements? particularly any protein supplements? skydivers usually do not, as well as rock climbers.... but who knows...
 
I agree with Gracely, you should go to an endocrinologist. Candida is a fake diagnosis. It is used by chiropractors to sell you supplements. Not science based at all!! When I saw the list of all those symptoms I had to laugh. I am sure!!! It was kind of like the list someone had on here the other day. It was the same huge improbable list of symptoms only with anxiety at the top. But seriously, I am sad that you are not being taken seriously by your doctors. Keep looking for REAL answers. Drop the candida thing. Best of luck
 
Hi Dennis,first I'd like to welcome you to the board! You've come to the right place.As for your complaints I just want to be honest: given your descriptions and, even more so, the way you are writing about them, I think we are talking about an anxiety/obsessive disorder rather than about anything else. Everything you say points towards an anxiety/obsessive disorder that expresses itself in the form of dysautonomia (also know as autonomic dysfunction) and hence in BFS. Yulia already mentioned that. Just do a search for "dysautonomia" and you will find all your symptoms.As for candidiasis, it does of course exist, but PuppetPup is right in saying that the diagnosis has been abused a lot during the last years by chiropractors, naturopaths and proponents of "alternative medicine" to sell people their stuff. (the same is true, by the way, for "leaky gut syndrome": if you search the internet in Emilyomouse you will only find an affirmative account of it on the websites of so called "Heilpraktiker" (naturopaths), who offer very expensive therapies for it, whereas "normal" medical sites say that it is usually a "fad" diagnosis).
 
I am troubled by the overly generalized statements in here dismissing LGS, candida, and alternative medicine. As a former full fledged BFS sufferer with first hand experience in all of these areas I can assure all of you that they are all indeed real, including the depth and breadth of the symptom list above. The reason the potential symptom list is so long is because of the very nature of candida over growth's influence on the functionality of the immune system. When the immune system is compromised anything in the body can be affected. Everyone has their own right to have their own opinion, but please do not pass judgment on an entire branch of medicine or a condition you do not fully understand. My first hand personal experiences with holistic doctors treating me for this resulted in success beyond my initial hopes. It was NOT costly either. They were in fact far cheaper than the mainstream doctors I started out with. It wasn't a scam. It wasn't a way to extort my life savings. It did in fact lead to me greatly improving my symptoms and overall health. Believe what you will but that is my 2 cents.
 
Dennis,BFS is a blanket term used for people with twitching muscles. It does not specify a cause. When I was looking for answers I tried everything in order to relieve my symptoms. I looked into candida and tried the diet(s). I tried all sorts of stuff. I was misdiagnosed with MS at one point. I truly believe my biggest problem was and is anxiety. When I was really bad I didn't feel anxious, but I was. It began after I injured my back and had all those stress hormones released from the pain. Then I started to have physical symptoms from the stress. Then I worried and worried about those symptoms. It just spiraled into symptoms->worry->stress->more symptoms->more worry->more stress... My personal experience is that stress and worry can affect the body tremendously. I had the palpitations, just like you did. I also had burning in both forearms, buzzing in different parts of my legs, twitching ( mainly in the calves), and insomnia. I was in denial that stress could actually cause all of these symptoms. I am a paramedic and I have seen plenty of people have panic attacks. But my anxiety didn't look like that. It has been over 2 years since my twitching started and I am still recovering. I do take Welbutrin and Klonopin (never went to a psychiatrist before BFS). However, I dramaticly changed my diet and my thought patterns. I could tell you what I eat, but what affects one person will not affect another. I juice everyday and read labels at the grocery store to know what I am putting into my body. There is no silver bullet for me. It is an overall lifestyle change and way of looking at the world. Here is a website that helped me and what my twitching looked like when it was bad. Hopefully they can help you. I twitch mildly in my calves still. It takes a while for your body to normalize. It took me years to get to the point that my body revolted and it is not going to go back to normal over night. It may take months or years. Hope you find healing. God bless.Jerad
 
I went to the doctor yesterday.He said that all of the symptoms that are listed above are vague, that it’s about every symptom there is. That they all could be from hyperventilation/stress/anxiety/BFS that it is hard to diagnose any of those conditions, that there are a lot of quacks that try to exploit it and claim to have a cure or therapy. That it is going to cost a lot of time and money and probably won’t help a thing. That it’s probably something I am just am going to have to learn to live with. That I could go and visit every type specialist there is. That an endocrinologist won’t be happy to see me if there is absolutely nothing wrong with my blood. So next Wednesday I need to take a sober blood analysis if something is out of the ordinary that I should go and see one. As for the candida he seriously doubts it, he says that I could take a colonoscopy but where will all of this end…Too be honest I can live with the fasciculation’s its irritating but nothing more, the same goes for the muscle cramps and all the other little symptoms. But the heart palpitations and cramps make me paranoid even though a cardiologist said that my heart is perfectly fine and that it has been monitored a whole night while I was feeling them a few months back, I really want to know the source of this problem rather than taking Xanax or any other garbage. For the cramps I’m not even sure that it is even my heart.If I think about it, it could be that I am under a little stress knowing that my contract at works ends the 10 of June. That I need to move out of my apartment one of these weeks to live with my mom. That I need to save every € because in a few months (probably January) I am leaving everything behind to go backpacking the other side of the world. Still I had these problems when I wasn’t under stress like: In the middle of a vacation, I also didn’t have them in the Christmas periods when things where crazy at work. Most people say that it is anxiety, hypochondria or an obsession with my heath that it is probably the way of my body saying that I am under pressure. And I wish I could believe them but it’s just too random, I can eat healthy for months and be in a low stress situation and still have it…Sure if you see me explain it like this it looks like I have been going to a doctor every other week but knowing that all of that is in 2 years I wouldn’t call it an obsession. It’s just that I feel like everyone eighter thinks I am crazy or I’m making things up or want some attention or whatever. It’s frustrating if someone could just give me an answer I would leave it alone and move on.
 
holy crap Dennis, you call THAT ALL 'a little stress"????????End of job contract, prospective to live with the parents, need for save money and prospective to go to other side of the globe...another good illustartion of how we consider that nothing special is going on... while we may be at the edge.My daughter got severe blinding migraines (she just had hemianopsia - half of vision out) ONLY becasue she had to pass school exams (very stupid ones in a form of the test) and enter the university. She was so stressed that she really 'would not like to see it' - and she got migraines with aura, typical for stress. She did not recognize she was extremely stressed.I got my only (thanks GOD) panick attack after several major changes in my life (like new job for me and my husband, and he had to leave home and go for assignment, my daughter got migraines, my home was heavily repaired and my friend which i did not see for decade came to me with her 10 years old dsughter for a week) - it appeared enough to me to break down. And I was sure I am Ok and in a good touch with myself...
 
Maybe you people are right, Yea i know the migraine aura's I've had them for years now but only 2 or 3 times in a year. The first times i panicked so hard i went almost completely blind. I have them at random moments I also got one of them at a party so I don’t link them to stress. My mother and brother also have them so that doesn't worry me :)Yea I can imagine that it must have been a very stressful period for you, I've had quite a few panic attacks while there where mayor changes in my life. I know how they feel let’s hope you never get one again! I assume everything is ok now with you and your family? I don’t think that’s it I am really thinking in the line of something like diabetic or food allergy or a slow/fast working thyroid some sort of vitamin deficiency or something in that line not ALS or MS or all the other diseases everyone is so paranoid about. Because I haven’t slept more than 4 hours a night in more than a week it kept getting worse and worse, yesterday I went almost faded/crashed at work, ate some fast-food went climbing, took some Xanax and slept for 8 hours. I woke up and half of my symptoms are gone… Sometimes it makes no sense at all, nothing changed in my life I didn't worry more than other times, and maybe the B12/magnesium supplements that I had been taking the last weeks started working or who knows. Still the shaking stays it’s like there is a phone on vibrate function attached to my spine…I just refuse to link this all to stress, but I don’t deny that it can have a huge impact on your body but to be honest I am sick of hearing stress/hyperventilation.
 
I do believe that there are unconventional medicines that are very helpful, however here in Belgium healthcare doest cost a thing so i really want to rule everything out. Like I said I am not afraid of ALS or any of these deadly deceases, I believe that there is something wrong with my blood, because of my thyroid, diabetes, some food intolerance or something like that.As for the supplements and unconventional medicines, I think that most of them are placebo. Just like I find magnesium supplement helpful, I guess its in my head but who cares. Its not that my doctor doesn't believe that there is no cure or therapy, he just thinks I should get lost in the search to find a cure. Because you make your self vunerable that way and there are people that are going to take advantage of it.I did a lot of searching about a to fast/slow working thyroid, hashimoto and graves diseases. I think this could be it, but then again I thought I had found it like 10 times. Stress, crypto tetania, hyperventilation, anxiety disorder, magnesium deficiancy, benign fasciculation disorder... And I am 90% sure that it is completely random from everything I've searched hashimoto disease fits the most.The shaking is out of control, I have had a headache for about 3 days now, when I sleep I wake up because of the shaking 3 times I night. I have big blue eye bags for quite a while now. I really cant take this much longer. Even when I go climbing or when I am really tired I still cant sleep very long , its driving me crazy. If this keeps getting worse like this I think I will end up in a mental institution instead of Australia.Tomorrow I get a blood test, every time I get one I say to search for everything possible. Then when I get to a specialist they say: Oh they didn't test for .... lets take some more blood and test that again. So my questions is:What values should he test for sure? Magnesium, Calcium, CK, B6, B12, D3, THS, TPO, T3, T4. Anything else?I am also going to ask to send me to a endocrinologist to test me for my thyroid. Thanks in advance! GreetingsDennis
 
considering that fascial edemas may be also a kidney related (plus your compalins for ammonia isweat), ask for uremia test (level of ureic acid in the blood) and urine protein test.Do also basic liver enzymes test (ALT, AST). this will allow your doctor to see the whole picture.In fact, as you may wish to see endocrinilogist, fasting sugar and glycolized haemoglobine might be useful. Fasting sugar will show if you have any current issues, GH shows if you had any sugar upsets on a regular basis for the last three months.all the rest is far out of basic tests and would be a mater of discussion with endocrinologist.
 
Magnesium, calcium, uremia, Uric acid, CK, B6, B12, D3, THS, TPO, T3, T4, ALT, AST, GH (HbA1c?), FBS.So thats it?Thanks all of you!I will post the results as soon as i get them. :)
 
Yeah, HbA1c is another good one to show your over all blood sugar over time. Do a quick search for a FULL thyroid panel. You want to test for all the anti-thyroid antibodies. There is a ton of good info about it if you search enough. Sorry about the shaking. I have been down this road if inquiry before. Do yourself a favor and read how the thyroid works and how TSH relates to T3 and T4 levels. It may turn out that that is not the problem, but you can at least cross it off your list. Good luck and keep us informed.
 
Great Ted Talk. Did you notice that he did not mention candida once? These are the guys mapping out and studying the total gut biome (look up gut biome project) and they still don't know how it works. But, you have quack-attack doctors like Mercola using it as spin to try and sell probiotcs and cure "candida"; something you can't even reliably test for, because the condition does not exist.Check out this article:Read it and then ask yourself why do most of the people studying on the project come to the conclusion they that have no idea what is really going on down there; or what is really good for the gut. They say using probiotics is akin trying to plant a putting green in the Amazon Forest. Worthless waste of money. They do however, like in that Ted Talk, say that diet has a lot to do with it - surprise surprise. They don't however allude to some magic chiropractor candida overgrowth that causes every symptom listed in the Physicians Desk Reference. I think it is irresponsible to tell Dennis that he has some candida problems, when he could have something else. Here is the best advise you will ever get Dennis: Don't take anyone's advise from any board on the internet. Look for ideas but not advise or, heaven forbid, a diagnosis online. If you want to sleep with a crystal under your pillow and try to cure your candida, go right ahead. If it works, more power to you. But, don't overlook obvious answers that could be important, first.
 
Just for the record, I don't try to diagnose anyone on the board. I do my very best to share my perspective as an offering for consideration. I try to avoid telling people what to do, what to think, or how to live. Regarding candida from this angle, I would like to agree with you PuppetPup that "they still don't know how it works." People from across the spectrum of the scientific and medical fields are working to find answers though. I would argue that your statement that "the condition does not exist" is a premature conclusion based on the earlier statement. You may not believe it exists and some of the data may indicate that it does not exist, but not all of the data indicates this. Every researcher is a human being with their own unique backdrops of experiences, assumptions, biases, and expectations from which they draw. Objectivity is incredibly difficult to maintain, as we all have egos that can blind us when we believe we are right. Until we know everything there is to know about everything, no statement can ever truly be absolute except for in the mind of the believer. Candida overgrowth may or may not be real. My experience indicates to me that it is real. I am an engineer with a masters degree married to a scientist, so I am no stranger to the scientific method. If placebo/nocebo were at play in my recovery, it worked despite my skepticism. Do I really know for sure though? Honestly and objectively I cannot say. None of us can. All we can do is make the best we can with what we have at our disposal. As you can see, we (humanity) have a lot of diversity in approaches. I benefited from mine. Are you truly benefiting from yours? That is for you alone to decide.
 

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