My symptoms:

NEW ISSUES (as of last couple months):

Rashes around both ankles, tingles/burns when I'm stressed. gets more red when I am stressed or blood pressure goes up. Feel pulse (throbbing) often in bottom of feet

Fingers tingly/numb when laying on sides. I'm fine when on back.

Tingling on back of legs and butt sometimes.

Confusion, can't focus, slightly shaky.

Twitching at night while in bed (in multiple areas of body, once every several seconds. doesn't feel like typical muscle twitching)

Elevated heart rate. Can hardly ever truly relax. Feel high strung.

Bleeding gums (when I brush teeth, more bleeding than normal)

green stool (after drinking)



OLD ISSUES (ongoing):

Pain and tension in neck and shoulder (neck has locked up a couple times in the past)

Bad knee from old injury (can't straighten leg completely)

Heart palpitations, sometimes multiple in a day when stressed.

Somewhat dull chest pains. More often under stress.

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Everything under Old Issues I've never paid much attention to. They never bothered me that much and I attributed them to symptoms of stress.

The New Issues are what I'm concerned about. First week in August all this crap just set in and suddenly began. I thought I gave myself type 2 diabetes from my diet. I don't eat horribly, but not great either. Stay away from sugary stuff most of the time and I don't really use a salt shaker.

I haven't been to a doctor for anything really for the last 20 years. I'm 39. I'm not very familiar with hospitals, and certainly not the type to manifest things. If you looked at me you wouldn't think 'unhealthy'. I'm a gym rat and it shows, and the only thing I do is protein or a very light pre workout with a small dose of caffeine from green tea and some amino acids. I now realize looking healthy means absolutely nothing.

The hospital took blood for 5 tests and lost the paperwork, so I had to go back and have them do it again.. I should get those results tomorrow or tuesday. The nurse mentioned 'peripheral neuropathy' as a possibility after I mentioned that other than the gym, I sit, a LOT. My job for the last two years was nothing but sitting doing remote tech support. Then I go home to sit at my computer learning things about graphics if I'm not at the gym.

I do have hypoglycemia, but this isn't that.. I've known that for years and know what it feels like. I don't eat for a few hours, I get shaky and confused. I eat, I feel great again. This isn't that. As far as I know hypoglycemia doesn't cause the above problems, especially the ankles and such, but I'm no doc.

One question I have is about Chondroitin Sulfate. I keep reading about a relationship between that and PN, but the only info I can find are medical/scientific journals which are very confusing. I can't even tell if the chondroitin causes or adds to the problem, or if it helps cure the problem. The language was foreign to me. I did use chondroitin sulfate for quite a while for a knee injury.

So far I don't have confidence in the doctor I went to or the hospital. One nurse said 'oh, nothing to worry about you have some varicose veins'. Yeah I do have a few of those on my shins, but that isn't what my ankles are. Rashes and varicose veins seem pretty distinct. So, I'm online trying to do my own research. One thing is for sure though, I refuse to put up with this long term and have no interest in treating symptoms. I want to cure these problems from the root, whether it's from diabetes, alcohol (I drink somewhat heavily once a week on Saturdays), my diet, my liver, whatever. I am willing to make big changes and prefer to do this as naturally as possible from the root. I'd like to get some preliminary advice and then I'll probably post my test results here when I get them. I think I have the papers listing the test they are doing.

You may want to post the results from the lab tests that were run. It will help others here to provide more meaningful feedback. With the bleeding gums and rash do you know what your platelet count was from your CBC?

Welcome mtb2k.

I am in the dark with pretty much all of these results. The site won't let me post images so I'll have to copy/paste. Might look a little messy.

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Lab Results
Date Name Result Description Status
10/31/2014 TSH, Serum TSH with FT4 Reflex: 0.56 uIU/mL Final
10/31/2014 CMP, Serum or Plasma Sodium: 140 mmol/L Final
Potassium: 4.3 mmol/L Final
Chloride: 105 mmol/L Final
Co2: 22 mmol/L Final
Glucose: 84 mg/dL Final
Bun: 21 mg/dL Final
Creatinine: 1.01 mg/dL Final
GFR Non African Amer: 93 mL/min/1.73 M2 Final
GFR African Amer: 108 mL/mim/1.73 M2 Final
Alt: 22 U/L Final
Ast: 21 U/L Final
Alk Phosphatase: 82 U/L Final
Bilirubin Total: 0.6 mg/dL Final
Protein Total: 7.4 g/dL Final
Albumin: 4.1 gm/dL Final
Calcium: 9.8 mg/dL Final
10/31/2014 Lipid Panel, Serum Low Cholesterol: 121 mg/dL Final
Triglyceride: 339 mg/dL Final
Low Hdl: 29 mg/dL Final
chol/HDL Ratio: 4.17 _ Final
LDL (Calc): 24 mg/dL Final
10/31/2014 Cbc White Blood CT: 5.5 K/cumm Final
Red Blood Count: 4.82 M/cumm Final
Hemoglobin: 15.5 g/dL Final
Hematocrit: 42.9 % Final
Mcv: 89.2 fL Final
Mch: 32.2 pg Final
High Mchc: 36.2 g/dL Final
Rdw: 13.4 % Final
Platelet Count: 198 K/cumm Final
Low Mpv: 7.5 fL Final
10/31/2014 HbA1C (Hemoglobin a1C), Blood Hemoglobin a1C: 5.1 % Final
Comment: note Final
Est Avg Glucose: 100 mg/dL Final
10/21/2014 Vitamin B12, Serum High Vitamin B12: 1013 pg/mL Final
Electrocardiogram No observation recorded.
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Vitals
Height Weight BMI Blood Pressure
68 in 177 lbs 26.9 140/80

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Did you fast before your labs were drawn?

The things that jump out at me are your low cholesterol and high triglycerides. If you did not fast prior to the blood draw, that may explain the high Triglyceride. Many think the low cholesterol is a good thing. You may want to look further into that. The second link is focused on autism and cholesterol but towards the end it discusses the importance of cholesterol to good health.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocholesterolemia
http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com...holesterol.asp

Do you know what your vitamin D level is as well as folate? Did they check your homocysteine level?

Your creatine appears a bit high for your age but that may be a result of the exercise and protein/amino acid supplements. Hopefully you drink plenty of water. If you take a protein supplement, look at all the ingredients in it.


Are you on any other supplements with B12 in them? A high B12 is not a problem in of its self. But if you're not supplementing, you may want to explore that too. You may not be utilizing B12 properly. There are genetic mutations that can interfere with the methylation process.


Also consider trying to go gluten free (100%). Gluten/wheat may be contributing to your issues. At the same time, do stop all alcohol. There's a gluten/celiac group on this site so check there too.


It can take a long time to figure out what's going on so be patient.

A high B12 in the face of an almost out of range MCV (high)is a problem. You should have a lower MCV with that B12 result.
1) either you took vitamins with B12 in them when the test was run --and hence this would give a false elevation--so your result is rather meaningless....

2) or you cannot convert cyano form to methyl and the test is reading cyano floating around unconverted. This implies a MTHFR mutation in methylation and if so you cannot benefit from cyano B12 form because of this genetic flaw.

Your platelets are low normal. Hard to say if they are on the way down or up with just one test.

I'd take some fish oil or Krill oil to help lower those triglycerides.
About 3 a day of fish oil, or two Krill regular strength or one super Krill daily with food.

I'd look at your diet...eliminate sugars and junk carbs as much as you can. These irritate nerves and cause alot of grief. They lead to impaired glucose metabolism which leads to slow progressive nerve damage.

I would stop drinking alcohol if you do so now.

If you have the MTHFR mutation you will need methylfolate too, as both use the enzymes to add and activate both vitamins so they can work in the body for you. This genetic mutation is pretty common we know now, but most doctors do not test for it yet sadly.

Consider going gluten free for a while. Some nerve symptoms will occur with gluten intolerance. And also get some magnesium lotion (Morton Epsom Lotion) for muscle twitching and cramping. The nerves use magnesium to block pain signals from the NMDA receptors too, and also mag helps improve circulation to the feet and hands.

Are you on a statin, and is that why your cholesterol is low?
These drugs cause lots of nerve and muscle symptoms.
Do you take blood pressure medication? If so what type?

I am not sure if they checked my homo-cysteine level. My D levels should be ok. I do between 2 and 5k at night with 400mg magnesium asporotate. I used to do a multi vitamin called Alive! for Men every day, but I stopped taking those a while back. I could be wrong, but it seems as though chromium picolinate makes me feel crazy and stressed out so I stopped taking the multi after experimenting with chromium p gel caps on their own.

I do work out fairly often at the gym and I do a protien shake at least once a day. They normally have amino profiles. I also do Vitamin Code Raw B Complex, but I've cut down to half serving of those recently and stopped taking them for a few weeks until recently. I will try to cut out gluten, although I'm not sure how one can do that completely very easily, especially for a picky eater such as myself. I stopped drinking alcohol about 3.5 weeks ago.

I was not surprised my B12 was high with some of the vitamins, protein and pre workout I do. The multi i was taking has extra b12, plus I was doing a b complex. The protein has an amino profile. The pre workout is called Amino Energy. 50mg of caffeine from green tea per small scoop (I only do half scoop) with some aminos mixed in.

I was drinking 1.5 bottles of wine once a week on Saturday. Nothing any other time of the week. I haven't drank for the past 3.5 weeks though. I take 400mg magnesium asporotate every night to help me sleep. Not sure if that is enough. I am not on a statin and have never been on any kind of meds. I used to take something called Beta Sitosterol because I thought it would be beneficial at my age but I stopped taking that a couple months ago.

I suspected a couple different things to cause my problems. The alcohol (maybe it also affected my liver), my neck (constant neck issues probably from stress and sitting too much), diet, or maybe all of them. My neck crackles inside when I look back and forth. I'm not sure if that's because muscles are always tense and pulling, but it has locked up in the past and it constantly feels under stress because that is where all of my stress energy seems to concentrate, back of neck and shoulders. Maybe that is the whole problem.

I might mention that I normally feel my best at the gym and worst while sitting at my computer. I do not have this problem while laying down really, or sleeping, besides the numbness in fingers when sometimes laying on my side. I sleep fairly well once asleep. From reading other posts and articles it seems that certain things may help with the issue if it is in fact my problem.

Fish oil
B1 (Benfotiamine)
L-Carnitine (helping to reverse nerve damage)
Enzymatic Treatment (to Increase Peripheral Nerve Regeneration)

I also have tried reading medical articles about a possible connection between Chondroitin Sulfate and this problem, but the language was way over my head and I couldn't even tell if they were saying the Chondroitin helps with the problem, or causes the problem. So it might be important to mention that I was taking chondroitin sulfate for quite some time due to a knee injury and a couple other joint issues from injuries. I stopped taking that a couple months ago.

The issues that bother me most are the ankle rashes and tingling (tingle isn't constant through day, and the rashes more so because they look bad and simply let me know there is something wrong), tingling in fingers occasionally at night while laying on either side (sometimes index and thumb very slightly during day), seemingly high blood pressure and therefore problems with concentration and relaxation, and throbbing pulse sometimes (not always) at balls of feet and toes. The last one is quite irritating but strangely enough, if I simply concentrate on relaxing it goes away sometimes. It also seems that way if I move my neck or look straight ahead but I'm not 100% on that observation yet. I think my ankles swell slightly as well, especially if I feel that my blood pressure goes up from stress or anger.

Amino acids are not going to provide B12 for you. Protein in food, from animal sources is broken up by acid in the stomach and about 2-4mcg of B12 may be released then and if you have intrinsic factor working (pernicious anemia has no intrinsic factor),
then you may absorb some from food in the small intestine.

Can you take a photo and post it here of your "rash"? Is it just redness with no bumps? Since it comes and goes, it implies a circulation issue or an allergy to your socks or something similar.
Sitting for long periods of time can allow blood to stagnate in the feet and lower legs, and this clears up quickly if the feet are elevated or you walk around a bit. Do your socks leave indentation marks on your ankles when you remove them? This may impair circulation further. When circulation is restored to a body part, there can be a feeling of warmth and tingling for a short time.