My 1st time posting, desperately seeking advice...

[GirlinDistress]

Hello to all,
I've come across this board during one of my many searches, in hopes of finding some sort of direction. Any help is greatly appreciated, and I'll try to be as clear about my symptoms as possible.
About a year and a half ago, after about a week of loose bowels and general illness, I visited a gastro doc who performed an endoscopy on me and diagnosed me with IBS on my second visit to her. Soon after I started feeling slightly better, having only occasional (weekly) "attacks"... they were no walk in the park, but I learned to deal, however I never felt fine. As a matter of fact, I can't recall a day in the past 2 years when I can say I felt ok, and thats pretty sad coming from a 19 yr old.
After recieving the IBS diagnosis I started trying to ignore all the problems, aches and pains believing they were IBS related.
On New Years Eve this year I had half of an alcoholic drink (a very weak mudslide), four hours later I got very dizzy and vomited. The next day I continued to feel awful and after coming in to work the lower left side of my back started hurting. I knew something was wrong, and this time I couldnt push it off on IBS, so i went to St. Vincent's ER in manhattan. After 5 hours, I was diagnosed with a kidney infection and recieved a RX for ciprofloxacin which I took for 7 days... however my back pain didn't clear up 100%.
I mentioned some of problems to the GYN who I had my follow up with... he seemed concerned and asked if I wanted to have a pelvic exam, pap smeer, and blood work to check to see if everything was working ok (iron,cholosterol, ect). I said yes to all 3, and nothing was found.
I was actually relieved, and started to blame that darn IBS again... but my symtoms continued to get worse; which brings me to the present.
I have finally decided to seek more answers for my suffering, but unfortunately things are moving slowly and my insurance sends me back to a General Doc every time.

Heres some of what I'm feeling;
Constant fatigue
Constant nausua
Dizziness and weakness
Constipation (which is just the opposite of what I'm used to)
Headache that seems to come from sinuses
An intense pain in my left lower back that comes and goes, sometimes in other parts of my back as well. Sometimes shoots down to my legs, most of the time just the left, but occasionally the right leg as well.
Sharp Pain in my chest and under my ribs, mostly left side, but occasionally right.
A sharp pain directly under my arm (in my armpit?) that comes and goes.
I also have the pain in front, in my lower left abdomen that occasionaly shoots down to the left leg. Sometimes the same sensation in right side, but never as intense.
I have terrible circulation, and my hands and feet always feel like icecles and usually get numb and tingly very easily.
I get chills often.
Sex has become painful (in the abdominal area)
And I can't walk more than a block without developing a severe pain in my left lower abdomen, sometimes right, but not as often.
I get random aches and pains all over my body, even in strange places like my fingers, hands or feet...
Sometimes its just "tingling" on my left side of my back...
I have had several UTIs as well, and am experincing frequent urination although I don't have a clinical UTI at the moment.
If I think of anything else, I'll post it... unfortunately sitting in this chair is making me uncomfortable.
Thanks for listening to my ramble (and putting up with my typos), and any info or even kind words are greatly appreciated.
Thank you all very much, I'll check back in a little bit.

[Angel77]

Hey Hon, sorry to hear you're hurting, but I think I might have a good idea what your problem is....gallbladder and thyroid. I had hyperthyroid which caused the IBS type pains and most everything else you're going through. The pains that are under the ribs can be the gallbladder, the pain sometimes travels and can go into your back, ribs, wherever....sometimes the pain is more of an ache and then there are the ones that make you feel like a clydesdale wafflestomped you!!

That's the one that got me to the ER and after two demerol shots, I finally stopped crying and just quit moving...still hurt, then they did the ultrasound and I wanted to die. If you do this, I recommend setting it up when you're not in an attack, it makes you want to beat the technician!

Now, the thyroid.....get it checked and don't take "it's normal" for a final answer. Ask to see your test results. The TSH is at optimal functioning when it's between 1-2 and anything abouve or below that range can cause any number of symptoms that you're experiencing right now. Take a look on the thyroid board, there's tons of info on it! Hope this helps...I gotta go, kids are waking.

[luvmyboys]

I have a lot of these symptoms and I still think I have thyroid problems however they keep coming back normal. I do have IBS, interstitial cystitis, fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic anxiety, bile reflus gastritis and gerd and a little depression from all of this. My periods were always really bad and would flare everything. I had a uterine ablation done and that has helped a lot. I've also been tested for gallbladder and they never find anything there either. Everytime I mentioned symptoms they couldn't find a cause for they said fibromyalgia. So I went to a rheumatologist and I did have several of the trigger points. My IBS does cause me a lot of back and pelvic pain. I also have very large varicose veins in my pelvic area (from having kids?) which I assume could cause pain if I'm up walking alot. Just some ideas for you to hash around. If you have any questions about any of it just let me know. Hope you find out what's wrong soon. Your symptoms could be a number of different things.

[Art_930]

Has a gynecologist checked you for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease? Some of your symptoms sound like adhesions.

[GirlinDistress]

Thank you all so much for your insightful words.
After going to the thyroid board I was overwhelmed at how many of those symptoms I had. Up until yesterday, I had no idea what a thyroid was. I spent quite a deal of time reading the stories, and once I read about lumps and bumps in the neck I immidiately felt the spot that I had felt slight pressure in before... and what do you know? A little lump, on my left side! Now if that doesn't make sense, I don't know what does.
Now I'm not saying I'm any less scared than I was before finding out about this, since I'm assuming this could be cancerous? But I do feel better now that I have a lead, something to test for. I called the clinic I just started going to at St.Vincent's hospital, I haven't gotten any help there as of yet, but I have made appt for later today anyway since it's my only option at the moment. My only hope now is finding a decent doc there, in a sea of clueless students who will be able to give me the proper help I need before I lose my mind.
Its so scary, now that I think back on the last few months and years how many of those symptoms I've had. Recently, when the anxiety attacks and random crying started I thought I was going crazy and that I ws probably a hypochondriac (sp?) who was imagining everything. Even my mom suggested it was merely stress. I now might have a reason for my lack of ability to concentrate, forgetting simple things like the spelling of a word or a close friends birthday, my cloudy head, clumsiness, and all the other things that have made my life more difficult than it should be.
I have to thank this board and everyone who replied, because if it wasn't for you guys I might still be completely clueless.
Now all I have to wonder if is my results will come back normal like so many of the other sufferes, and how many doctors and how long it will take before I'm better.
Thank you all again.