When my health fell off a big cliff: Part 1

This post begins a series about my health issues, with all the posts in the series as follows:

1. When my health fell off a big cliff
2. My experience with doctors and pharma drugs
3. How I turned the corner on my failing health
4. The health diagnostic and treatment protocols that I am using
5. What I eat on the paleo diet

I am finally getting down to writing a series of posts about my health issues that developed 5 years ago, but with symptoms possibly going back to when I was a kid.  I am now thankfully back to full health.  I will document my journey, what I went through and how my health got back on track.  Hopefully, these posts might help others who may have similar issues.  This post will outline all the specific issues I was experiencing.

My health issues may have started when I was a kid, when I would get significant bloating after some large meals. Other than some temporary discomfort, I did not worry about them or do anything to determine their cause because they never really slowed me down. Starting around 1997, I developed exercise-induced heart arrhythmias. While I was a serious amateur athlete, the arythmias never impeded my performance or cause any discomfort, so I did not worry about them or do anything to determine their cause.

Things changed for me in December 2006, when I developed some weird issues that impacted my active lifestyle. My arrhythmias changed, where they once stopped within 30 seconds on their own, now would not stop for minutes. I also had more bloating, some dizziness here and there, and some weight loss. A few doctor visits, including a cardiologist, showed nothing wrong and after a few months, conditions seemed to improve and my weight came back.  However, I never quite felt right. A physical in 2009 revealed nothing abnormal. In fact, the doctor gave me an A+. He attributed my symptoms to GERD, which I reluctantly accepted because he was the doctor and I was busy and just wanted to get on with life.

In January 2010, I suddenly fell off the proverbial health cliff, with seriously reduced energy, dizziness, general stomach and intestinal issues and other weird stuff that my health practicioners could not explain. And, it all pretty much happened on one Monday morning. Over the course of a few weeks, I visited some doctors who checked me out and said I was in perfect health. I went to a natureopathic and was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue. I spent the year trying to recover, doing the bare minimum on a daily basis just to get through my days. While I slowly felt better over the course of 2010, progress was painfully slow, but I was never anywhere near recovered. I probably went from feeling 25% to maybe 50% by November 2010.

In December 2010, I fell even further off the proverbial health cliff, with more fatigue, dizziness and a new plethora of weird conditions, on top of what I was already experiencing. By now, I had already had a crappy year trying to get through this adrenal fatigue, doing no exercise and almost no other activity, like working around the house, enjoying date nights out and other normal life stuff. Life sucked and had now gotten a lot worse. Where was bottom, I kept asking? Here’s the full list of symptoms I was experiencing:

• Severe bloating and belching after most meals;
• Canker sores that would not go away for weeks;
• Heart palpitations;
• Heart arrhythmias that would take longer not stop (they use to stop on their own after 30 seconds)’
• Dizziness almost all of my waking hours;
• Sensitivity to smells, odors and aromas that made me more dizzy and nauseous;
• Sensitivity to light, especially fluorescent light that would make my eyes feel dry and make me dizzy;
• If I eat, I would feel dizzy, especially after certain foods;
• No appetite, thus I lost 20 pounds of weight (I am 6-1 and have normally weighed 150 with 5% body fat – I cannot afford to loose weight);
• No energy to do anything;
• Periods during the course of a day when I would feel extremely drained – almost like my heart was going to stop beating because I was so drained of energy;
• Cold, especially hands and feet;
• Serious hypoglycemia;
• Foot cramps;
• Almost constant post nasal drip that would also build up green flem in my throat;
• Constant thirst, with some periods characterized by extreme thirst that cannot be quenched with more liquids;
• The craving for sugar after a major meal;
• The feeling that my heart is beating so heavy that it will explode out of my chest;
• Constant pain in my left shoulder blade;
• Sometimes, prior to a bowel movement, I would experience hot flashes and intense hunger;
• Loose stools;
• Substantial insomnia, even though I had no energy to do anything.;
• General anxiety, with moments of acute anxiety;
• Aching jaw;
• Ringing ears;
• Aching knees at night while sleeping;
• Tired eyes;

Yea, I was pretty messed up. I had always been pretty healthy and took care of myself by eating what I was suppose to and being generally smart about my training. How could I get so messed when I was doing what I was suppose to be doing to stay healthy?

In my next post I will cover more about what my health practicioners discovered.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to brands, products or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.