Strange Symptoms And Myalgia

[tara]

Strange symptoms and aspirin toxicity?

Hi Interactome,
How much of Peat's writing have you read?

post 103178
I found this on the web: http://www.uptodate.com/contents/nsaids ... plications
It feels like this is what I have.

You already know your heart has a possible defect that could impair circulation.
If you think you have kidney disease, you could see if you can find a nephroloist to test/confirm/deny.
If you think you might be suffering this, or milk-alkali syndrome, or anything related, then it is serious enought that I think it would be advised to get fresh tests for basic blood work. I imagine calcium, potassium, sodium, pH, maybe PTH would be relevant, but I'm no expert, so don't go on my word.

post 103178 I'll try to read more about what I could do to heal this. Just drink more?

I don't know if you should drink more or not - I don't know how much you are drinking now. You've said you were thirsty, and that your urine was dark, and that you had high ammonia. Underdrinking could cause this, but I don't know if it is.

post 103178And why doesn't it go away now that it's been 2.5 weeks with no Aspirin...

Maybe because it has nothing to do with the aspirin?

Peat generally recommends drinking to thirst and salting to taste. If 0.9% saline tastes good you, maybe it is. But I'd be surprised if it tastes good for long/much.

I don't see much point in getting an MRI till you've checked basic chemistry.
Has your UpH gone down since you stopped drinking baking soda?
Has your ammonia gone down since you started drinking more water (and/or juice)?
Lots of fruits should be OK. But if you prefer honey or sucrose for sugar, they options. Unless they cause you trouble, I see no problem with potatoes or rice either for carbs. Having smaller portions of protein seems like a good idea.

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms and aspirin toxicity?

post 103285 How much of Peat's writing have you read?

I'm not sure. I didn't make a record. A couple of them probably in entirety + some stuff on the forums and comments on other web sites. I keep meaning to do it systematically.

post 103285 You already know your heart has a possible defect that could impair circulation.

post 103285 If you think you have kidney disease, you could see if you can find a nephroloist to test/confirm/deny.
If you think you might be suffering this, or milk-alkali syndrome, or anything related, then it is serious enought that I think it would be advised to get fresh tests for basic blood work. I imagine calcium, potassium, sodium, pH, maybe PTH would be relevant, but I'm no expert, so don't go on my word.

I've been too preoccupied with these symptoms. The docs I've been to think it's in my head, since I've been so focused on trying to figure out what it is, googling and telling them to check me for this and that (neurological stuff) (the milk-alkali was never something I considered). Well, apart from the slightly irregular EKG, which the cardiologists I've been to said is strange and that the valve thing shouldn't cause that and maybe my heart is just like that. Some said it's just a mild insufficiency and some moderate, so it should not be the cause of discomfort (they'll perform an MRI in december to make sure), and then they read what my doc says (it's in my head). And the high ammonia (85, when max normal is 50) that I've found they said I shouldn't worry about. And the stabbing in my chest I get and inability to exercise bc my blood pressure rises after the first few reps is probably just my muscles (I haven't trained for 3 months). And my kidney pain... well, creatinine was normal 1 month ago, so I must be imagining it :)

I can only test stuff next week (Monday) (traveling to a different country (Romania) where there are private labs), as I cannot convince any doc to run any tests on me here. If I'm doing the right thing, probably they'll be normal.

post 103285 Has your UpH gone down since you stopped drinking baking soda?

So I drank .5L salt water last night + some other sugar water with the Na benzoate additive that I read about, and about .5L when I woke up only *once* this night (I didn't pee much). I hope it's because I did something right and not because I've been so exhausted from not being able to sleep through the night for so long. The pH has been about 6.5 (and slightly cloudy) both times. I have a feeling like of the 2 L of fluids I've been drinking since last night, only .5 L has come out at most. I also feel slightly puffy in my hand joints and face, so some of the fluid must be there.

And, no, I don't feel like the salt water tastes super right now. I'm actually just not that thirsty.

Since I just started, I probably need to give it a few days and see how I feel. Thanks for the suggestion. It could be it is the main cause. I'll keep you updated about how stuff develops :)

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms and aspirin toxicity?

[ref=#009999]tara[/ref], Hmm... pH is back to >7. Had a bit of stake and asparagus with honey and cheese for breakfast, and 1 Super K. Salt water with honey tastes good again. Lets see what happens if I sip another .5L of this. Confusing...

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms and aspirin toxicity?

I had the same for lunch as for breakfast (stake + asparagus + honey). pH is now ~8. Very strange. I would have expected more acid given the meat. Or is it the honey? Or asparagus?

 

[Giraffe]

Strange symptoms and aspirin toxicity?

Many of your symptoms suggest hypercalcemia. Both insufficient and excess calcium intake can cause this. In your earlier posts you mentioned fasting and rapid weight loss. Now you write you followed an extreme alkaline protocol. This is a sudden turn!

Baking soda is a no-no for you at the moment. Read here post 103106.

post 103117 I also noticed that I don't breathe much. But I get out of breath quickly. Very contradictory. I don't need much air, but I don't have enough air!

I guess that you hypoventilate in an atempt to treat the hyper alkaline state.

post 103330 I had the same for lunch as for breakfast (stake + asparagus + honey). pH is now ~8. Very strange.

Some here mentioned that their pH follows a certain pattern over the day. Read here post 63538.

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms and aspirin toxicity?

post 103331 Many of your symptoms suggest hypercalcemia. Both insufficient and excess calcium intake can cause this. In your earlier posts you mentioned fasting and rapid weight loss. Now you write you followed an extreme alkaline protocol. This is a sudden turn!

Baking soda is a no-no for you at the moment. Read here Source of the post.

Thanks. Yeah, I've probably done many things that have moved me in the wrong direction bc I didn't know what was happening. I just have to know which of those things are important to mention.

I don't know for sure if this is the cause, but I don't have any other explanation so I'll go with the milk alkali syndrome.

I'm trying to process this info. Probably switching from almost no dairy paleo with a lot of intermittent fasting to 1-2 L milk + ice cream + cheese, no fasting, and reducing meat is not a good idea. It has to be done gradually to let the system adapt and the necessary hormones to adjust, otherwise I might absorb too much of certain things and excrete too little.

I'll try to have 5-6 smaller meals with not too much Ca nor protein at once. More fluids and NaCl (for the Cl).

I've kept my UpH at around 6-6.5 the past 12 hours. Maybe it's the soda and masa.

I'll go by a nephrologist next week and get a checkup, and I'll have some blood tests again.

 

[tara]

Strange symptoms and aspirin toxicity?

post 103331 Many of your symptoms suggest hypercalcemia. Both insufficient and excess calcium intake can cause this. In your earlier posts you mentioned fasting and rapid weight loss. Now you write you followed an extreme alkaline protocol. This is a sudden turn!

Yeah, extreme diets can have some extreme effects. Rapid switching between them probably can, too.

post 103331 I guess that you hypoventilate in an atempt to treat the hyper alkaline state.

That's my guess too.

post 103505 I'm trying to process this info.

Physiology is complex.

post 103505 Probably switching from almost no dairy paleo with a lot of intermittent fasting to 1-2 L milk + ice cream + cheese, no fasting, and reducing meat is not a good idea. It has to be done gradually to let the system adapt and the necessary hormones to adjust, otherwise I might absorb too much of certain things and excrete too little.

I think gradual changes can have a bit to recommend them, and sudden changes can get ahead of the body's ability to adapt fast enough. But lets not forget you also added a lot of baking soda, which in excess can be expected to cause high pH.

post 103505 I'll try to have 5-6 smaller meals with not too much Ca nor protein at once.

Seems reasonable a reasonable thing to try.

post 103505More fluids and NaCl (for the Cl).

If you've said how much you are drinking, I've missed it.
You mentioned at some stage 2 litres, but I couldn't tell if that was over 24hrs or just overnight, or whether it was typical or more or less than typical lately.
Dehydration can have some of the effects you describe, and I imagine other things can too.
I don't know if you should just drink more water or juice, partly because I don't know how much you are drinking, and partly because I am not medical professional with knowledge and ways to assess various parameters to check for specific malfunction.

If you think something serious is wrong (and I can't tell if it is something that just a bit of balanced diet and hydration would help), I would not push more salt than tastes good unless someone with relevant knowledge and expertise advises it. Or anything else extreme.

Drs are often trained to not take patients opinions seriously. If you keep panicking at them and coming up with rare explanations without addressing simple things first, you may reinforce this attitude, and you may not get the best out of them.

 

[tara]

Strange symptoms and aspirin toxicity?

I'm not an expert on vit-D, and I think you had highish levels on a recent test and have stopped supplementing it, but just to add I have a hunch it's a good idea to avoid it at this stage, at least until your pH settles on the slightly acidic side. Can't see a reason not to get some sunshine, though - one of those things we generally need.

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms

post 103630 If you've said how much you are drinking, I've missed it.
You mentioned at some stage 2 litres, but I couldn't tell if that was over 24hrs or just overnight, or whether it was typical or more or less than typical lately.
Dehydration can have some of the effects you describe, and I imagine other things can too.
I don't know if you should just drink more water or juice, partly because I don't know how much you are drinking, and partly because I am not medical professional with knowledge and ways to assess various parameters to check for specific malfunction.

If you think something serious is wrong (and I can't tell if it is something that just a bit of balanced diet and hydration would help), I would not push more salt than tastes good unless someone with relevant knowledge and expertise advises it. Or anything else extreme.

Drs are often trained to not take patients opinions seriously. If you keep panicking at them and coming up with rare explanations without addressing simple things first, you may reinforce this attitude, and you may not get the best out of them.

The thirst was something that started when the kidneys/lower back started hurting. It's not because I didn't drink enough. I'm sure something was/is seriously disturbed. It's getting a bit better now, but I'll get a checkup here next week and will report back what I find. I want to get some blood tests done.
When it was bad, I was drinking 5 liters/day (for a few days) until I found out that adding more salt could cut this down or eating certain things (less fruit).

I've read around on the forum that some people have had a hard time getting on these so-called Peat foods and that it could be the liver. Maybe that's what has happened to me to. Maybe the liver cannot handle the extra calories (fructose and fat). I just upped the calories drastically coming from low carbing and fasting and started training heavy (and stressing more and sleeping less).

Maybe I also got some fatty liver... How would one test for that?
I've read that to get the liver working one should have

- caffeine (help the liver metabolise the sugar)
- K2 (liver and decalcification of tissues (especially my heart))
- choline (yolks, liver) (should help with potential fatty liver)
- protein (100-120) (help the liver build the necessary enzymes)

and maybe lower the fructose, milk and fat for a while. So I'll have a bit more potatos and rice, and try to build the other things up more slowly when/if I feel better.

I hope the ammonia comes down this way also and can get my brain and ability to speak properly back. I've read about getting more B1, B2, B6 to help lower the ammonia, but I don't know if that helps with improving the liver/kidneys permanently and one can then back off later or if it's something that one has to keep up?

I've also gotten a lot more white hair the past year, and I can see that I've also lost some hair. Maybe my scalp has calcified.

post 103631 I'm not an expert on vit-D, and I think you had highish levels on a recent test and have stopped supplementing it, but just to add I have a hunch it's a good idea to avoid it at this stage, at least until your pH settles on the slightly acidic side.

My vit D was 94 nmol/L 3 months ago, which should be good.

I also want to lower the prolactin (B6 and Zn): 448 (98-456). Though I'd like if there was a way to do it without supplements. Maybe it's the liver again. I've also read somewhere that thinking too much could cause it? So, meditation and thinking less?

I'll check all these things again in a week and see if anything has changed.

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms

post 103331 Many of your symptoms suggest hypercalcemia. Both insufficient and excess calcium intake can cause this. In your earlier posts you mentioned fasting and rapid weight loss. Now you write you followed an extreme alkaline protocol. This is a sudden turn!

Baking soda is a no-no for you at the moment.

post 103631 tara

Hi. I'm back with some results. I hope it's not too much information.

Results
I've done some blood tests at a lab 3 weeks ago, but my doc doesn't think they show much. Here are the results (they're in Romanian, but I think still intelligible):

My diet for 1.5 weeks before the tests was: .5 liter full fat goat milk/day (tried to keep it to the minimum), 1 coffee, some honey, one glass of OJ, grapes, a bit of rice, meat, eggs, some vegetables. Supplements: K2 (90mcg), B1 (30mg), B6 (10mg).

I haven't been taking any baking soda now for a long time, but I'm still in this strange state where I get very thirsty if I eat the wrong thing.

I've also done a full body MRI (without contrast). One thing they commented on is that the superior mesenteric vein seems to have a sudden reduction in caliber/diameter at a point. It looks like it's somehow squeezed by the surrounding adipose tissue, but it wasn't clearly visible and they suggested another MRI with contrast, which I'm not crazy about. Maybe an ultrasound. But they didn't make it sound like it was an emergency.
I have been having occasional pain in my right side next to the rib sometimes (depending on what I eat and stress levels).

My comments
- Bilirubin and creatine kinase (CK) are highish. Seems like my CK gets high easily. I think this indicates that my cells, muscles break down easily - probably due to too little usable energy. I do have difficulty eating enough when suddenly so many foods cause problems.
- Ca seems a bit high to me, even though it's within the labs limits...?
- Carnitine: according to the labs, it's ok. According to the web, total <40 umol/l and free/total > 0.4 indicate carnitine deficiency. My free/total = 0.84. So, do I have a fat metabolism problem? I've read that aspirin inhibits beta-oxidation...
- T3 is getting lower and T4 higher than the previous lab. Maybe my cells get less energy
- It seems like my ammonia has come down from the 85 umol/L 1.5 months ago. Don't know if it's from the occasional B1 or from they fact that I've moved less or because I have now not taken the aspirin for 1.5 months.
- Prolactin: it has come way down from what it was 2 months ago when I was fasting more and haven't had milk for a month.

Question: how much would being dehydrated change the values in ones blood test? It took the nurse a bit to get the blood flowing properly.

Now
I tried to cut out the milk for the past 1.5 weeks thinking maybe the Ca is too high in me. I also cut out all supplements to see if anything would improve (it didn't).

My veins have been swelling a lot more lately whenever I eat too much sugar (especially fruit juice (apple), agave, honey). They now have gotten to the point where it's sometimes painful to stand up as they swell in my feet and hands. I can feel the pressure in the vein walls. And they don't seem to reverse. It's like they've permanently gotten larger or become varicose in many places. In the beginning I was only feeling it in my joints as they got more puffy after eating sugar.

I've also gone much lower fat (very little coconut oil and 1 egg daily), meat, 200g cottage cheese, and have been eating a bunch of rice/masa every day (300-400g), as potatoes also seem to have a bad effect now (potassium?). But now I'm not getting that much Ca anymore... could that cause vein swelling?

The strange depapillation rash on my tongue (candida?) I've been having for a year while drinking milk (or is it the sugar?) has gotten better over the course of this week. I also feel like my articulation problems have gotten marginally better.

I keep loosing weight (and I'm a slim person already with some muscle that I built before this craziness started). The veins still swell, but less than when I eat the sugar/fructose. Last night I tried some agave on masa pancakes, and 30 min later my veins pop and start hurting so I had to raise my feet and arms. And the blood pressure rises.

I still have thirst issues and dizziness. And it gets worse if I exert myself. Maybe due to muscle breakdown and disturbance in electrolyte to to cells spilling their content into the blood? I'm just speculating... not a doctor, but I do have some biology and some genetics studies.

Also, when I feel very thirsty, I get more issues with my heart skipping beats and feeling strange at night.

I don't really know. Maybe I should go full paleo again as I didn't have these problems a few years ago. I also feel like I've messed up my veins.

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms

Can suddenly quitting milk, cause a drastic drop in Ca, or is the body able to adapt easily? How fast does PTH change? Say you'd been drinking milk daily for a few months and then went cold turkey. Can that affect blood vessels?

And what about the opposite? If one hasn't consumed much dairy for a long time and then started drinking 1l/day. Would that cause hypercalcemia? At least for a while?

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms

[ref=#009999]tara[/ref],
I just found this post from you over here: https://www.raypeatforum.com/forum/view ... ilit=veins

"tara wrote: I don't know if this is key for you, but one possible effect of reducing fat to very low could be an increase in metabolism, and therefore an increase in demand for many nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, protein, and overall calories. What was enough nutrition at higher fat may not be enough with very low fat.
Did you see Peat's references to the Burr's experiment with low fat in some of his articles about fats and sugars? His take is that subsequent experiments demonstrated that the symptoms they attributed to EFA deficiency were actually a result of B6 deficiency."

Could it be that my veins are weak and swell from inadequate nutrients and can therefore not withstand the increased metabolism when consuming more carbs?

 

[messtafarian]

Strange symptoms

The hyperammonemia, a few high liver numbers and the intolerance to meat might be a clue. when you're getting high ammonia it usually has something to do with how you are processing protein and how metabolites are clearing from the liver and kidney. I am wondering if the aspirin caused a slight liver injury -- which it will do ONLY if one of the CYP 450 pathways are blocked or constrained, creating a virtual overdose as can happen with any drug or nutrient. I also wonder if you have done any experimentation with salt. When there are strange osmotic effects in the veins the culprit is usually salt loss or imbalance.

Peat recommends eating potatoes since they contain ketoacids that bond with ammonia and turn them into something less harmful chemically. Try potatoes with salt?

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms

post 108719 The hyperammonemia, a few high liver numbers and the intolerance to meat might be a clue. when you're getting high ammonia it usually has something to do with how you are processing protein and how metabolites are clearing from the liver and kidney. I am wondering if the aspirin caused a slight liver injury -- which it will do ONLY if one of the CYP 450 pathways are blocked or constrained, creating a virtual overdose as can happen with any drug or nutrient. I also wonder if you have done any experimentation with salt. When there are strange osmotic effects in the veins the culprit is usually salt loss or imbalance.

Peat recommends eating potatoes since they contain ketoacids that bond with ammonia and turn them into something less harmful chemically. Try potatoes with salt?

Hi, thanks for the answer.

I don't know about the intolerance to meat. I don't feel worse by eating it. And the ammonia has come down.

I did experiment with high dose vitamin C (3-5g) in July and some B3 (the flushing kind) and also magnesium. Maybe that could cause some kidney issues too? I asked a doctor online and he said that vit C might burden the kidneys and that I should get an ADH and osmolality test. But I've stopped supplementing it 2 months ago so I don't know what kind of effect could last that long. My creatinine was within the normal.

I do have some SNPs related to Aspirin (from Promethease and 23andme) in CYP2C9:
- gs161: CYP2C9 intermediate metabolizer
- rs1057910(A;C) CYP2C9*3 carrier; average 40% reduction in warfarin metabolism

and some in UGT1A6 and UGT1A10 that also seem to determine Aspirin sensitivity. So maybe there's something there. There are probably many other genes and SNPs that could be influenced.

But now it's been over one month since I stopped with the aspirin. And the thirst is crazy.

I do feel like salt water makes me feel less thirsty for a while. I did consume about 12g one day a few weeks back and it did remove the thirst for a while. Then the thirst slowly came back over the course of a week when I again just ate normal amounts of salt. My doc said I shouldn't consume that much salt because that might make me thirsty, but I feel now that I'm just getting more and more thirsty by following that advice. I need to convince them that something is totally off.

I feel like potassium makes it worse for some reason, and potatoes are high in potassium. I don't know if I dare try them again right now. But if I somehow can get out of the thirst state I will definitely do it.

 

[messtafarian]

Strange symptoms

I don't have a problem with my veins but some of the symptoms you've described sound a lot like mine. One thing to consider is POTS -- this has to do with the inability of your veins to constrict or dilate appropriately. Peat would say that if you want salt, then eat salt, because it could be what you're trying to do is increase your blood volume especially when the veins are dilating when they should be constricting. Do a search on Postural Orthostatic Hypotension. It's a real pain in the **** this condition. But since the aspirin -- which thins the blood -- made everything worse, it makes me wonder if there is a connection.

The only other thing I can think of is trouble with your adrenal and parathyroid glands, both of which manage salts in your body. Because of the salt management this also has an effect on your heart, blood pressure, etc. Have you seen an endocrinologist? ( I hate to ask this because I don't think endocrinologists know any endocrinology -- but you could get your adrenal hormones tested).

When you last took a basic metabolic panel, was your calcium level normal?

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms

post 108801 I don't have a problem with my veins but some of the symptoms you've described sound a lot like mine. One thing to consider is POTS -- this has to do with the inability of your veins to constrict or dilate appropriately. Peat would say that if you want salt, then eat salt, because it could be what you're trying to do is increase your blood volume especially when the veins are dilating when they should be constricting. Do a search on Postural Orthostatic Hypotension. It's a real pain in the **** this condition. But since the aspirin -- which thins the blood -- made everything worse, it makes me wonder if there is a connection.

I just tested it. Lying on the sofa: pulse 65. Stood up: pulse 92, then 85 2 min later.
The craziest dizziness symptoms I had were just before I stopped aspirin for the second time 1.5 months ago or so. It was like being on a boat all the time. Many of the other symptoms fit too. But what's the underlying cause? Could it be some sort of "internal varicose veins"... if that's possible... just as it's happening on both my arms now and also on my feet the veins swell/bulge and hurt now. Especially after I eat, and it's worse after carbs. I didn't have these problems 4 months ago. Or maybe some sort of obstruction to normal blood flow... but then I wonder if the symptoms shouldn't have stayed constant throughout the entire period.

In times like this, I wish I were a doctor. If I get out of this, I'll consider becoming one (a holistic type, of course) so that no-one I know will have to go through stuff without knowing WTH is going on with them and why and without all the necessary tests done quickly.

I try to think, even though I'm not religious, that this is my "Jesus-time". Most of us go through at least one "crucifixion" in our lives. This is it.

post 108801 The only other thing I can think of is trouble with your adrenal and parathyroid glands, both of which manage salts in your body. Because of the salt management this also has an effect on your heart, blood pressure, etc. Have you seen an endocrinologist? ( I hate to ask this because I don't think endocrinologists know any endocrinology -- but you could get your adrenal hormones tested).

When you last took a basic metabolic panel, was your calcium level normal?

I posted some lab results from 3 weeks ago a bit further up on this page (page #4). Ca = 10.24 mg/dl (8.6-10.3) ... though I've seen some online values that had a tighter range... maybe it depends on the lab?

I measured my Prolactin, PTH and Aldosterone. But unfortunately not my ADH. Maybe I'll do it in a few weeks if I nothing more dramatic happens with me before that.

 

[tara]

Strange symptoms

post 108393 My diet for 1.5 weeks before the tests was: .5 liter full fat goat milk/day (tried to keep it to the minimum), 1 coffee, some honey, one glass of OJ, grapes, a bit of rice, meat, eggs, some vegetables. Supplements: K2 (90mcg), B1 (30mg), B6 (10mg).

Can you roughly quatify - eg how much protein, approx calories?

And what about now?

post 103315 The pH has been about 6.5 (and slightly cloudy) both times.

This is a pretty good pH, as far as I can tell.

post 108719 Peat recommends eating potatoes since they contain ketoacids that bond with ammonia and turn them into something less harmful chemically. Try potatoes with salt?

Sounds like a good idea to me. Salt to taste.

post 108723 My doc said I shouldn't consume that much salt because that might make me thirsty, but I feel now that I'm just getting more and more thirsty by following that advice. I need to convince them that something is totally off.

If you are waiting for yr dr to understand what is going on with you and provide you with a simple solution, you might wait a long time.

What happens if you trust your senses to judge when you need more water or more salt? If salty food tastes good, eat it. When it stops tasting good, stop. When water tastes good, drink it. When it doesn't, stop. Unless we have trained ourselves to ignore and override them, our senses of taste and thirst can be much more accurate guides to how much of them we need.

 

[messtafarian]

Strange symptoms

There is a condition called Reye's syndrome that occurs when a person is unfortunate enough to have the right kind of virus while taking aspirin. Reye's is hard on the liver; might close down cyp 450 pathways for a little while and give you an "aspirin overdose."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reye_syndrome

If you had what we could call "reye's like syndrome" then it's perfectly viable to operate as if you have POTS for the moment, since you're having some symptoms -- circulatory inefficiency of some kind. Often -- in fact I'd say *always* -- POTS will resolve on its own, it just takes forever and a day.

Your calcium level seems a bit high really. This can cause inappropriate thirst but I don't think it's high enough to make you symptomatic. I'm voting a silent virus plus aspirin leadingto POTS. There is no cure, you just have to let your circulatory system recover while amping up blood volume as much as you can.

Dr Peat would recommend progesterone and possibly cortisone:

http://raypeat.com/articles/aging/bleed ... ncer.shtml

For vertigo, some people do pretty well taking meclizine, which is an antihistamine that works for seasickness.

I should ETA that if you are experiencing kidney or flank pain then maybe that is why you are craving salt. Kidney disease wastes salt and it can also hoard potassium, depending on what exactly is wrong. In addition, the kidney/adrenal hormones are strongly connected to heart function. A lot of blood pressure meds depend on the adrenal system. Even if they don't find anything "wrong" it's good to get a baseline glomular filtration rate ( GFR).

When I got sick this winter my GFR went from 85 percent to 62 percent -- it's a helpful thing to know.

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms

post 108826 There is a condition called Reye's syndrome that occurs when a person is unfortunate enough to have the right kind of virus while taking aspirin. Reye's is hard on the liver; might close down cyp 450 pathways for a little while and give you an "aspirin overdose."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reye_syndrome

If you had what we could call "reye's like syndrome" then it's perfectly viable to operate as if you have POTS for the moment, since you're having some symptoms -- circulatory inefficiency of some kind. Often -- in fact I'd say *always* -- POTS will resolve on its own, it just takes forever and a day.

Your calcium level seems a bit high really. This can cause inappropriate thirst but I don't think it's high enough to make you symptomatic. I'm voting a silent virus plus aspirin leadingto POTS. There is no cure, you just have to let your circulatory system recover while amping up blood volume as much as you can.

Dr Peat would recommend progesterone and possibly cortisone:

http://raypeat.com/articles/aging/bleed ... ncer.shtml

For vertigo, some people do pretty well taking meclizine, which is an antihistamine that works for seasickness.

I should ETA that if you are experiencing kidney or flank pain then maybe that is why you are craving salt. Kidney disease wastes salt and it can also hoard potassium, depending on what exactly is wrong. In addition, the kidney/adrenal hormones are strongly connected to heart function. A lot of blood pressure meds depend on the adrenal system. Even if they don't find anything "wrong" it's good to get a baseline glomular filtration rate ( GFR).

When I got sick this winter my GFR went from 85 percent to 62 percent -- it's a helpful thing to know.

Thanks for the help. It sure does explain some things. A bit mad now that I didn't consistently do as I felt a few months ago, when I first felt that water with salt seemed to help. My veins wouldn't have gotten into this state. But I guess the best thing to do now is to trust my instincts more, and rely less on well meaning advice from people around me saying that salt is bad. As Tara put it:

post 108818 What happens if you trust your senses to judge when you need more water or more salt? If salty food tastes good, eat it. When it stops tasting good, stop. When water tastes good, drink it. When it doesn't, stop. Unless we have trained ourselves to ignore and override them, our senses of taste and thirst can be much more accurate guides to how much of them we need.

I'll assume it was some form of Reye's and now it's POTS and try to keep the salt and water up.
It explains the chest stabbing, not able to train anymore because BP and pulse would rise and I'd get out of breath, dizziness, thirst, vein issues, and the fact that I got better a few times while eating the right way for the condition.

Will most of the veins go back to normal size in time, if one keeps doing the right thing? It must be related to the thirst. Blood pooling in the extremities... must mean that there's not enough volume? or that, as I read somewhere online, some smaller capillaries have collapsed/been shut down to maintain enough blood pressure in the larger veins.


The creatinine was 0.97 mg/dl, so not out of range. Creatine kinase and bilirubin were slightly high again. So probably some muscle breakdown. That can also be a bit hard on the kidneys if it keeps up in the long run.

post 108818 Interactome wrote:
Source of the post My diet for 1.5 weeks before the tests was: .5 liter full fat goat milk/day (tried to keep it to the minimum), 1 coffee, some honey, one glass of OJ, grapes, a bit of rice, meat, eggs, some vegetables. Supplements: K2 (90mcg), B1 (30mg), B6 (10mg).

Can you roughly quatify - eg how much protein, approx calories?

And what about now?

I kind of dropped the milk and too much sugar (sodas), which made the depapilation in the middle of my tongue much better. I'm now having some cottage cheese (200g), 2 eggs, some rice or corn concoction for dinner with meat. I've tried to keep carbs up for the past 2 weeks with rice and masa for breakfast, lunch and dinner and my temperature was around 37.2 most of the day, but my veins had gotten worse and worse, so now I have a slight carb fobia. I lost weight anyway. Maybe it's the dehydration. I'm not sure. I need to experiment a bit more, but now with more salt and water.

 

[Interactome]

Strange symptoms

post 108818
Interactome wrote:
Source of the post The pH has been about 6.5 (and slightly cloudy) both times.

This is a pretty good pH, as far as I can tell.

The past few days when I started measuring again it's been mostly around 7-7.5. So it's high-ish again. And not drinking milk, so it's probably not due to the milk that it was high before. No bicarbonate or any other carbonates. Let's see in a day or two if I hydrate with salt and water some more.

Meals today:
I had 4 kiwis + 2 eggs with some kale for breakfast. I know about Peat and seeds, but I'm trying not to burn my stomach too much with OJ.
2 carrot salad with ACV.
I'll have 200g 4% cottage cheese for lunch with some red pepper (despite the beta carotene vegetable PUFA).
Later some shrimps with a bit of masa or rice.
And some meat with a few potatoes for dinner.

And I'll try to consume about 10g salt over the course of the day and adequate liquids whenever I feel thirsty.