Heart Palpitaions and Chronic Urticaria

[ORL13]

Hi, my name is Josiah.  I am a 22 year old male.  For the last two months my heart has been acting very strange and I can't do anything physically exhausting at all without it feeling like it's going to explode out of my chest.  It pretty much just started one day out of the blue.  All of the my tests come back normal: chest CT, upper GI, vitamin and mineral levels, EKG, blood tests.

-Heart palpitations, heavy/fast heartbeat.  My heart always feels like it's working too hard.  The slightest activity causes it to beat very hard and fast which makes me feel physically horrible.

-Nausea/difficulty with eating.  Anytime that I eat to the point of being full I feel awful.  My heart beats even harder, I feel like I'm going to throw up.

-Shortness of breath.

-Dizziness.  Not necessarily lightheaded, it just feels like my ocular perception is off.

-Weight loss.  Despite the fact that I have been forcing myself to east, I'm still progressively losing weight.  I'm down to a 133 lbs and am wasting away.  (I am usually about 150)

-Warm feeling in the left side of my face.  This one is kind of weird.  Most days I get a strange warm feeling in my head at my hairline on the left side.  No tingling, just warmth.

-Pressure in left inner thigh.  Usually in the evening, I feel a pressure in my left thigh right on the big vein.  In the last couple of weeks it's actually become a little painful.  It's usually condensed to a small area and sometimes makes my whole leg tingle.

-Urticaria.  I've had it for a year.  I've tried changing my diet, but nothing seems to change them except the Claritin and Zantac.  There are a few things that I know will cause a reaction.  Tylenol causes a mild reaction.  Ibuprofen causes an extreme reaction, my whole face will pretty much become a giant welt.  Caffeine causes a moderate reaction.

I wrote a much more detailed post here: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Disease/Heart-Palpitations-and-Chronic-Urticaria/show/1223898

[allmymarbles]

I had what appeared to be symptoms of a heart problem. They weren't. It was an endocrine problem. Not that that's what you have. But I never thought it was my heart either.

[ORL13]

Thank you for your reply.  Actually, I had the 24 hour holter monitor test done about a month ago.  There were no significant abnormalities detected.  My doctor also checked my thyroid levels at around the same time.  At this point we're almost stabbing around in the dark so to speak.  Next week I am scheduled to have an echocardiogram, an abdominal CT scan, allergy testing and an eye exam.  I am praying that those test will find my problem.  While I am having palpitations, I don't think the problem is my heart itself.  I think it is something that's keeping my heart from functioning optimally.  Like something foul in my bloodstream perhaps.  Do these symptoms sound at all like they could be parasite related?  I can think of a few ways I may have contracted something like that.  The reason I came to this site is because I am desperate for some sort of direction to take this because it seems to be stumping everyone I explain my symptoms to.  My doctor included.

[Cleveland Clinic]

I can't help you with all your symptoms.  I am fairly certain, however, that the palpitations, the shortness of breath, the poor exercise tolerance and the dizziness are probably interrelated.  They may all be caused by an arrhythmia, a tachycardia that may come from the upper or or the lower chambers.  I would suggest wearing a holter or an event monitor which can help figure out what's going on with you heart rhythm during these episodes. I am not sure how the urticaria and the weight loss tie in with the rest.  I would suggest checking your thyroid which can cause skin and weight loss issues.