I'm going to a doctor next week to ask about some things I have/might have

I'm going to a doctor next week to ask about some

Hope you get to the bottom of all this too.

As you probably already know, major depressive disorder and bipolar II can look a lot alike as depression is a much larger component of bipolar II than bipolar I, at least in my experience. My best friend has bipolar II and has many of the same physical difficulties that you list. I'm not saying there's a connection; just that it's interesting.

Good luck and get thee to a doctor.

 

Your right Hypothryoidism explains many of your current conditions... I have it as well. Though I hope for you there is some other explanation. This condition runs in my family and I have seen too many end up with out a thyroid at all...Once it stops functioning properly it begins to deteriorate, or it grows nodules. I am about due to have a scan of mine to see if its growing cysts or not, because it hurts! I hope you get to the bottom of it!

 

is there a big difference between social anxiety disorder and avoidant personality disorder?

 

Another thing to add to the list:

Hypochondria

 

There is also the potential that it could also just be stress. I've ended up with some physical and mental ailments because of anxiety.

 

I hope you get better soon, Eric.

 

The stomach problems could be irritable bowel syndrome or lactose intolerance. I thought I had IBS, then while surfing the net for advise found this really helpful video [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V81uwYDa0Q"]YouTube - ‪Lactose intolerance - A guide to symptoms‬&rlm;[/ame] Lactose Intolerance</a> which nailed me as lactose intolerant. Went tto Doctor and adjusted diet and it's a lot better now...

 

I hope you find what is the problem.

I had symptoms very similar to yours. Are you burping a lot as well? If so, I have a very strong feeling it's H. Pylori infection and Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease, something similar happened to me. I also had a stomach ulcer because of it, and like you said, I was lactose intolerant because of it (even without it, slightly). I hope you get the lab test done for it, I had something similar done, even though my doctor didn't want to give it to me at first. Oh! And if you do have such a thing, I found that it affected my psychological state as well, that is, a lot of serotonin is produced in the gut, and when you are sick, the loss of it can manifest with anxiety symptoms (I felt very strange and experience depression/depersonalization, I thought I was going crazy, but after I was treated it went away). Does the Ranitidine help? The OTC medicine I use is Zantac, which is a brand of this, and I found it was the best to relieve my symptoms of heartburn, but it didn't help the recurrence of reflux or healed my esophagus, it just took away the discomfort of acid. But yes, if you do have it, it's best for the doctor to get the antibiotics that actually kill the bacteria, so your stomach/esophagus can start healing. My doc also gave me Nexium, which is an amazing medicine that helped my esophagus heal over time from the acid. I don't know if that is what you have, but if it does turn out that way, don't worry, it's very easily treatable.

I hope your doctor can pinpoint what it is, well wishes. :3

 

Sorry the link should have been:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V81uwYDa0Q"]YouTube - ‪Lactose intolerance - A guide to symptoms‬&rlm;[/ame]
Apologies for any inconvenience!

 

Hi
Just wanted to reply to this because I have suffered from some of these things before and am diagnosed with cyclothymia/BPII (I don't agree, I think I have anxiety, but I could argue about that all day!)

Firstly, I hope you feel well soon. Which of these have you been diagnosed with? Have they given you something with the paroxetine to combat hypomania? From what I've heard and experienced, SSRIs aren't really that great with BP so I guess just keep an eye out for signs (or ask someone close to you to). However, I'm not a doctor and I'm sure I've met a BP person on SSRIs before so I might be wrong.

What I mostly wanted to say was that it's unlikely one person will have a bunch of disorders that are unrelated. I have now been diagnosed with three lifelong health conditions but I believe they have one root (my mind, in my case, not that the doctors will listen to me!) and this, to be fair, is the more realistic way of looking at it.

With the stomach. I've had H.Pylori and it's nothing to worry about. Uncomfortable as fuck but it does go away with a course of pills. The acid doesn't, though, that'll stick around until your stomach is healed. In me, it took two years, so keep your acid reflux down. If you've had HP DO NOT use antacids right away. If there's any bacteria left in there, neutralising acid gives them the ideal home! Your doctor will be able to prescribe you with proton pump inhibitors to reduce the amount of acid you actually produce. This helped for a couple of years for me and eventually my stomach healed.

If it's not H Pylori, reduce your stress levels. Acid reflux is very often caused by stress, particularly if you have preexisting mental health problems. I don't think it's likely you're lactose intolerant. If you have acid problems, drinking milk increases that acid (it contains lactic acid) and can make you sick, give you heartburn, sore stomach etc. If you've got acid don't drink milk. Try peppermint or fennel teas, these help to neutralise the acid and I've found them very good for acid-related nausea - much better than any products, actually.

Lastly, if you have mental health problems you will physically ill as well. This does not mean it's imagined. When you are under emotional stress, your body reacts and this can cause a lot of problems. Acid reflux, headaches, IBS, nausea, dizziness, off-balancedness (it's not a word but it'll do!), bladder problems, aches and pains, digestive problems are all common while under stress due to the way your body physically reacts - i.e. it's not hypochondria but that doesn't mean the problem isn't in your mind

For the person who asked about social anxiety/phobia/avoidant personality disorder.

Social Anxiety - shyness.

Social phobia - the next level up. Someone who is social phobic might not be able to go into shops in case the cashier talks to them, for example. Or when I was social phobic, I couldn't come out of my room at uni unless I knew nobody would see me so I listened at the door until I heard the hall was empty and ran to the bathroom, then the same on the way back. Social phobia can be literally the fear of being seen by others, the fear of interaction with others - there isn't one specific reason, everybody has different reasons.

Avoidant personality disorder- the inability to bond with people. Someone with social phobia can still have an intense bond with a significant other or family member or a close friend perhaps. Like agoraphobics safe places, social phobics have safe people that they can talk to. Social phobics may go through periods of being scared to see them too, having decided that their parents hate them or something (I did this a lot) but the bond remains and this is a passing fear. Avoidant personality disorder is the withdrawal from all contact, as far as I'm aware, and the inability to have relationships with others (pushes people away). APD is also supposedly a developmental disorder. So social phobia can appear at any age while APD will always have been there.

It might be difficult to tell the difference from the outside because the behaviour is likely to be the same. One way I would put it is that someone with APD could be reclusive but someone with social phobia probably could not. People with social phobia have no developmental difficulties bonding with others, they are just afraid of other people. So if they meet someone they really like, they can start a friendship that will last the rest of their lives and this friendship will likely be very special to them, whereas someone with APD will push anyone away. I still don't think I've explained it right, but I think if you've had one you know you haven't had the other! They feel different, I expect, but I'm not a doctor.