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Is there a diagnosis for cyclical thirst, fatigue, insomnia, and indigestion?

Hi everyone,

For the last 4-5 years, I've been suffering with an evolving, cyclical issue that comes with a crippling and seemingly unrelated variety of symptoms which take me from being an active, social, and zestful adult male to being a perpetual lump on the sofa for weeks at a time.  The symptoms are as follows:

- Difficulty sleeping through the night, and awful fatigue (especially in the morning) that I feel behind my eyes
- Brutal indigestion and constant belching, tasting what I've eaten over the past few days, etc.
- Muscle pain and stiffness, especially through my neck and upper back/shoulders
- Extreme thirst, to the point that I am drinking gallons of water (and Gatorade, etc.) each day but never feel satiated
- Increased irregularity (digestion-wise)

I've had every blood test under the sun, and - aside from an early indication of a high rheumatoid factor that later disappeared - nothing ever shows up.  I've pursued acupuncture and Chinese medicine, therapy and energy work, and nothing ever seems to help out.  I've previously been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but the only major source of anxiety in life is that I never feel well.  I've eliminated gluten, dairy, and caffeine from my diet, and don't feel any different.

All the treatments I've pursued have left me confused about whether this is something clinical that's undiagnosed, something emotional that needs to be addressed, or something beyond that reach of Western medicine that needs to be remedied by an Eastern approach.  I've recently started on an anti-depressant (Lexapro), and felt better briefly but have once again found myself in decline.

If anyone has any thoughts, I'd be incredibly grateful.  Thank you for your time.

AP
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Avatar universal
Thank you, everyone, for all your insights.  Coincidentally, I got some news this week that may explain most (if not all) of my symptoms, and I want to share it here in case it can be helpful to others.  
After four-plus years of feeling off most of the time, and four-plus years of seeing a variety of doctors/specialists and being told that it's "just stress" or anxiety, I focused on the fatigue aspects of my condition and pushed my GP to prescribe me a sleep study.  Though he assured me there was no way I had a sleep disorder, he followed through with it... and I found out this week that I have sleep apnea.  My body has been fighting a battle all night, every night, which could explain so much of what's been going on with me.  
I mention this because I am in good physical shape (in terms of BMI) and probably look like a very unlikely candidate for sleep apnea.  I think this type of thinking is what kept my doctors from ever thinking it was a possibility, so I urge anyone with mysterious or unattributable symptoms to consider if this may be a cause.
I get my CPAP machine this week and anticipate a vast improvement in quality of life.  Thanks again to everyone who participated in this forum.
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1 Comments
did you get your cpap yet? hows it working?
Avatar universal
Thirst can be a sign of diabetes but you seem to have had lots of blood tests so I assume this would have been picked up quickly.

You say you are drinking 'gallons' of Gatorade and water per day.  If that is so, I'd definitely drop the Gatorade altogether and just drink water.  Drinking tons of any fizzy drink can't be good for you, as the sugar content of lots of these kinds of drinks is appalling. I read that Gatorade also has a high sodium content too which can make you thirsty.  (I read this on another site so I don't know if it's true or not - perhaps you could find a reputable nutritional or government site and do some research on the contents?).  If this is upsetting your body's natural balances, it could be causing other symptoms.

As digestion problems also seem to be part of your symptoms, looking at the fizzy drinks and avoiding coffee might help.  Coffee caused me a lot of indigestion and gastric pain in the past and I had to swap it for tea.  It's a pity because I love coffee.

I know most health sites say 'drink lots of water' and suggest you avoid everything you basically love.  I think most of this is just repetitive stuff that is cut-and-pasted around from one site to another (to be honest), but in this case I do think that the fizzy drinks could be causing you problems.
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1 Comments
shadowmed hit an important topic sugar is the root of alot of issues for many people most viruses love sugar and so does candida.they thrive on it .remove sugar from your diet anywhere possible use honey for a sweetener when needed.honey is an immune booster .let us know how you make out.
Avatar universal
thanks so much!  really appreciate your help!
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Avatar universal
Thanks so much - appreciate that suggestion!
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2 Comments
try eatinb things that are antibacterial antiviral and antifungal.there are certain supplements that will help level put your gut back together.also certain vitamins will help immune function and help your body operate more efficiently.wich in turn reduces the way you handle stress .wich should enable you sleep better.many people dont realize they are vitamin d3 deficient this is a very important vitamin it plays a huge role in the way the body functions.also magnesium wich helps the body absorb vitamin d3.also foods like garlic ,broccoli,onions.tomatos,white musheooms.these are top immune boosters .st johns wort will promote positive mood wich releives stress and may help promote better sleep habits.unfortunately everyone has some form of herpes chicken pox ,measles ,epstein barr virus,hhv6,hsy1 and 2.drs say they usually dont cause problems in healthy people .but many of these cause unsomnia chrons ibs gerd. drs generally dont test for herpes viruses .but it could very likely be causing some of these issues.they  say 95% of us have hhv6 or epstein barr .through my own experinces i have comprised a diet and supplement plan that helps me to feel much better not a cure but definately helps with fatigue and sleep also helps with some of the pain.glutamine will help with the gut it brings the cd4s to that are repair the gut.green tea and mint tea also help .ib gaurd is also helpful.i have more for you .i just noticed that many of our issues are similar.i hope you try the d3.give it an honest try it will make you feel better.
try not to drink to much gatorade because really it is meant for quick hydration more for use during extreme loss of fluids due to the idea that sodium helps absorb fluids more quickly .nut extended use may actually work in the other direction because the sodium will dry you out.so try to drink plenty of water .too much sodium  can cause your blood pressure to elevate .wich can  cause  anxiety and other symptoms.also along with vitamin d3 there is a liquid called zinc tally its a liquid that you swish in your mouth. when you do if if tastes like water you are deficient.
indicating you need more zinc if you only get a slight taste same thing.if it tastes horrible and it makes you feel a need to spit it out then you are fine. zinc is considered the anti anxiety food .
  back to the intake of fluids you can also eat foods with high water content such as cucumbers .it is said that cucumbers are good for hydration .all vebetables have water in them so a salad will help and give you the immune boosting properties you need by raising your vitamin levels helping to balance out deficiencies.
  baking soda can help balanse the alkalinity in the blood preferably sublingual tablets this will help your cells process they will become more healthy.
  papaya seeds are a proven treatment for parasites in the body .you chew the seeds and they gave an enzyme wich studies have shown to be very effective at eliminating parasites from the body .this method is also non toxic unlike antifungal drugs that harm the kidneys and the liver.things like candida have opportunity to overgrow during times of emotional stress or lowered immunity during times of acute
illness.candida can cause poor digestion poor absorption ,anxiety.there are oils that can help .coconut oi is a wonder food it will lower blood pressure ,it also lowers bad cholesterol and raises the good cholesterol.it gets positive results in the treatment of dimentia.it is anti bacterial ,antiviral and antifungal.also wormwood oil is good for parasites in the body .oil of oregano is incredible it can be used in the body and out of the body it gets rid of fungal rashes very quickly .like most things im listing it is antiviral ,antifungal and antibacterial.
a good probiotic is recommended for everyone to control bad bacteria in the gut yogurt has probiotics ,and kefir .kefir wipes out bad candida quickly.align is a good probiotic .but one stands out and seems to have great potency .it is a liquid you take in the morning and at night it is called (regulat pro bio).this is really good stuff.well i hope this helps you the way it did me.
   let us know your results.
be well .
363281 tn?1643235611
Hello,

It appears that you have tried everything, so, my suggestion, try a chiropractor, they can help with the symptoms you are having. When vertebrae are misaligned they can press on nerves that control other functions of the body. They will take a few x-rays and then take it from there, you might be pleasantly surprised.
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Avatar universal
Thanks, everyone - I have seen an integrative specialist who is fluent in Lyme and there is no indication that I have ever had it.  He also gave me a whole bevy of tests (spit, stool, etc.) and nothing is showing any sort of parasitic infection or imbalance of any kind...  this is what's been so frustrating!

Any other thoughts?
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Avatar universal
there are things  you can do to help through a proper diet and eating immune boosting foods .
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Avatar universal
if you can find someone who will do a thoruogh darkfield microscopy.you would be able to see if you have a virus in your blood  or if it is bacterial or even fungal .and you may be able to find someone to give you antibiotics or antifungals if so needed .regular drs dont seem to be very helpful if it isnt something easy you might want to try an integrative md.
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Avatar universal
Please do some Google search for Lyme disease symptoms. You may find some answers! It's important that you seek out a Lyme literate MD. Not all are knowledgeable on the subject.
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