Swollen Calves/Lower Body, discomfort/pressure in back/spine/kidney area (unknown cause?) Please advise, struggling immensely.

PeskyPeater

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2019
Messages
969
Location
netherrealm
Yes indeed its Ramadan ;) I might try bag breathing but tbh I'm very close to giving up. Aspirin K2 free now 10 days in, calves are more swollen than ever [I mean really fat] and painful - not painful to walk or stand on but just passively on fire up above the knee into the upper thigh. Both pinky toe nails are entirely black - cant be coincidental. Struggling to walk properly, balance is completely off. Muscles pulse and twitch constantly, all over my body. I wonder if its a copper deficiency maybe. Or high BP. Wish I'd never taken that nitrofurantoin. But tbh as my sisters life is essentially over I'm pretty much ready to give up on my health. I mean what does it matter anymore.
Oh, I thought sick people didn't have to participate in Ramadan, and you shouldn't in your case, really bad timing for a fast.

Sounds like serious issues, that is unfortunate. When you have high blood pressure, you can ask your GP for losartan or candesartan that will help the depression by reducing the angiotensin enzymes that got increased by gut problems. You will feel better fast, and helps to put things into a better perspective.
 
OP
H

Hairfedup

Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
465
Oh, I thought sick people didn't have to participate in Ramadan, and you shouldn't in your case, really bad timing for a fast.

Sounds like serious issues, that is unfortunate. When you have high blood pressure, you can ask your GP for losartan or candesartan that will help the depression by reducing the angiotensin enzymes that got increased by gut problems. You will feel better fast, and helps to put things into a better perspective.

Yep you're right but I can't bring myself to not participate haha.

Yeah there's something seriously wrong with me but at this point not really sure what I can do. GP thinks I'm an idiot, will never prescribe anything of the sort.

I think the toenails and pain in my extremities is definitely circulation related - would make sense why it has worsened since not taking Aspirin/K2. That said my kidney pain has disappeared - daily supplementation was too much for my body it seems.

Anyone know any ways to improve circulation? Exercise makes the pain that much worse. Not sure how much of an impact quitting smoking will make? If it definitely would improve circulation then that would be a great motivation. I do believe that thyroid is major in BP+circulation and mine is totally fried considering I have zero appetite or satiety.

After fasting my next port of call is to get some private blood tests and share them with you all - hopefully some insights can be gained. Only thing I can't seem to get tested is prolactin.

Last throw of the dice after that would be those phage probiotics for a couple of months, see what happens. But bloods first of course.
 
OP
H

Hairfedup

Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
465
My knee won't stop twitching/tremoring/pulsing after even just 5-10 mins walking. Wake up with numb legs and arms. Calves and thighs pretty painful, sometimes in hands and arms too. Am I suffering from some kind of vascular degeneration? I've started taking quali-C hopefully it helps.
 
P

Peatness

Guest
Did you manage to give up smoking? How did you get on with thiamine?
 

PeskyPeater

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2019
Messages
969
Location
netherrealm
Yep you're right but I can't bring myself to not participate haha.

Yeah there's something seriously wrong with me but at this point not really sure what I can do. GP thinks I'm an idiot, will never prescribe anything of the sort.

I think the toenails and pain in my extremities is definitely circulation related - would make sense why it has worsened since not taking Aspirin/K2. That said my kidney pain has disappeared - daily supplementation was too much for my body it seems.

Anyone know any ways to improve circulation? Exercise makes the pain that much worse. Not sure how much of an impact quitting smoking will make? If it definitely would improve circulation then that would be a great motivation. I do believe that thyroid is major in BP+circulation and mine is totally fried considering I have zero appetite or satiety.

After fasting my next port of call is to get some private blood tests and share them with you all - hopefully some insights can be gained. Only thing I can't seem to get tested is prolactin.

Last throw of the dice after that would be those phage probiotics for a couple of months, see what happens. But bloods first of course.
Smoking is detrimental to circulation because it constricts blood vessels in the extremities. Nicotine accumulates estrogen, the smoke decrease CO2. Putting you more in a degenerative state.

What helps circulation is ginger root, is blood-thinning and it has similar effects to an aldosterone inhibitor
 
OP
H

Hairfedup

Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
465
Did you manage to give up smoking? How did you get on with thiamine?

Smoking is detrimental to circulation because it constricts blood vessels in the extremities. Nicotine accumulates estrogen, the smoke decrease CO2. Putting you more in a degenerative state.

What helps circulation is ginger root, is blood-thinning and it has similar effects to an aldosterone inhibitor


Hey guys. Sorry for going dark. Really lost again. Broken veins appeared on the meaty side of my calf, went to the GP and the stand-in referred me to neurology instead (wtf right), but the nurse then calls me with the bloods to let me know what my cholesterol is apparently super high and they think I have a high stroke/heart attack risk. Makes sense with the circulation symptoms - but now I need to rebook an appointment with my GP again. They don't want to give me medication for some reason.

Really have no idea what to do, legs and symptoms are worse than ever, perpetual migraine and pressure behind the eyes (the veins are now apparent on my calf and a small purple crescent moon has appeared - ruptured vein?) - still zero appetite, fullness or feelings of thirst (can't lose weight either). GP has refused to send me my bloods to check the thyroid, I'll have to call and pester the nurse again on Monday. Just regular NHS dealings. edit: she didn't tell me which type of cholesterol was "extremely high" but getting them to email the bloods is like pulling teeth.

Haven't been able to quit smoking with my sister's condition emotionally killing me but I think if I continue I'll probably have a stroke. Everything just seems so pointless. I went to the GP in January for God's sake with the exact issues and was brushed off. I wonder if the Aspirin is the reason I haven't had something happen to me yet. Or maybe its somehow caused it? I just don't know. What effect K2 is having still eludes me.

My sister thinks I need boundaries with her even though she lives in a complete fantasy land. My brother is apprehensive to intervene because he thinks her coming back to reality will cause her to suicide. But the only other option is to witness her eventual and inevitable dementia.
 
Last edited:
P

Peatness

Guest
Hey guys. Sorry for going dark. Really lost again. Broken veins appeared on the meaty side of my calf, went to the GP and the stand-in referred me to neurology instead (wtf right), but the nurse then calls me with the bloods to let me know what my cholesterol is apparently super high and they think I have a high stroke/heart attack risk. Makes sense with the circulation symptoms - but now I need to rebook an appointment with my GP again. They don't want to give me medication for some reason.

Really have no idea what to do, legs and symptoms are worse than ever, perpetual migraine and pressure behind the eyes (the veins are now apparent on my calf and a small purple crescent moon has appeared - ruptured vein?) - still zero appetite, fullness or feelings of thirst (can't lose weight either). GP has refused to send me my bloods to check the thyroid, I'll have to call and pester the nurse again on Monday. Just regular NHS dealings. edit: she didn't tell me which type of cholesterol was "extremely high" but getting them to email the bloods is like pulling teeth.

Haven't been able to quit smoking with my sister's condition emotionally killing me but I think if I continue I'll probably have a stroke. Everything just seems so pointless. I went to the GP in January for God's sake with the exact issues and was brushed off. I wonder if the Aspirin is the reason I haven't had something happen to me yet. Or maybe its somehow caused it? I just don't know. What effect K2 is having still eludes me.

Honestly I may just kill myself. My sister thinks I need boundaries with her even though she lives in a complete fantasy land. My brother is apprehensive to intervene because he thinks her coming back to reality will cause her to suicide. But the only other option is to witness her eventual and inevitable dementia.
Please do not post on a forum threatening to kill yourself. I suspect you are not a teenager so don't behave like one. Start again - read Ray Peat's articles starting with the very first article on this website. This a great article and a good place to begin


However you are feeling right now and whatever state you are in it can get worse but it can also get better - the choice is yours

This post should be read in conjunction with my other posts on this thread.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Blossom

Moderator
Forum Supporter
Joined
Nov 23, 2013
Messages
11,032
Location
Indiana USA
Have you’ve tried nicotine gum or patches? I found both helpful in getting off cigarettes. Tobacco farming was big where I grew up and my parents smoked so I started early and had a pretty strong addiction. Nicotine replacement makes the process gentler and manageable in my experience. You will at least be free of carbon monoxide and the other undesirable chemicals/toxins in the smoke.

If you are serious about considering suicide I implore you to get in person help immediately. No one here really knows you and it’s very distressing for people to read because we are powerless to help online.
Edit: This is said with genuine concern and compassion for your situation.
 
OP
H

Hairfedup

Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
465
Please do not post on a forum threatening to kill yourself. I suspect you are not a teenager so don't behave like one. Start again - read Ray Peat's articles starting with the very first article on this website. This a great article and a good place to begin


However you are feeling right now and whatever state you are in it can get worse but it can also get better - the choice is yours

This post should be read in conjunction with my other posts on this thread.

Have you’ve tried nicotine gum or patches? I found both helpful in getting off cigarettes. Tobacco farming was big where I grew up and my parents smoked so I started early and had a pretty strong addiction. Nicotine replacement makes the process gentler and manageable in my experience. You will at least be free of carbon monoxide and the other undesirable chemicals/toxins in the smoke.

If you are serious about considering suicide I implore you to get in person help immediately. No one here really knows you and it’s very distressing for people to read because we are powerless to help online.
Edit: This is said with genuine concern and compassion for your situation.

Apologies. I understand it isn't something trivial and was indeed teenager-like. I'm overemotional and in a daze most of the time. I couldn't and wouldn't do something like that although my siblings all have multiple attempts. The very religion I amateurishly consider to limit me ironically also would stop me from committing such an act. If mods could edit those statements out of my posts it would be appreciated. I've thrown away all tobacco and smoking paraphernalia.



Peatness, I've tried with these articles these last 3 years to no avail. I fully agree with the sentiment of that link - I 100% suffer from learned helplessness. Something I'm going to read up and address from now on and fully acknowledge as being core to my ailments. I have no internal locus of control / stress feedback loop is in perpetual motion.

Trying to be as pragmatic as I can, do you know of anything that can be taken for the very high cholesterol at this time.
 

Bluebell

Member
Joined
May 24, 2013
Messages
585
Policosanol is something worth looking into. Doesn't work for everyone but can be good for cholesterol.
 

Korven

Member
Joined
May 4, 2019
Messages
1,133
Hey guys. Sorry for going dark. Really lost again. Broken veins appeared on the meaty side of my calf, went to the GP and the stand-in referred me to neurology instead (wtf right), but the nurse then calls me with the bloods to let me know what my cholesterol is apparently super high and they think I have a high stroke/heart attack risk. Makes sense with the circulation symptoms - but now I need to rebook an appointment with my GP again. They don't want to give me medication for some reason.

Really have no idea what to do, legs and symptoms are worse than ever, perpetual migraine and pressure behind the eyes (the veins are now apparent on my calf and a small purple crescent moon has appeared - ruptured vein?) - still zero appetite, fullness or feelings of thirst (can't lose weight either). GP has refused to send me my bloods to check the thyroid, I'll have to call and pester the nurse again on Monday. Just regular NHS dealings. edit: she didn't tell me which type of cholesterol was "extremely high" but getting them to email the bloods is like pulling teeth.

Haven't been able to quit smoking with my sister's condition emotionally killing me but I think if I continue I'll probably have a stroke. Everything just seems so pointless. I went to the GP in January for God's sake with the exact issues and was brushed off. I wonder if the Aspirin is the reason I haven't had something happen to me yet. Or maybe its somehow caused it? I just don't know. What effect K2 is having still eludes me.

My sister thinks I need boundaries with her even though she lives in a complete fantasy land. My brother is apprehensive to intervene because he thinks her coming back to reality will cause her to suicide. But the only other option is to witness her eventual and inevitable dementia.

Not medical advice:

I don't know what to make of the circulation/vascular problems, but your other symptoms like high cholesterol, poor appetite, fullness after eating, general malaise, etc, could all be explained by a very sick liver and poor bile flow. Perhaps the systemic vascular issues are also a consequence of liver dysfunction.

I used to have the chronic malaise, sickness feeling and it has completely gone away since I fixed my bile flow. Bile is needed to detoxify and control endotoxins. A gentle way of promoting bile flow is drinking hot or warm water between meals. When I felt very sick and lost this book gave me some new ideas to work with: https://justmeat.co/docs/what-must-i-do-to-get-well-by-elma-stuart.pdf . It could be worth a read.

Another thing that may be helpful in your situation is activated charcoal, 1-2 teaspoons per day. It is a safe and effective bandaid for any gut/-related bacterial toxin problems that can hold you over until you can figure out what the problem is.

Lastly it seems to me like your care-taking (?) relationship with your sister is causing you a tremendous amount of stress, and of course any chronic stress (*high cortisol) makes you very sick and this alone could very well explain a lot of your symptoms. I get that you want to help loved ones but it sounds to me like you need to focus on your own health right now. It's extremely difficult to help people that don't want to be helped, maybe it's time to let go? Just my 2 cents, obviously I don't have all the details and you should do whatever you feel is best for you and her.
 
P

Peatness

Guest
Apologies. I understand it isn't something trivial and was indeed teenager-like. I'm overemotional and in a daze most of the time. I couldn't and wouldn't do something like that although my siblings all have multiple attempts. The very religion I amateurishly consider to limit me ironically also would stop me from committing such an act. If mods could edit those statements out of my posts it would be appreciated. I've thrown away all tobacco and smoking paraphernalia.



Peatness, I've tried with these articles these last 3 years to no avail. I fully agree with the sentiment of that link - I 100% suffer from learned helplessness. Something I'm going to read up and address from now on and fully acknowledge as being core to my ailments. I have no internal locus of control / stress feedback loop is in perpetual motion.

Trying to be as pragmatic as I can, do you know of anything that can be taken for the very high cholesterol at this time.
Going cold turkey with tobacco could be stressful. Nicotine patches worked really well for me as did getting b vitamins and keeping blood sugar stable.

For cholesterol have you tried adding magnesium and the amino acid taurine? Getting enough fiber is important too. My cholesterol went down after I gave up smoking and started filtering my coffee using paper filters.





Please watch this presentation about cholesterol, it may not be your enemy

The Oiling of America​


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvKdYUCUca8


Find something soothing to go to when you are stressed. Walking, music etc. Nothing stays the same. when I am feeling bad I remind myself that this too shall pass.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

PeskyPeater

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2019
Messages
969
Location
netherrealm
Apologies. I understand it isn't something trivial and was indeed teenager-like. I'm overemotional and in a daze most of the time. I couldn't and wouldn't do something like that although my siblings all have multiple attempts. The very religion I amateurishly consider to limit me ironically also would stop me from committing such an act. If mods could edit those statements out of my posts it would be appreciated. I've thrown away all tobacco and smoking paraphernalia.



Peatness, I've tried with these articles these last 3 years to no avail. I fully agree with the sentiment of that link - I 100% suffer from learned helplessness. Something I'm going to read up and address from now on and fully acknowledge as being core to my ailments. I have no internal locus of control / stress feedback loop is in perpetual motion.

Trying to be as pragmatic as I can, do you know of anything that can be taken for the very high cholesterol at this time.
of course cholesterol we waNT TO GET THAT INTO THE METABOLISM TOWARDS OUR YOUTH HORMONES. meaning you want the cofactors that involve the conversion of them, which are?
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom