NOT A Thyroid Issue: Almost A Year Later
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 6:16PM At some point last week, I promised to explain (or partially explain) last summer. The only part I *can* explain is the medical stuff, and honestly that’s still a semi-mystery to me (only because I’m not willing to test the theory).
In a series (read: month’s and month’s worth) of post, I described how I’d mysteriously begun to lose weight. I wasn’t able to sleep at night and I was very nauseous (which makes eating difficult, thus more weight loss). I was extremely fatigued and in 6-8 weeks, I lost almost 15 pounds.
No big, right? WRONG. I’m under 4’11” and prior to the “incident”, I weighed 95 lbs. (*waits for you to do math*) Exactly. 80 pounds. There were a few days that I swore I saw the scale drift just a hair under the 80 hash… into the no man’s land of “70 something”.
I had just weaned Chase, and the oddest part of this entire thing to me was that it wasn’t the first time it happened. Right after weaning Conner, I lost 10+ pounds quickly, had difficulty eating, night sweats and dizziness. (Read this post - The Skinny On Being Too Thin) The only real difference between then and last summer was the intensity.
A doctor put me on Phenergan for the nausea, which only made me sleep for hours during the day, and for the record, didn’t help with “sleeping during the hours you are supposed to sleep” thing.
And at some point, I realized something important - my heart. At various points during the day, I’d feel like my heart was racing. All those times I felt dizzy or like I was having hot flashes - during those times my heart was going crazy.
Sometimes, I’d sit around and my heart would feel like it… skipped. It was odd because I’d feel it - notice it. I mentioned it here and there to people I cared about, but it was just another “weird symptom”.
Then, the weirdest symptom of all set in. It was during the first night of a family vacation in September. I woke in the middle of the night to numbness in my hands, just like they’d fallen asleep. That odd tingly feeling sat in my hands and fingers, and I dismissed it completely and went back to sleep. I woke up hours later and realized they were still “asleep”. I went to the bathroom and while washing my hands I realized I was sensitive to the temperature of the water. Warm felt like burning.
An hour later, I jumped in the shower and proceeded to totally freak myself out. Not only were my hands numb, but part of my face and both feet. The shower water felt normal on my body, but in those spots, it was on fire.
I then spent the next 3 days without a moment of relief. I tried Benadryl thinking it was an allergic reaction, tried to single out anything “new” (aside from being away from home). Nothing I took or did made any of it better.
Then, it stopped.
I’d had it. Absolutely and completely fed up, I saw a doctor. Thing is, I saw a doctor when the same series of symptoms happened years earlier after I weaned Conner. Diagnosis back then: maybe a thyroid issue, but all my tests came back negative. (Thyroid issues are common post-pregnancy and especially in smaller women)
So we started there and once again, aside from a slightly enlarged left gland, I was clear. They scanned everything they could, took 15 vials of blood, fasting tests, urine tests, and anything else they could think of. Two things came back abnormal: my vitamin D level was 20 (very low) and when he listened to my heart, each time, he heard a “click”.
My heart ultrasound was normal.
I did follow-up appointments for months and I was always upset about the whole thing. I wasn’t making stuff up; you don’t just randomly drop 20% of your body weight for no reason - twice. I was embarrassed to have no answers and I honestly felt that I’d never go to a doctor again. Whatever this was couldn’t be picked up on hundreds of tests. I felt like I’d lost some cruel game.
Then 2 or 3 months ago I stop to get Starbucks.
I’d had a relatively bad night with absolutely no sleep (not health related, but rather my racing mind) and needed caffeine.
Thing is - I’ve never been a big caffeine person. I could have a coke or a coffee (mostly in college), but more than one and I’d bounce off the walls. Then, I was pregnant with Conner. Then, I nursed Conner. Then I got sick and lost a bunch of weight. Then, I got pregnant with Chase. Then I weaned Chase. Then I hit rock bottom.
And do you know exactly how caffeine plays into that? Pregnancy = no caffeine (for me). Nursing = Very, very little caffeine (passing onto baby, and I was always so dang thirsty that all I really wanted/drank was water/gatorade/JUICE). Each time I weaned a child, I felt like I could reward myself with cokes and sweet teas.
That day a few months ago, I grabbed a tall (12 oz.) caramel macchiato and headed home. I downed it under 30 minutes and then my heart began to race. I began to sweat and I couldn’t keep my hands still. And then it clicked.
Do you know what you do when you introduce caffeine into your diet and you are sensitive to it? It makes you restless. Do you know what you do when you are restless with two young children and it’s 6 AM? You drink more caffeine. Do you know what you do when you keep pounding stimulants into your body when it’s not used to them? You lose 20% of your weight, your heart races and you can’t eat.
For weeks after weaning Chase, I was downing caffeine like it was my job. It very well could have killed me.
The one factor, the only factor that flows nicely through both of my incidents, was the one thing I’ve always tried to avoid.
Does this happen often? No. What’s different with my case is that I’m already sensitive to caffeinated beverages. The key point is that yes, I’ve always been this way, but once you’ve gone without them 99.99% of the time for so long, reintroducing them like it’s “no big deal” won’t work. It’s a shockwave to your body.
The doctor is now comfortable with closing this case, and I feel the same. He has noted that he believes I have something known as dysautonomia - a condition that is marked by many things, but in particular my “clickyheart” (it’s what my doctor calls it - to have a “full diagnosis” of dysautonomia my heart would need to present during a scan with a certain “signature” and we’ve yet to do a scan under “stress”, or for my case - while I‘mhigh on Mtn. Dew). This also explains the anxiety and panic attacks in which my heart races, how I’m always thirsty and why I feel overly fatigued.
It might also be the reason behind my gastro issues (crazy heartburn) as well as the numbness and nerve pain from the beach.
I’m ok with this. I feel better knowing there’s an actual reason for what I went through. And the best part? That I can probably prevent this from ever happening again.
Those months of crazy posts? Well, I was entertained too. I’m glad you were all behind me and I did feel the support you gave. Is the illness totally to blame? HA! Not at all. Some of that is still here, and I get it already! I know you all miss it and I’m trying to collect all my pieces so I can be as funny as I was before. Part of getting it all back is getting this off my chest (lol… I MADE A HEART JOKE).
Thanks for everything guys. Love you all. :)
(Updated to add - I wish this wasn’t an April Fools joke from Starbucks. I could really use a 2 ounce size!
Reader Comments (10)
So what you are telling me is if I go with out coke and tea for a year and then I drink a crap ton I will lose a bunch of weight??!! Oh no, you're not saying that? Damn.
More importantly than all of this, can you still drink Milo's?????
WOW. That's crazy. I've just started reading your blog, so I don't know about all the months of crazy posts that you referenced but I can only imagine how scary that would have been. Thank goodness you have an answer and know how to prevent / control it.
I'm so glad you got things figured out. When I was in high school I got ill and dropped tons of weight. I can sympathize with the looks and size zero clothes barely fitting. It's so frustrating. I truly believe that being too thin is every bit as frustrating as being overweight.
@Alena - I do not drink caffeine daily (about twice a week), but when I do, I have about 1/3 of what normal people take in. And in the case of Milo's sweet tea, I'll just say I take in a half of a regular sized tea and DON'T GET REFILLS. I know, THAT DOES HAPPEN. : )
@Krista - You could go to http://atothezaremba.blogspot.com and read from basically June to September (2009) OR just know that I was certifiably crazy. Hehe. Either one. And thanks!
You could jsut get lots and lots of ice. Yummmmmm Milo's ice.
Wow! Yeah, caffeine does crazy stuff to little people. I'm not as tiny as you (5'2"/110 - when I'm not as big as a house pregnant) but if I have any more than 1 cup, my heart does crazy things like that. I bet you are relieved to finally know what's up... and for reals, you are just as funny healthy, my dear. Your tweets keep me entertained all day. :)
I'm glad you got it figured out! I know that doctor's visits, tests, and no immediate answers can make you feel crazy - been there, done that, not fun.
Holy crap lady! I don't know what to say, but, man you are short :P
And that health stuff sucks too.
I was wayyyy off, which is both a good thing and not so good. I am glad after all that you finally know what was wrong! So glad to see you getting back to yourself!!!!
Glad you got it figured out, but I'm sorry it's caffeine. I LOVE me some caffeine. (It's my biggest vice). Don't forget to watch chocolate intake as well, as that has caffeine in it, too. And there's something else that does as well, that you wouldn't expect, but now I can't remember what it is... you might want to google that...