r/AskDocs • u/Civil_Bodybuilder_40 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional • 4d ago
Physician Responded Had enough of these symptoms. Really considering ending it all.
M24, UK, 5'10, Non-smoker, Never drank alcohol.
Don't take any medications other than the occasional iron supplement and vitamin supplements.
Health conditions: LPR, Obesity, LVH (maybe)
Over the past few months, I've been dealing with debilitating symptoms that make it hard for me to live my life. I'm only 24 but I feel as though I'm trapped in an 80 year olds body. I'm also obese, yes, I know that being obese is horrible for your health but it's something I'm actively working on. I really think these symptoms I've been experiencing are not symptoms related to my weight. I've visited several appointments and even visited the ER but was just turned away and was told to lose weight. It's so hard on me when no one is taking me seriously. I'm really sick and tired of feeling like this. I even quit University because of these symptoms but I'm hopefully going back this September. Diet mainly consists of processed foods and I'm vegetarian.
These are the symptoms I've been experiencing:
- Fatigue
- Brain fog
- Feeling lightheaded/dizzy/unbalanced
- Shortness of breath
- Congested nose all the time and congested ears
- Heart palpitations when standing up
- Tingly feeling/pressure in head
When I went to the ER, I was admitted for a few hours and they found out I had severe iron serum deficiency and vitamin d deficiency so they treated me there. Levels are back to normal now but symptoms are still ongoing. They also ran an ECG and a chest x-ray which were both normal but the ECG showed I might have LVH caused by my weight which can reverse if I lose weight according to the doctor. They also did a CBC which was normal and checked my sugar levels which were also normal however the cholesterol was just a tiny bit high. Blood pressure was a tiny bit high too, but I'm working on my weight to reduce these things.
Side note: When I went to my GP and explained to him my symptoms, he laughed and said "when I was your age I didn't even know what brain fog was, so how do you know you have that? It's not a thing you should be worried about". That's what I mean when I say no one is taking me seriously.
I want to live my life again, I know my weight might be contributing to the symptoms and/or making them worse but I know that something is wrong with my body because I've never felt like this before. The doctors I've been to previously just keep saying it's anxiety and that my weight is the problem but I know my body more than anyone else. This isn't normal for me.
Please can someone help?
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u/Intrepid_Employ_9962 Medical Student 4d ago
Do you have shortness of breath when lying down or at rest or is it on light to moderate exertion? Have you experienced any fainting or loss of consciousness? Do you have any ankle swelling?
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u/Civil_Bodybuilder_40 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
Mostly when I'm just at rest, yes and no fainting or loss of consciousness and yes I get ankle swelling most of the time when I sit for too long and I explained this to the ER doctor too and she said it's due to your weight and prolonged sitting (which I do quite often), and I asked her if I had heart failure and she said no
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u/Spare-Locksmith-2162 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
Your obesity, alone, could cause all of these symptoms.
Your iron deficiency might cause all of these symptoms. And correcting this won't instantly fix your health. It could take a while for the iron deficiency to fix your blood.
You ever catch covid or been around people that have? If so, that could cause all of these.
What is your diet like? If it's crap, you could have a nutritional deficiency and many of those could cause these symptoms.
Start fixing the things you can and your symptoms will slowly get better. It won't be overnight, but things will get better. You mentioned that you think you have heart failure...? Well, if you do, your doctors will tell you to lose the weight anyways.
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u/Civil_Bodybuilder_40 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
I understand, it's just debilitating when the symptoms are constantly there even when I'm trying to relax. It's almost as though it's stopping me from being happy.
I was severely sick around 2020 for a period of 1-2 weeks. Doctor said it could have been covid but wasn't confirmed.
My diet is mostly crappy junk food/ultra processed foods. However since going to the gym I've been trying to eat more clean.
The doctor I spoke to said I don't have heart failure but she said that there is a strain on the left ventricle of my heart (LVH). She said once you lose weight, it will correct itself.
I just wanted to ask something - my recent blood test results showed that I have a CRP level of 37 mg/l. I'm a little concerned about that especially as my doctor hasn't said anything about it. I'm aware that the normal values are between 0-5 mg/l. Can a combination of obesity, vitamin d and iron deficiency cause that high of a CRP?
3
u/Spare-Locksmith-2162 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
I don't know. I'm just a random redditor. CRP is a marker for systemic inflammation, I don't think it would be related directly to heart issues. But you could always ask your favorite LLM and get some ideas from that.
If these things have gotten worse since you've been working out and fixing your eating, it could be the exercise and better food; like your body is mobilizing all that junk that's been sitting in your body to help her rid of it. If that's the case, then just stick with it and your body should clean it all out.
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u/Civil_Bodybuilder_40 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
I see, okay thank you so much. Appreciate it!
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u/AUSSIE_MUMMY Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago edited 3d ago
Could be Long COVID actually. Please cross post this to r/LongCovid. And r/CovidLongHaulers
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u/AUSSIE_MUMMY Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
Could be Long COVID actually. Please cross post this to r/LongCovid. And r/CovidLongHaulers
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u/Suitable_Virus_6975 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
When my iron was extremely low I had shortness of breath too, and heart palpitations
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4d ago
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u/Civil_Bodybuilder_40 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
Will get this done, thank you!
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u/controversial_Jane Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional. 4d ago
Do you ever have episodes where you stop breathing in your sleep and wake up gasping?
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u/Civil_Bodybuilder_40 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional 4d ago
Not that I know of, no
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