need help with unknown illness
 

Background - Thoracic outlet syndrom in both shoulders, 3 herniated/2 bulging discs in lumbar. Massive pain in ribs, lower back.

New symptoms - swollen right side of neck making chinline almost not there. Lipoma in right side of neck where neck meets collarbone size of golf ball. Lipoma in left side of neck where neck meets collarbone size of half golf ball. Swelling in base of neck. Rapid onset of weight gain. Blood pressure up. Fatty liver. Diahrrea 3 - 5 x a day for seven months. Burning pain in hips, back, thighs.

Meds now - vicoden, ambian, glucophage, protonix.

I'm going to colonosopy this week. Xray shows noncancerous lipomas in neck.
Of course I need to loose weight.

Does anyone recognize any of these new symptoms????

Thanks.

Hi,
I skimmed thru some of your other posts to see if you had surgery for TOS already or not. {your surgery was 3+ yrs ago?}
I'm wondering if some of the lumps in your neck area are due to scar tissue. I know some have had major problems with the scar tissue regrowth and more compressions and adhesion from it.
Or possibly lymph glands blocked and not draining properly? scar tissue can be a cause of this too.

Have you tried a detox for the liver? {not sure how that would affect your meds though}

I know some had fast weight gains when on Lyrica and a few had possibly related blood sugar increases... I saw that you had taken lyrica in the past, that's why I mentioned it, I didn't notice the date of that post though.

Has your thyroid been checked recently?

On the lipomas - I googled it - 2 of our dogs have those -
http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl...-8&sa=N&tab=iw

well...
 

glucophage is notorious for causing diarrhea!

Protonix prevents B12 absorption, and over time, the storage in the liver gets used up and you get low B12...leading to neurological decline.

Glucophage also interrupts B12 absorption.

So first off, you need to discuss another treatment option with your doctor. You are losing electrolytes with that diarrhea.
Namely potassium and magnesium.

I'd get a blood test for B12 ASAP and don't accept any "normal" reading below 500.

Lipomas are mostly genetic. You can't do much about them.

Hi guys. Thanks for responding. The more brains I have on this the better!

So to answer some of your questions:

I've had the big D for almost 7 months. Previous to that I had massive constipation going as much as 6 days before a dump. This started before the glucophage and any other med changes. I'm scheduled for colonoscopy for Friday. Have been checked for WBC in stool and critters. Nothing showed.

Yes, the lyrica is awful for weight gain. I doubled the med and doubled the weight gain so I cut back. I'm taking the maximum dose of vicoden. I've been on the protonix for several years. Nothing else takes the heartburn away. I got rid of gallbladder several years back.

I've had two cat scans on my neck and they both show noncancerous fatty cysts or lipomas. It's a real pain in the butt sleeping at night cause the lumps press into my throat and such when I lay on a pillow. Can these things be drained?

I've had multiple blood works lately. Dr says I'm prediabetic. My liver sucks.

Today I'm trying an experiment. I've had massive liver pain for days. Feels like I have a bowling ball in there. So I weaned off the vicoden and took some methodone today. The liver pain is gone. Still feels like a bowling ball. The net says the liver pain is usually minimal but what I feel isn't minimal.

I'm hoping that Friday's test will show something fixable. Don't we with chronic pain and constant problems always hope for something fixable?

go to pub med (top of the page, here at neurotalk) and check out "fatty liver celiac"....with out the quotes of course

Celiacs and NASH - who'd a thunk! You would not believe how much pasta we eat a week, 2-3 nights maybe. Only cause it's cheap.

I'll ask the surgeion about this on Friday.

Thanks for the investigative work.

meds with gluten
 

In some of the searches I saw that meds have gluten in them. I tried to find vicoden and lyrica, protonix and ambian. Due to this TOS, I can't sit at a keyboard for long periods. Does anyone know about these meds and gluten.

My experiment with vicoden vs. methodone seems to make a slight difference but my r abdomen still hurts pretty bad at times.

The hospital cancelled my colonoscopy for tomorrow. Something wrong with video equipment. Thank goodness I was two hours away from my laxative cleanse. Figures. When they call to reschedule, I'm going to ask them for a celiac panel.

the amount of gluten
 

in any medication would be minute compared to what you eat.

If you decide to be tested for gluten intolerance, you should continue to eat gluten, so the test will show positive results.

If you stop now, then you may get confusing results.

You need to address the other things I brought up ASAP.
It is a fact that the two drugs you use affect B12 absorption.

If you are gluten intolerant, you will also show some effects on B12 absorption (gluten intolerance affects many nutrients and causes malabsorption of them). That would be a third nail factor contributing to low B12.

I had my colonoscopy today. Short, sweet and painless. Also had celiac panel blood test done. Am anxious for all results.

One other question:

If I am wheat etc. sensitive, how long after I eat, say a hoagie or some other wheat product, does an attack come on?? I'm just wondering how fast a reaction is recognized when eating a no-no food.

My dr. asked how I found out about a celiac panel. I said The Internet of course!!

Thanks again.

Just wanted to update myself.

I've been taking B12, two a night. I feel different. Can't quite explain what the differences are yet, too many previous issues to wade through. My dr would fall on her face if I told her I was cured by B12!!

Will just have to wait and see.

Thanks again to all.