Desperate for help

[konnor]

Hi guys,
Apologies this post is quite long, however I’d like to be thorough and hopefully get some good opinions on the cause of all my health problems.

I’ve basically been ill for about 2 years now with chronic symptoms and have many symptoms. My quality of life is very poor as a result.

– Shy, anxious, isolated upbringing with poor diet. Type 1 personality, ongoing course of broad spectrum antibiotics for acne, some inhaler use early teens for asthma, which I eventually grew out of.
Initial symptoms

– Post nasal drip – Chronic dripping of mucus into the back of the throat. Investigated by an ENT – tried 2 different steroidal nasal sprays which didn’t help. Skin/airborne allergy test negative.
– Hypoglycemia – Coincided with an increasingly poor diet very high in sugar and carbs and a high stress lifestyle. Initially only triggered occasionally but eventually worsened.
– Neck ache – Under the chin to the right hand side. Ultrasound came back negative. Potentially a swollen gland as it feels irritated over the area between just under my ear to the underside of my chin.
– Eye strain – Sensitive to light. Everything appears brighter, especially under artificial light.

It was at this point I became aware of hypoglycaemia and adopted a hypo diet. Unfortunately I still wasn’t quite educated enough as I kept in foods that I found were addictive and craved and ate the same things everyday. Ultimately this resulted in food sensitivities to dairy, nuts, gluten and eggs.

– Removed the allergens but symptoms persisted.
– Fatigue – Started to feel fatigue at this point.
– Insomnia – Sleep pattern started to shift and has gone through many phases, although at this stage I was still getting enough sleep.
– Itchy ears – More an annoyance but still a symptom non the less.
I remained stagnant with these symptoms for many months, taking a few symptoms here and there. Was alerted to the possibility of adrenal fatigue, candida and leaky gut, however was undecided (and still am) as to what to target.
– Digestive issues – Started with the food sensitivities, gradually worsening to constipation.
– Brain fog more prominent.
– Sleep pattern ‘locked’ into ‘wired and tired’. Most awake in the evening.
– A few Pigmentation spots appeared on skin.
– Depression.

And now for the confession. Over the 2 years the depression of living with these symptoms has often lead me to stray from a healthy diet and go on a food binge. I’ve probably done this periodically about 4-5 times during the duration of my illness. When I binged I really binged, almost to the point of nausea, with a combination of junk food and sugar. As a result of these setbacks…

– Insulin Resistant – A strict low-GI diet is needed
– More food sensitivities – Nightshades, tomato’s, fruits (not so much a sensitivity but will swing sugars and crave the sugar in them, as well as digest them poorly when combined with other foods), roots (swings sugars, even in small amounts), spices, yeast.
– Liver ache – Now a prominent symptom and was actually experienced randomly early on during my symptoms when I tried a colon cleansing product. Subsided at the time after ceasing the product but returned and has become chronic. Manifests as a persistent dull ache over the liver/gallbladder area just under the right rib cage. Tied in with frequency of elimination – more constipation = more of an ache. Generally feel ‘toxic’ as a result and have a low clearance state.
– Salt/sugar cravings persistent throughout symptoms.
– Weight loss – most likely due to poor absorbtion, assimilation and elimination of nutrients. Appetite suppressed as result of ongoing constipation, low energy state.
– Constantly anxious with shallow noticeable breathing
– Occasional nausea.
– Urination frequency not too abnormal during the day, however will usually wake in the night between 1-3 to urinate.
– Digestive symptoms now include – Gnawing ache, abdominal ache, bloating and a distended belly.

Putting all these together, I’m currently dealing with…

– Chronic Fatigue
– Insomnia
– Post nasal drip
– Hypoglycaemia/insulin resistance
– Liver ache
– Brain fog
– Eye ache/light sensitivity
– Itchy ears
– Bloating
– Gas
– Distended Belly
– Constipation
– Frequent changes in stools – Loose/hard
– Weight loss (I’m severely underweight)
– Food sensitivities – Yeast, nuts, sesame, nightshades, spices, eggs, dairy, gluten, fruits/root veg (blood sugars)
– Nausea
– Neck ache – underside of chin
– Tight throat – difficulty swallowing pills (probably related to being swollen from above)
– Anxiety
– Shallow breathing
– Depression
– Apathy
– Pigmentation spots

I truly believe my life is over at the tender age of 25. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle mentally and I can’t through a day without thinking constantly about the suffering. There is no real let up in symptoms to allow me to try to relax, focus and remain positive. Unable to move past the emotions of it being my fault, i.e. the binges and the poor lifestyle leading up this point have been my decisions.
I face the following conflictions when attempting a natural recovery.

– The difficulty swallowing pills makes it hard to get in nutrients from capsules or tablets.
– I react to most supplements due to the toxicity of my body. Things like powdered vitamin C and B complex will promote a low level jittery/wired feeling. Even supplements typically recommended to calm can also give adverse reactions such as magnesium increasing my anxiety symptoms.
– Unable to clear the organs of elimination to begin to heal. Liver and colon are clogged and toxic, making for poor absorption of any supplements and foods. However low energy state means attempts to ‘free’ up these organs has failed. Attempts include psyllium husk (felt like cement!), anti-fungals – really stress the liver almost to pain and anything in general that’s too aggressive.
– Digestive aids have helped with the bloating, gnawing and stomach related symptoms, however food and waste still doesn’t move through my gut effectively. Unsure whether this is predominantly due to the liver, colon or general energy state such as the adrenals.
– A feeling that I’m starving to death. Depression often leads to overeating which clogs up my system further, paradoxically promoting more weight loss.
If anyone has any thoughts I would be very grateful. It’s clear I’m suffering from a congested liver, a toxic/sluggish colon, weak adrenals and potentially other related problems such as leaky gut or hypothyroid.

I’ve no idea how to proceed and neither have the practitioners I have seen. I feel that if I can somehow start eliminating regularly and decongest the liver this will be the first step on the long ladder, even if my symptom progression hints at another deeper cause – which I’ m not able to ‘get to’ as a result.

I welcome any thoughts or further questions.

Matt

[Author]

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