I need help!

[looseliam]

Travisevian,

Are you exposed to any environments that may be breeding grounds for mold or fungi?

 

[PhoenixRising]

A couple of things that I think need to be said:

1. If you doctor is not concerned about what you describe, and is not taking this seriously, you need to either be more asertive with her, or find a new doctor. A good doctor should be concerned with your health, and take the time to listen to you.

2. You need to stop self diagnosing on the intenet. The internet is a great tool, but sometimes, especially for health matters it can overwhelm you and make things worse. Leave the diagnosis to the professionals.

Now, I know you said in your first post that you are not depressed, but the symptoms you describe sound a lot like clinical depression. I'm not a doctor, but maybe it's time to rethink the anti-depressants. I mean, what do you have to lose at this point?

I wish you the best, and hope things work out for you.

 

[looseliam]

I'm more concerned about mold/fungus exposure.

I would press the issue with your physician and make clear when the symptoms started.

If your doc doesn't listen to you, find a new doctor.

 

[looseliam]

^^ Well, how do your nails look?

Smooth? Or ribbed, brittle and white?

 

[dunno260]

Well I am going to waffle somewhere around the middle here. I think you are overly concerned about the mercury poisoning angle (I am the same age, have had quite a few cavities myself).

Of course, my lack of symptoms and one other posters as well doesn't mean that it isn't, but it doesn't jive. Yeah it fits into the list of symptoms, but heavy metal poisoning is fairly rare, even for those people who are regularly are exposed to it (like I am as a synthetic organic chemist). In fact, I am fare less concerned about any mercury exposure than I am about some of my other exposures in the past (I once had a good enough bit of a rhodium compound I was investigating as an anti-cancer agent which is of course a carcinogen as are well all chemotherapies). Besides some of the really, really dangerous organo-mercury compounds like dimethyl mercury which hardly anyone works with. I just say all of that to say, that as a chemist I am fine with mercury fillings and thiomersal because I haven't seen the evidence there to substantiate any alarms that have been raised. Also, the mercury compounds in our stock room at work have a lot fewer warnings on them than a lot of the other stuff we work with. In general, with heavy metals, you do need chelation therapy to remove the accumulated metal, depending on what it is. I wouldn't worry too much about not wearing a mask when the fillings are removed. They are drilling in your mouth, so your going to get exposed and are going to breathe some of it in either way.

That being said, your health doesn't sound good to say the least. A test for mercury levels in your body should be fairly trivial as it should only require a hair sample. It doesn't sound like you have a fairly good relationship with your current doctor, and thats not good for either of you. I daresay in fact that you really need to be seeing more of a specialist like an endocrinologist or perhaps even a rheumatologist based on the types of symptoms you are having. I live in the deep south as well, but even so, there are always great doctors around. Also, shouldn't you be close to either Duke or Wake Forest which have fantastic hospitals. If you were in Birmingham I would have a list of half a dozen or so doctors.

I don't know if that is very helpful or not. For someone in your situation, you should probably read the book How Doctors Think by Jerome Grupman. It goes into some areas to help you understand what is going to the docs head, how things get misperceived between both sides, and then of course a litany of things to help the patient communicate with the doctor. For most of college I had thought about going into the medical profession as a doctor and have done a lot of work shadowing doctors as well as working with them in a free medical clinic and its fascinating to see medicine from the other side. Its something that I think might really help you on your journey to get answers and of course better help.

Best of luck, let me know if there is anything I can do. And I know I kind of pooped on your mercury theory, but keep digging around looking around for answers.

 

[Yngbldhwk]

Travis: Your doc may have recommended antidepressants for other reasons than actual depression. For example, antidepressants can help normalize sleep patterns. Based on your description, it sounds as if obtaining restorative sleep may be difficult for you. Antidepressants like Trazodone or Elavil are often used for this. Sometimes a drug called Remeron can be very effective. I understand your not wanting to take meds; no one does. But if they make the difference between being able to function like a normal human being vs. not being able to do so... well, you see where I'm heading.

Fatigue of the type you're describing is most definitely not normal (especially in someone your age) and if your doc(s) aren't aggressively trying to find a solution, then you need to find a different doctor who will. Two things you probably want to rule out: (1) Lyme Disease and (2) Fibromyalgia. (I personally think that Fibromyalgia may be the same illness as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), but this is only an opinion.)

By the way, not all doctors believe that CFS or Fibromyalgia are actual, organic illnesses. Should you encounter such a doc, my advice is to politely thank them for their opinion, leave, and not come back. Nothing you say is likely to persuade them.

I'm curious about your mercury amalgams and whether you see any difference after having them removed/replaced. Please keep us informed.

 

[jockboy01]

Personally, it sounds like you have several health concerns here. They may all be related, they may not be. The mercury poisoning is not at the top of my list... it's generally pretty rare, but not impossible.

Ultimately, you need to find a good physician who can start with the tests you need. I mean, I've seen no mention of thyroid function tests yet and in somebody with this description, that would be one of the first things I'd rule out. As to the B12 deficiency, I'd be curious as to how that was diagnosed. And did they retest the levels? B/c if you aren't absorbing it properly, you would in fact need the shots.

As to depression, it may be part of it. I'm not say you need a pill necessarily for it, but don't discount it regardless of the reason. Many of your symptoms are symptoms of depression. And the mind-body connection is incredibly powerful. Simple things you can do is regular exercise and a regular sleep pattern.

Ultimately, I think you need a doctor you can trust and work through this with.

 

[Royal Heart]

Question: How much exercise do you get?