Help! What is wrong with me?

[exist21]

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read through this. I'm desperate for help.

I am 21 year old male. I'm not exactly sure when my problems started, but my first symptom -- at least the first one I noticed -- was erectile dysfunction. I'm not precisely sure hold old I was when I noticed something was wrong but I guess I was around 15 years old. I had normal, frequent erections up until that point, however. I told my doctor about my problem and he reassured me that everything was fine and that it was all in my head. I had the feeling it wasn't, but I accepted his answer, in part, perhaps, because I didn't want to believe that there was anything wrong. In addition, the erectile problems I was experiencing weren't, at that point, terribly bad. But the function of my penis was significantly different than it used to be.

Fast forward a couple years. Around the age of 17-18 I experienced a couple spells of incredibly frequent urination. I would go to the bathroom several times in a row. My urine stream was very weak and very little urine would come out when I urinated. It was uncomfortable and annoying but not painful. For some reason --denial?-- I didn't see a doctor. It has since become worse, which I will get back to.

Also, around this time I noticed that every once in a while my left hand would sometimes turn a sort of bluish color, which I presume has something to do with blood. It only occurs when my hand is down by my side, and the color returns to normal if I lift up my hand above my head. It doesn't happen all the time and I can't figure out what triggers it. But it is definitely not normal. It wasn't painful at all, so I didn't think anything of it. I mentioned it to my doctor at one point, and she didn't think it was anything to be concerned about. Since then, I have read about Raynaud's syndrome and looked at pictures, and I am very confident that I DONT have Raynaud's.

Two things I should add. I was always very active and athletic. I played sports and exercised. Also, in retrospect, I can see that I was very fatigued throughout these years, but didn't realize it. It's only looking back that I can see how I was tired all the time and how I went from being able to exercise and run long distances, to slowly not having any energy at all.

My erectile problems got worse. At age 19, I finally realized that something was definitely wrong. Looking back, I should have known much sooner but I was in denial, I guess. I went to a urologist and he said he didn't know what was wrong.

Over the next couple months, my health got much worse. First, I started to get terrible heartburn. Then, one day I was exercising --nothing intense--and I noticed my knees hurt really bad. I should probably also mention that when I used to exercise, I would sweat A LOT.

A few weeks later, I had exercised mildly again. Afterwards, I felt horrible. For the next 2 weeks or so I was extremely fatigued. I would wake up in the morning feeling like I didn't get any sleep. My joints in my knees and elbows hurt. Mentally, I was very cloudy and spaced out and couldn't concentrate.

I had all the bloodwork done and everything turned up normal.

Around this time. My other hand, my right one, started doing the same thing that my left one had been doing for the past couple of years: turning a purplish color when I hang it by my side and returing to normal when I raise my hand above my head. It doesn't do it everytime my hand is down, but it does happen very frequently. Up until that point, I just assumed that the hand-changing-color thing didn't mean anything. I thought it just happened because at one point I punched a hard object with my left hand and I figured I damaged something. But when my right hand started doing the same thing right after my health became dramatically worse, I figured it must mean something.

So at this point I have all these problems: erectile dysfunction, urinary dysfunction, hand-changing-color, heartburn, extreme fatigue, mental cloudiness, etc.

A couple months later--I'm still 19-- I start getting muscle twitches all over my body.

Around age 20, I notice that sometimes I get this tingling feeling all over my body. I also start to itch a lot in the shower or when i get hot. And when it's really bad I break out in a rash with little red dots.

About the urinary problems. It is incredibly frustrating. I feel like I don't empty myself out when I urinate. Only a little bit of urine comes out. And the fuller my bladder is, the less I urine output I have. I always have to not drink and wait for my body to slowly empty itself out. I hate this feeling of not being able to drink because it will make me urinate all the time.

I have recently discovered that my fatigue and mental cloudiness and general feeling-rotten feelings, increases the more I drink. If I don't drink any fluids for a while, I feel better. But if I drink a certain amount, my eyes become terribly bloodshot, I get a horrible headache, and I feel extra fatigued. How can drinking fluids make me feel so awful? Has anyone heard of anything like this?

I had a cystoscopy performed and everything was normal.

I went to a neurologist and had an mri and he says everything was normal.

Bloodwork is normal.

I can't function. I'm not working or going to school. It's frustrating going to the doctor. I have so many problems that I feel like many of them don't believe me, or they think I'm crazy. Erectile dysfunction is unheard of in people my age, one doctor made it clear that he didn't take me seriously and didn't even believe me. I've lost a decent amount of weight too.

It if would be beneficial to anyone, I could explain my problems in more detail. There's so much to write and describe. I just sort of outlined what's been going on. I've probably forgot some things, too.

If anyone can help, I would be extremely appreciative.

[feelbad]

Did you have an MRI on the cervical spine?this could be where your problems are stemming from.Possibly a herniated disc with some spinal compression?You are having alot of the same symptoms that I am having and i have damage to my C 7,8(nerve)and the T 1.Get an MRI on your cervical spine and see what pops up.marcia

[AprilPow]

I know they mentioned that to my hubby when he was having problems with his discs so that is something worth looking into. Your prostate is ok?

[ScruffyGuy]

It is indeed extremely frustrating when it seems that medical professionals are "ignoring" a patient's complaints or worse -- that they do not believe there is anything wrong at all.

At the same time, you need to understand that they are basing their diagnosis (or lack of diagnosis, in this case) upon the results of appropriate tests as well as appropriate physical examinations.

So there are a few possibilities here:

The docs are missing something.

The patient is not providing full disclosure.

There are one or more symptoms that need to be addressed and at the same time, there are some symptoms that are being exaggerated. This mix of real, physical problems and psychological manifestations is confusing both the doctors and the patient, making treatment and diagnosis more difficult.

I'm betting on option #3 here.

Dude, I know this is not what you want to hear. I'm not saying there is NOTHING wrong with you at all -- but I AM saying that I think you are very possibly extrapolating a few normal, common incidents with something much more sinister and serious which does not exist at all!

Your chief complaints do not really fit any known etiology when taken as a whole.

Yet it is true that you are complaining of symptoms which could be indicative of one or more OTHER, more minor problems.

Let's look at a few things here...

You are very vague as to what, exactly, you mean by "erectile dysfunction." You gave no description of what you experience. You report that this started at a very early age. This is, in fact, quite uncommon, just as your doctors told you. Not impossible, but not likely, either. Do you get morning erections? If so, your penis is working properly. Look for a psychological component if you have erectile difficulty only when in a sexual situation. It is difficult to help you narrow things down without a more detailed report as to what, exactly, is "wrong" with your penis. If you would care to discuss that at length, please feel free.

Presumably you are getting erections at least some of the time. If you NEVER got an erection since your late teens, I'd hope you would have been to every urologist in the nation by now! I can't imagine any male going through his sexual prime in a flaccid state!

The feeling of incomplete voiding when you urinate -- how frequent is this? If it is a daily thing it needs to be looked into more seriously. If it happens now and then, a few times a year -- this is pretty normal. In fact, I've had this rather odd sensation myself. Every now and then, with no apparent cause, I will urinate and feel as if I need to urinate again almost immediately. Some men can urinate at least a few drops of urine pretty much on command. We learn to control our bladders during childhood. Is there a potty training scenario that needs to be examined? Seriously, this is something to consider. In the absence of a urinary infection and in the absence of an enlarged prostate -- almost certainly this sensation is of little consequence.

Exactly HOW much purple cast do your hands take on when they feel cold and change color? Do they look slightly chilled or deep purple like watered down grape juice? Has a doctor ever SEEN this change in color or has it never happened when you are having an exam? Can you MAKE this happen by keeping your arms in place at your sides or is it sporadic? Have you tried swinging your arms around out at your sides in a pinwheel motion and observed whether or not they regain their color? Your blood pressure is certainly normal -- it would have been noticed on a routine exam if it wasn't. Back and spinal problems could very well be a factor -- and these are often hard to diagnose.

Systemic disease seems highly unlikely. Stop searching the internet to read about various diseases! You'll start to convince yourself you have something that's only found in Equitorial Guinea or something...

You mention you sweat -- A LOT. So do I. Everyone sweats differently: some folks barely get damp, others drip buckets. Our sweat glands work overtime sometimes and some of us have more of them than others. There are various ways to combat this. It doesn't sound like a problem to me. Even NIGHT SWEATS aren't necessarily indicative of any disease, yet they are oft-listed as a mysterious and sometimes terrifying symptom when we start studying various diseases. Most of the time night sweats are just what their name implies: sweating at night. It means nothing -- but of course it is true that these should never be ignored, either. But they are no cause for panic.

Your knees hurt. Well, you're a self-proclaimed ATHLETE. Seems logical that your knees might hurt after lots of working out and playing sports. In fact, just take a moment and consider the number of times we hear about athletes having knee surgeries and knee problems. You are putting massive stresses on your knees -- you may have injured them or they may simply hurt because you've been working out. Athletes certainly have the highest reported incidence of knee problems!

Heartburn. This can be the result of many, many things, not the least of which is a poor diet! Yet it can also be caused by many physical factors. It could also be caused by a developing ulcer induced from worrying too much. Hmmm... Everyone gets heartburn sometimes. Some folks get heartburn much more often than others. Sometimes this means nothing at all -- sometimes it means there is another problem that needs to be addressed.

With all the worrying you are doing about your body, it would also seem logical and likely that your erectile problems might get worse, as you say they have. But I'd still like to know HOW much worse they are and explicit (but clinically stated) details as to why, when and how this happens.

Loss of energy, lethargy and exhaustion. Also common in active, athletic people. Also common when certain viruses are present. Also common when someone WORRIES too much. Also common when someone's sleep is interrupted and they don't know it. TONS more reasons, too -- not the least of which is simply being tired -- life is exhausting sometimes and we first start to notice this fact as we transition from our early adolescence into adulthood. School, work, sports... take their toll.

Buddy, my very honest opinion here is that you would benefit much more from some mild counseling sessions than you will from all these physicians who are NOT finding anything wrong or abnormal with you AT ALL.

Again, I know this isn't what you want to hear but someone has to have the guts to tell you this.

HOWEVER, before you get mad at me, let me also say that I DO think it is very possible that there are maybe one or two things which require some medical attention. Yet I don't know WHICH of those things we need to examine more carefully based on your post alone.

I think you have a medical issue that needs to be resolved but that many of your other symptoms are the result of stress and fear and over-canalization.

You are far too young and far too active and healthy to be having these kinds of problems (except for a few, like heartburn).

I could give you a long list of all the possible diseases which can cause several of your symptoms -- to what avail? You already know what they are, don't you? You've read about them ALL online.

This online passion to self-diagnose is a HUGE problem these days.

The internet is a MARVELOUS resource that I personally cannot live without. Yet it can be a DANGEROUS tool at the same time.

I think you have some sexual issues which need to be addressed. You are focusing too much on your bladder, voiding your bladder, sensations in your bladder, erectile problems, etc. You are to the point now where you worry about DRINKING. This is dangerous. Drinking fluids will NOT cause these problems, nor will NOT drinking fluids causes these problems.

Please post more details -- I am especially interested in hearing about how you define erectile difficulty.

It's not that I disbelieve you -- but I do think you are possibly looking in the wrong direction for the answers to many of your complaints. I believe you have a few problems that could benefit from medical attention and other issues that need to be addressed by some counseling.

Let's take care of all of these things NOW, so you can become a healthy, active, happy adult, OK?

I'm on your side here. Just because I'm telling you things you don't want to hear doesn't mean I don't CARE.

The docs cannot find anything wrong with you -- and you've presented to many docs with various specialties. The tests have come back CLEAN. The tests do not lie.

So let's broaden our perspective here, OK?

Hope to hear more from you soon.

[Neverenoughslee]

I just wanted to post and tell Scruffy Guy that was the nicest, kindest, thing you just did to take the time to post these things to this young man. I dont think he could be angry. I think your post should make him feel better. I know if I were him, and someone like you took the time to say all the things you did, I would be so grateful and relieved.

Its nice to see there are still good people out there, who are educated, and willing to share their knowledge to help others.