Ok All-Knowing Hive - Give me ideas

[creekland]

I just ran across this article about someone who could hear his heartbeat. It took four doctors but he was finally diagnosed with a left carotid artery dissection. The MRA hadn't caught it for some reason.

 

Some of the other symptoms of carotid artery dissection include neck pain and decreased taste.

 

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/06/AR2009070602919.html

 

Fortunately, there's no decrease in taste and I don't recall severe neck pain like he reported.  I don't think I'd have his dedication to continue pursuit the way he did.

 

I'm also fortunate that noise almost always drowns out the pulse.  I mainly hear it when it's too quiet - so turn on the radio or whatever.  The handful of times it's loud that doesn't work as well, but those times are rare.  Then too, I've gotten used to it, so unless I'm in a bad mood, it doesn't drive me mad.

 

It definitely makes it easy to know what my pulse is though - and when it's abnormally high or low (though abnormal could be perfectly normal - just not what I'm used to).

[Chris in VA]

Creek, your statement that you don't often get thirsty stood out to me.

Could you be dehydrated? I have heard it can cause the pulse-in-the-ear sounds.

 

Maybe try filling a gallon jug of water and drink it all during the day for a few days (expect to pee a lot at first, but then you balance out a bit)?

 

Also, with the Vit D--I was diagnosed with low D, even though I was outslde for 3-4 hours, 5x a week, as a dog walker. Just sayin'!

 

Hugs to you.

[creekland]

Creek, your statement that you don't often get thirsty stood out to me.

Could you be dehydrated? I have heard it can cause the pulse-in-the-ear sounds.

 

Maybe try filling a gallon jug of water and drink it all during the day for a few days (expect to pee a lot at first, but then you balance out a bit)?

 

Also, with the Vit D--I was diagnosed with low D, even though I was outslde for 3-4 hours, 5x a week, as a dog walker. Just sayin'!

 

Hugs to you.

 

I don't think I'm dehydrated.  I have to remind myself to drink, but I'll admit to playing with that a little bit and the pulse sound decreases with drinking less - or at least it seems to at this point.  I'm still playing with it as I don't care to kill my kidneys in the process.

 

I can't test it the other way just yet (drinking a bit more).  There are limited amounts of time for bathroom breaks with my school schedule.  I start at 7:25am and have kids straight through to 1:10pm with a lunch break at 11:15 - 11:35.

 

I'll head off to google Vit D now - just in case.

 

My mind has been pondering that previous article and wondering if the fluid could possibly be blood behind the ear rather than normal fluid.  With the pulse rate getting lower/higher at times - a bit lower/higher than normal (without obvious causes like sleep or exercise) - I've been testing BP ranges more often too - solely out of curiosity.  A few have been really low (for me) and others have been quite high (again, for me).  I'm still figuring out how all that fits together too (if there's a pattern) and if the variation is anywhere close to normal.

 

It's been two days of being decent with the Claritin.  I still feel it draining, but there's very little build up - some in the mornings.  I'm going to drop Claritin and see if that changes at all.

 

The worst thing today has actually been those pi "corner points" in the back of my head, but I probably brought that on myself by daring to put my head back in my recliner this morning.  Some of us are slow learners - or keep testing limits - one or the other.

 

Plenty of stuff to test over these next few days/weeks - while still doing school for another 4 weeks.  I'm definitely staying busy, and of course, staying in motion helps.

[creekland]

That was quick with the Vit D.  Probably not.

 

Symptoms I saw:

 

Feeling Blue/Down - no

Overweight or Obese - still in the overweight range, but have lost a bit and still losing decently, so doubtful

Bones Ache - never

Head Sweats - never

Gut Trouble - never

 

That was a quick search.  If there are others, let me know.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Drinking enough will not kill off your kidneys if you don't have some other underlying problem.  Chronic dehydration can lead to chronic inflammation.  

[Classical Katharine]

Blood pressure varying, pulse varying, and needing more salt to stay in normal ranges--could your adrenals or your whole HPA axis be weary? Would drinking appeal to you more if you salt your water lightly with Himalayan sea salt? If you eat processed foods you may get too much salt, but if you do your own cooking it's possible to get too little.

 

Also, if anything mechanical or infectious in the neck, since you are open to snake oil at this point, reflexology of the "neck" of the toes, esp. the big toe, and the base of the "bulb" part of the big toe, might turn up some deep "hard" places and might yield some draining. It can be very effective for drainage. You can do it yourself unless it makes your hands hurt. A family member could help.

 

Then, there is always acupuncture. Done right it does not hurt, and it can help with weird hormonal dysregulation, if that's going on.

 

Wishing you healing!

[J-rap]

I was just thinking about the numb feet.  My father has mild neuropathy in his feet.  They just feel numb, sometimes tingly, and it comes and goes.  What has helped him a lot are getting wider shoes (so his feet really have a chance to completely spread out within his shoes).  All his life he had narrow feet, so it never occurred to him that he might need wider shoes.  Also, he uses an electrical stimulation unit on it 3-5 times/week.  They range from $10-$100, and I'm not sure which one my father has.  You could always pick one up at a Target or Walmart and give it a try.

 

Anyway, there is something called peripheral neuropathy which affects mostly your hands and feet, so I assume my father has a version of that.  He has no other symptoms, so no one is too worried about it.  It's just something he deals with.  But, you might want to look it up.  You might find some helpful information in there!

 

 

[creekland]

Drinking enough will not kill off your kidneys if you don't have some other underlying problem.  Chronic dehydration can lead to chronic inflammation.  

 

I don't want to kill the kidneys by not drinking enough.  There's certainly no chronic dehydration or any signs of basic dehydration.  I'm not actively trying to go without water/liquid, though I generally do have to remember to drink it in a similar way that I need to remember to eat if not in a pattern to do it from other cues.

 

In this "test" I was curious to know if drinking less would cause less pressure.  The two seem to be a little correlated, but with the Claritin, etc, I'm not sure which is working - if either.

 

People dont get every symptom. They may have none at all. All I had was overweight. Its worth the cost of the test.

 

Well, that would be the cost of the test and the cost of the doctor appt since it's not on the DIY list from the Community blood tests.  Then too, if it turns out normal (as I suspect), it would only add fuel to the "stress" belief the doctor already has.  All in all, not worth the test without other reasons to think it could be "it."  If DIY, then I'd be curious enough.  Cost isn't really an issue.

 

Blood pressure varying, pulse varying, and needing more salt to stay in normal ranges--could your adrenals or your whole HPA axis be weary? Would drinking appeal to you more if you salt your water lightly with Himalayan sea salt? If you eat processed foods you may get too much salt, but if you do your own cooking it's possible to get too little.

 

Also, if anything mechanical or infectious in the neck, since you are open to snake oil at this point, reflexology of the "neck" of the toes, esp. the big toe, and the base of the "bulb" part of the big toe, might turn up some deep "hard" places and might yield some draining. It can be very effective for drainage. You can do it yourself unless it makes your hands hurt. A family member could help.

 

Then, there is always acupuncture. Done right it does not hurt, and it can help with weird hormonal dysregulation, if that's going on.

 

Wishing you healing!

 

Ah, new vocab for me with things like HPA axis... shall be turning to google again.

 

I don't think our diet is off with regards to getting enough salt.  Hubby eats roughly the same things without adding any salt to his and has higher numbers than I get even though I add quite a bit to mine (both made at home and from eating out).

 

Acupuncture... hadn't thought about that.  It could be worth trying.  I doubt it would hurt (physically).  The nerve test didn't hurt, so...  I'd have to find someone reputable to do it though.

 

 

I was just thinking about the numb feet.  My father has mild neuropathy in his feet.  They just feel numb, sometimes tingly, and it comes and goes.  What has helped him a lot are getting wider shoes (so his feet really have a chance to completely spread out within his shoes).  All his life he had narrow feet, so it never occurred to him that he might need wider shoes.  Also, he uses an electrical stimulation unit on it 3-5 times/week.  They range from $10-$100, and I'm not sure which one my father has.  You could always pick one up at a Target or Walmart and give it a try.

 

Anyway, there is something called peripheral neuropathy which affects mostly your hands and feet, so I assume my father has a version of that.  He has no other symptoms, so no one is too worried about it.  It's just something he deals with.  But, you might want to look it up.  You might find some helpful information in there!

 

Peripheral neuropathy is the term they use for this.  It's definitely not shoes considering it affects both the hands and the feet and certainly doesn't matter if I'm dressed or not.  This one is really a constant in general.  They're all fine when I'm using them, but not when I'm not.  It doesn't matter if I'm standing, sitting, or lying down.  Right now the hands are fine since I'm typing.  The legs feel numb almost to the knees since they've been still long enough for it to progress that far.  They won't go much past the knees, but the annoyance will start to get more painful and at some point I'll stretch or get up.  Stretching only works for a short period of time - very short.  Getting up and moving around will reset the process for a little bit - I'd have a few minutes before feeling it again vs seconds - and it'd start back at the feet rather than more or less starting back where it was before stretching.

 

Honestly?  I don't even think about this one much anymore.  Fixing it is routine and thoughtless.  It can just get more painful at night if I don't toss and turn a bit, but even then, all I need to do is get up - a pretty good incentive to get out of bed.

 

Very recently (Oct) there have been a few times when just my left hand - part of it actually - has felt numb even when I'm using it.  That's caused me to pause, but I haven't figured out yet if that's part of the same thing or something that will go away - some other cause that will fix itself.  It could be either.  The left hand was more affected than the right with carpal, so could get issues first, but I don't recall the "main" issue starting that way - so who knows?

[Barb_]

I don't recall...is diabetes or elevated blood sugar one of your health issues?

[creekland]

I don't recall...is diabetes or elevated blood sugar one of your health issues?

 

Type II Diabetes runs in my family on both sides (my mom uses injectable insulin now), so I'm probably genetically doomed, but my own blood sugar levels are fine.  The overnight fasting one used to run > 100, but < 126.  The Ha1c (or however that goes together) has always been fine.  Having lost the 30 lbs the last nine months, and tweaking my diet, all numbers are fine now.  No change on issues.  I'll admit I was hoping there might be - just in case.  That would have been an easy fix.

[creekland]

I think I have some good news to share about it all this morning.  It appears both the pulse rate and BP have returned to normal. (Two days of normal readings now.) My guess is the changes were related to the ear having issues or maybe residual from the Flonase if that caused the more major issues. It was more likely to be the ear bit as the BP was higher than normal at the dr appt - even for a dr appt.

 

It's all a guess, of course, except the steady numbers from my trusty machine.  I like steady.  The large variations were new, though I was wondering if I had missed them by not checking much in the past month.  New things concern me.  I'll keep track for a while, esp since I've dropped the Claritin and will soon find out if the ear is steady on its own or not, but it's nice to return to normal - even for a little bit.  And if it strays with the ear, I'll have a decent correlation.

[creekland]

Blood pressure varying, pulse varying, and needing more salt to stay in normal ranges--could your adrenals or your whole HPA axis be weary? 

 

I finally have a mostly free night and got around to googling everything.  This one has been an interesting read to be honest.  Here's what I found (summed up the best):

 

"Initially symptoms are excitatory unless masked by medications. You feel nervous, stressed out, foggy minded, can’t relax, etc. ...This is Stage 1 adrenal fatigue. Then ... true-blue, knock you down fatigue sets in. It can sometimes take years to progress to this stage, but once adrenaline rushing alternates predictably with episodes of severe fatigue, you and your stress systems have moved into Late Stage 2 or Early Stage 3.At this point, you may intensely crave salt and/or sugar, because your body can’t regulate these correctly. Your natural thirst mechanisms malfunction. You’re either always thirsty, or not thirsty at all. Water seems to go right through you. Chronic muscle tension may lead to body and nerve pain. You want to relax, but can’t, even when opportunity arises. Certain times of the day you are so fatigued you can hardly function. You may be clinically depressed or anxious. Hormones get completely out of whack and related cycles become volatile (i.e. worsening PMS, decline or extreme increase in sex drive). Your digestive system may be chaotic, alternating between indigestion, diarrhea, hunger like an ox, and no appetite at all. Hypoglycemic episodes following lunch and second winds (feeling too awake) in the evening, especially around bedtime, are your norm. You’re either completely dependent on caffeine or exquisitely sensitive to it… In either case, combining it with sugar and tons of carbs might be what your “activated†body craves to keep going. "

 

I don't get unexpectedly tired at all and only have caffeine with my morning Green Tea and the occasional soda when traveling or out at fast food (if I opt for soda over Lemonade or milk shakes - most often it's the shake).  I've never had anything even remotely resembling fatigue - not even during radiation when I was told to expect it.  I actually didn't get most of the side effects from radiation - not even the "practically guaranteed ones" like hair loss or skin burns.  No one has any idea why.  They also pretty much guaranteed the thyroid would die (over time) but as of the last blood test, it was still doing quite well - so who knows?  Overall, this makes me doubtful.

 

BUT I can crave salt (never sugar), though that has been part of my life since my youth.  It seemed to make sense once I saw Na numbers with blood tests.  I don't crave it often since keeping levels higher (though still on the low side of the normal range).

 

The not thirsty part likely came with the not hungry part at the end of radiation.  It never switches to always.  But it's there, so who knows?

 

Body and nerve pain - just the nerves I think.  I don't have typical pains all over as with arthritis or fibromyalgia symptoms. What's not wrong/off feels perfectly fine.  But again, it's there, so who knows?

 

It's easy for me to relax, at home, at school, and traveling.  I've never had a problem with enjoying myself or life.  I put off work purposely to do things I enjoy - and that doesn't include curling up in a fetal position on the couch.

 

The only times I'm so fatigued it's difficult to function are at night after 9pm or so, but then again, I get up between 3 and 4 am, so it makes sense with allowing for 6+ hours of sleep.  I've never thought much about that being off.

 

Clinically depressed or anxious?  Those I know closely IRL laugh at the idea and openly diss the doctors who chalk it up as stress.  I have asked - and asked for honest thoughts - just in case I wasn't seeing something.  These are close enough friends/family where I can trust what they say.

 

Hormones out of whack?  Sort of, but they sure seem in line with all the peri-menopause threads I read - and my ages matches that time of life too.

 

Digestive system out of whack?  Other than never feeling hungry, no.  Tastes are fine.  I can eat any type of food without problems.  I wonder a little if weight loss is too easy based upon the diet threads, but there's certainly no other problem digestively.

 

In the end, it's intriguing enough for me to post my thoughts on here to see what you think even though I'd planned to let this thread die.  I didn't care to start another one.

[creekland]

Having finished googling, I'm leaning toward the vascular options as still being the most worthy of being checked out further, but if the neurologist has said there aren't enough symptoms for it and the DIY basic vascular testing I had done showed next to nothing... I think I'm still stuck.

 

That would leave me with chiro or acupuncture - neither of which is going to happen before Dec or Jan due to my schedule, but I guess that gives me time to check with folks I know IRL to see about recommendations if there are any.

[Pippen]

I would suggest looking into Meniere's Syndrome. Full blown out Meniere's Disease presents with very severe dizziness/balance issues in addition to other ear problems, but in the milder form the diizziness isn't as pronounced and sometimes isn't there at all. Through the years I have had the ear pulsing, pressure, ear ringing, pain around the base of the ear, and some dizziness (the last usually only when I'm fatigued). The pressure was worse when I laid down and I started sleeping in the recliner then.

 

I did have chronic ear infections with multiple ear drum ruptures and an ear tube helped tremendously. Wish I'd had it done years earlier but my own ENT never suggested it. I sought out a second opinion with a highly regarded ENT at a university hospital and the next time it flared up my ENT didn't hesitate to put in the tube.

 

The other symptoms worsen when I'm fatigued and when I consume too much caffeine. It's takes 3-4 weeks to clear the effects of caffeine for me so a short trial may not tell anything if that's an issue for you. Sleep, a diuretic, and avoiding caffeine help the most. Some people are helped by a low sodium diet.

[wapiti]

My ds just complained to me that he was hearing his pulse  :glare:.  He has a boatload of issues as it is...

[creekland]

I would suggest looking into Meniere's Syndrome. Full blown out Meniere's Disease presents with very severe dizziness/balance issues in addition to other ear problems, but in the milder form the diizziness isn't as pronounced and sometimes isn't there at all. Through the years I have had the ear pulsing, pressure, ear ringing, pain around the base of the ear, and some dizziness (the last usually only when I'm fatigued). The pressure was worse when I laid down and I started sleeping in the recliner then.

 

I did have chronic ear infections with multiple ear drum ruptures and an ear tube helped tremendously. Wish I'd had it done years earlier but my own ENT never suggested it. I sought out a second opinion with a highly regarded ENT at a university hospital and the next time it flared up my ENT didn't hesitate to put in the tube.

 

The other symptoms worsen when I'm fatigued and when I consume too much caffeine. It's takes 3-4 weeks to clear the effects of caffeine for me so a short trial may not tell anything if that's an issue for you. Sleep, a diuretic, and avoiding caffeine help the most. Some people are helped by a low sodium diet.

 

I'll google that sometime this weekend.  I rarely get balance issues of any sort - about 3-4 times per year it will happen, but it always goes away within a couple of days and stays gone for a significant amount of time, so it hasn't reached my critical stage yet.  It's just an enigma that's concerning when it happens and forgettable (unless someone mentions it) when it's gone.  The last time I recall it was in May or June.  That was during the time when I wasn't experiencing ear problems (fluid-wise) and thought that part was finally gone.  The pulse and tinnitus stay.

 

When I saw the ENT, he suggested a tube if I wanted one.  It's not my top choice, but the option is still there I presume.

 

Sleep and caffeine don't affect this - or anything - at least, not that I can tell.

 

When I cut back salt I had the worst head issues of my life to date - tons of headaches.  I'm not going back there.  Having salt in the normal range has taken care of all of that.

 

My concern at the moment is the plane flight coming up... and it's not really the flight there I'm worried about.  It's the flight back 4 days later.  IF change in altitude has been affecting this causing it to get worse, that could get "interesting."  I'll definitely try Sudafed ahead of time as a preemptive.  Then I'll see what happens.  The last time I flew with ear issues (back in Feb) the flights were mostly fine, but afterward there were issues (both times).  The Feb flights were a month apart allowing time for the ear to recover between them.  This next trip is a quick one there and back (watching youngest perform in his school's play).

 

Time will tell I guess.  I'm not cancelling the trip, nor do we have the time to drive instead.  I'm already playing hooky from school for two of those days to go.

 

 

My ds just complained to me that he was hearing his pulse  :glare:.  He has a boatload of issues as it is...

 

I couldn't like your post... but I'll offer  :grouphug:  and hope it's temporary.

 

Having other noise out there (TV/radio/fans, etc) is the best help for me with this one.  It drowns out the pulse I hear - most of the time.  It doesn't drown the tinnitus.  I'm just used to that.

 

I think it's easier to deal with the things that are there all the time (as long as they aren't painful).  The brain/body adjusts to them and they become normal.  It's the things that come and go that are more of a mental strain for me.  When they're gone it's nice and one thinks it's finally over (no matter how many cycles it goes through).  When they return it's extra frustrating.

[Pippen]

I'd get an ear tube in a heartbeat if I had a major flight coming up! This is an easy fix and may help many of the ear issues that you're dealing with. 

 

I have a friend with a patulous eustachian tube. It's always open, so doesn't air pressure properly. I also have a friend with Lyme Disease whose first symptom were ear problems that weren't actual issues, but due to false neurological signals.

[creekland]

I'd get an ear tube in a heartbeat if I had a major flight coming up! This is an easy fix and may help many of the ear issues that you're dealing with. 

 

I have a friend with a patulous eustachian tube. It's always open, so doesn't air pressure properly. I also have a friend with Lyme Disease whose first symptom were ear problems that weren't actual issues, but due to false neurological signals.

 

Had a rare study hall this past hour, so looked up Meniere's.  It was an interesting read, but at this point anyway, it doesn't really match.  Even the imbalance issues I had weren't really spinning deals and I don't recall them correlating with ear pressure at all.  The last one definitely didn't correlate.

 

When I've been off balance it's been with bending over - drying off after a shower - getting up from bed - picking weeds - etc. Those took a minute or two to adjust to standing, then were ok as long as I didn't bend over again.  Only once did it go as far as affecting my walking for a little bit - then it was sort of like being at sea on a boat.  Weird - but they all went away within 2 days of starting and don't occur often enough for me to worry about it.  If one happens again, I'm actually curious about blood pressure more than anything else.  

 

I have promised hubby that if it ever reaches the point where I can't walk, I'll have someone check it out... but only once did it sort of get there.  If it happened more often I'd do something too.  It's not like I've kept it as a secret anyway.  It ought to be in the neurologist's notes somewhere from that first appt.

 

Hearing was tested at the ENT and is supposedly fine for my age.  It gets rough hearing at school when things are bad, but it's more of an underwater hearing thing (distortion) than a can't hear deal.

 

The flight isn't a long one and the ear isn't bad right now.  I've flown with it like this before.  Time will tell.  There's a decent possibility the issues from Feb came from snorkeling and water affecting the ear rather than the flight.  Snorkeling won't be a factor on this trip.

[creekland]

ps  Lyme was tested for - forgot to mention that.

[Classical Katharine]

Blood pressure worse from sudden posture change is one of the things that I believe they test for using a "tilt table" test for people with chronic fatigue, and I think I have heard adrenal for that too. But maybe that's not the only possibility--as you aren't fatigued! Inner ear is interesting possibility.

 

With all your symptoms and issues it's wonderful that your mood and energy are so good and you can function on those short nights of sleep.

 

If you do decide to pursue acupuncture you might look for someone with NCCAOM certification. That's a meaningful credential that requires proof for the continuing education credentials. The woman I see has this and she also, BTW, uses something called an AccuGraph in her diagnosis. This gives a good read-out of the meridians and can provide clues to what is happening in a strange situation. It's no substitute for good knowledge of the points but in the hands of someone who is always good, it's a valuable tool.

 

For flying I've heard of something you can buy and use that helps for pressure changes--I'm not sure if this was it or not but FWIW here is one option:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Ease-Pain-Reliever/dp/B00DX5XR0O

 

HTH!

 

I don't know where you are located but if NJ by any chance, message me and I'll tell you who I see.

 

 

 

[creekland]

Blood pressure worse from sudden posture change is one of the things that I believe they test for using a "tilt table" test for people with chronic fatigue, and I think I have heard adrenal for that too. But maybe that's not the only possibility--as you aren't fatigued! Inner ear is interesting possibility.

 

With all your symptoms and issues it's wonderful that your mood and energy are so good and you can function on those short nights of sleep.

 

I don't know where you are located but if NJ by any chance, message me and I'll tell you who I see.

 

I, personally, haven't ruled out the adrenal fatigue deal.  There's enough that matches to make me wonder.

 

I don't often get typical side effects and I think that doesn't help figure anything out.

 

The AF did testing back in my early 20s and kicked me out due to finding asthma (via testing/machines).  Other than lower lung capacity, I don't have symptoms or complications from it.  No doctor has heard it.  For years I wondered if the AF (actually at a Navy hospital) was wrong and they changed my life for nothing, but this year's lower lung capacity test makes me think they were at least sort of right.

 

With radiation, I didn't get the vast majority of side effects and what I did (seem to) get aren't usual ones.

 

With the vision issue to start with, I don't get dizzy or headaches - supposedly not common.

 

With the carpal tunnel stuff they found (via nerve testing), only the nerve testing was conclusive - the rest was iffy enough that even the surgeon wasn't sure about doing surgery for it.  I let him decide that one assuming he had more expertise in it than I did.  After surgery he said it was a severe pinch.  Everyone was a bit surprised that I didn't have much in usage or feeling damage.

 

The nerve test that everyone said was horrid I barely felt.

 

Veins aren't supposed to have a pulse, but I have one in my hand that anyone can feel.  It's blue, so should be a vein, but has a pulse.

 

It wouldn't surprise me at all if whatever is wrong only hits a few things on a symptom chart.

 

As for being in a good mood - the alternative isn't appealing to me.  It is what it is.  If I think about it too much, then it can get to me, so I try to stay active and forget about it in my daily life.  Getting rid of it would be nice though - hence I keep researching - esp when my body reminds me there are issues.  Otherwise, whatever isn't wrong feels just fine and I'm used to the common stuff now, so continuing with life isn't a problem most days.

 

Sleeping more isn't appealing considering that's when the numbness and pulse-hearing stuff bugs me the most, but no, my body doesn't often feel tired when I get up - only when I'm ready for bed at night (like now).

 

I'm getting slightly concerned about dropping weight.  It's come off quite easily and I've credited that to not being hungry and not eating as much.  Previously when I've cheated a bit weight has come back on, so all seemed just fine.  That might be changing. We've cheated a lot these past couple of weeks... milk shakes, fast food, BBQ, frozen pizza, etc., but it might be all in my mind.  I'll know for sure after the holidays, esp since the boys will be home requesting many foods.  And if that's solely due to stress, that's not a bad side effect.

 

We're roughly 2-3 hours from NJ, but I appreciate the offer of a recommendation.  I know a couple of people who are more into natural/alternative healing.  When I see them next, I'm going to try to remember to ask if they have recommendations.  I don't really have time to do anything this year.  My full time deal ends with Thanksgiving and my boys will be home in Dec until mid Jan.  That's enough distraction to keep me busy.

 

I'll see how the ear holds up with the flight - and keep in mind the heat treatment deal if it's not good.  Today I've been trying to decide if I want to use Sudafed between now and then to try to keep it feeling decent, or quit using it for a bit (since it seems to wear off after a few days) and start again a day or two before I fly.  I've opted to quit and will see how long I can put up with it - or maybe it will get better...

[creekland]

I would suggest you get curcumin (active ingredient in tumeric).  It is a natural anti-inflammatory.  It does not help right away as it needs to build up to optimum levels in your body.  500 mg. in a.m. and 500 mg. in the p.m.    

 

Jean, how does turmeric affect blood pressure?  At this point that's the only thing I've changed (up to 1000mg from 500mg) since I dropped all the other stuff (except the multivitamin) and I don't particularly like the way my bp is coming in low - esp when out doing farm chores, but also from overnight.  At this point, up and "normally" active during the day levels it out, sitting raises it into the slightly high range, but getting too active by hauling water buckets or digging potatoes lowers it too much for my comfort level (mainly that back of the head pain, but the low numbers might add to the stress level too as I expected high over low :glare: ).

 

I had not compared these numbers with exercise before, but I absolutely know back in March all was fine.  If a change occurred it was either back in Aug when I first noticed I could do too much and annoy symptoms or it's more recent and due to the affects of turmeric.

 

As of today I'm going to cut turmeric out totally and see what happens, but I'm wondering if I can more or less place blame on that change.  How long does it take to leave the system?

[rainydaybaby]

I hear my pulse as a whooshing sound when I have intracranial hypertension. Other symptoms are visual disturbances, neck pain (mostly at the base of the skull), and migraines. I also get fluid build up in my ears but that is not an official symptom. Mine is idiopathic intracranial hypertension, but it can be caused by certain conditions. I hope you have success figuring out what is going on so they you can find relief!

[creekland]

I hear my pulse as a whooshing sound when I have intracranial hypertension. Other symptoms are visual disturbances, neck pain (mostly at the base of the skull), and migraines. I also get fluid build up in my ears but that is not an official symptom. Mine is idiopathic intracranial hypertension, but it can be caused by certain conditions. I hope you have success figuring out what is going on so they you can find relief!

 

That also was an interesting read, so many thanks to you for posting it.  At this point I don't get migraines and the only vision issues I have are due to where the brain tumor is located (not affiliated at all with this other stuff - so they say - but it makes sense due to location).

 

However, again, there's enough that matches to keep it in mind.

 

At this point I'm contemplating this, adrenal fatigue (easily a possibility with that area radiated I would think) or a vascular issue (could come into play if the bp bit doesn't clear up or get explained).

 

I have a month before I'd have time to do anything "official" medically and I'm not even keen on that IF I can fix something - or get it livable - myself.  Until then I want to do as many unofficial tests/observations as I can trying to narrow it down - along with time itself showing me how it's progressing.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have high blood pressure and take more tumeric than you do.  I know that it does thin your blood.  I have no idea how that all works together though and I am so busy that I don't have time to google for you.  Hope you figure it out.  

[creekland]

I have high blood pressure and take more tumeric than you do.  I know that it does thin your blood.  I have no idea how that all works together though and I am so busy that I don't have time to google for you.  Hope you figure it out.  

 

I'll google it.  I just wasn't sure if you had the quick answer. I like shortcuts sometimes. ;)

 

There's a bit to try to put together narrowing all of this stuff down.