Help Please!!!

[Sir_Spazalot]

I'm 19 years old.  About a month and a half ago I began having a lot of intestinal problems.  I was having a lot pain (burning, stinging, etc.). Since then I have had two stomach x rays, a cat scan, bloodwork done four times, an ultrasound, urine testing, a colonoscopy, and an endoscopy.  Everything came back negative, except they found inflammation in my colon near the appendix.  They said it's due to NSAIDs maybe, but I don't use them that much.  I don't have a bacterial infection, no celiac, no h pylori.  I'm pretty sure they ruled out ulcerative colities and chrohns.  It may be IBS.  They put me on hyoscyamine for the pain.  It made my mouth really dry and my eyes kinda blurry.  I got glasses two months ago because I started having headaches.  Anyways, I started wondering if maybe I had HIV.  These symptoms occurred however about 2 and half months after I had sex with someone who showed me his negative test results.  I got a canker sore, dry mouth, and some other things, which may be caused by the hyoscyamine.  My lymph nodes are swollen though, and I don't have a fever or a cold or flu.  I must have an infection though right?  I'm now wondering if I have arsenic poisoning from when I was at a bonfire in early July.  There was arsenic laced wood in the fire that I inhaled.  That night my chest really hurt and i had trouble breathing.  Could the side effects show up this much later??? help please

[DrIvan]

Arsenic will cause inflammation of you intestines, colon etc... Arsenic is also used in some treated timbers, so this is possible - however the symptoms for arsenic poisoning are quite short lived. If you were acutely exposed to arsenic you might also experience Mees lines (look up google images)

[Sir_Spazalot]

Thank you so much for your quick response.  I was in the ER and they did a bunch of tests.  They said my appendix was fine.  That was like 3 weeks ago.  I'm really tired recently and out of breath when I walk up stairs or ride my bike.  My muscles get tired easily too.  I've been taking probiotics. I do have hemorrhoids.  I had a colonoscopy, but I dont think they removed them. My anal area is red sometimes, but they are internal hemorrhoids.  My intestines in general were burning and stinging.  My anus itches sometimes though.

[ggreg]

Go back to your regular doc and ask him to assume your appendix is infected, and he'll examine that area and push around, let him decide if that "inflammation" is still there.  Your lymph nodes are what makes me think that. As for HIV, there is an easy test for it, your doc can test you for that, as well as check for poisoning from the arsenic wood, altho I think those are unlikely.

You say you had some digestion problems when this started, burning and stinging.  Assuming you mean the burn and sting was where waste comes out, that could be from some small hemorrhoids that are getting irritated when you pass hard waste, which comes from constipation, and constipation can make your guts really uncomfortable.  Hemorrhoids come and go, so they are not serious in and of themselves.  The three things to prevent constipation are drinking extra water, eating more fiber foods (like oat cereal, wheat bread, salad), and getting enough exercise.  The way to know if you're constipated is if you have to strain a lot when you go.  There are over-the-counter medicines to relieve constipation, so you could try that and see if it helps your waste move a little more regularly, if that's part of the equation.

I take hyoscyamine also for irritable bowel syndrome, only on the occasions that my digestion goofs up, and it helps a lot.  I get very sleepy when I take it and also get that dry mouth.  You could try taking it before bedtime, and in the morning drink some extra water, and it should help.  Another medication I was on at the time is what caused my IBS, so when I got off the drug, the IBS eased off, so review side effects of all your other meds, including some vitamins will cause constipation, and you can switch kinds or stop anything that you think is the culprit.  Also, sometimes taking a round of antibiotics will clog things up, so the solution for that is to get some "probiotics" in you, which you can get from the grocery store Acidophilus milk or Activia yogurt, consume those for a couple weeks, maybe that will help if you took antibiotics in the last few months.  Hope some of this helps steer you in the right direction.