Stress/Autonomic Nervous System/Digestion/Erectile Dysfunction

About 8 months ago, I got involved in some online gambling. My body was under extreme stress and I could feel my stomach tightening up and had the nervous stomach feeling. A couple weeks into the gambling, I noticed pain/swelling coming from my middle/right of stomach (right upper quadrant). The swelling could range from about the size of golf ball, to half a baseball. I also noticed that I could not poop anymore (constipation) and felt very weak in the legs, had headaches, dizzyness, etc. Many symptoms of very high stress.

For the next few months, I visited docs running tests to see what it might be. One thing that showed up on an endoscopy was a doctor said I had, “very poor gastric motility consistent with severe gastroparesis.” However, I had a gastroparesis test done month or two after this, and it came back normal.

In September, a surgeon I was referred to tried doing a pain shot in the area to bring me some relief. I was hoping this would work because my research led me to believe that what I could have been experiencing was a chronic abdominal wall pain, from nerve entrapment, nerve compression, nerve irration in the area, etc. After this shot did not help me, I read that massaging the area and putting pressure on it might restore blood flow and this could possibly help. Massaging the area ended up making problem worse and my stomach become very distented, bloated, more painful, symptoms worse, etc. My stomach is distented so much that it becomes very painful on a daily basis.

Since September, I have visited gastro docs at 3 big hospitals in florida, cleveland clinic, shands, and mayo. The mayo doc thinks some of pain might be coming from acid reflux (because I have a history of gastric ulcer and other acid reflux damage) and he thought maybe part of pain/swelling was coming from my spine because I have some disk deterioration. The Cleveland doc thought it was abdominal wall pain most likely being caused from some kind of nerve entrapment or nerve irration and this could be causing the muscles are the area to swell. She wanted me to see a pain management doc for nerve shots and utilize surgery as a last resort. The Shands docs wants to redo the gastroparesis test, do a small bowel bacteria overgrowth test, she said pain shots may or may not help, and she really didn’t seem like she knew what to do.

I am very concerned now because it seems my autonomic nervous system might not be functioning right. In the past few months I have noticed my erectile dysfunction is gotten very bad, I cannot urinate like I used to (hold it in too long), sweat more often, have alot of chest pain, and have alot of headaches and feel dizzy often throughout the day. I looked it up and autonomic nervous system is connected with stress and maybe the extreme stress I went through for a few months could have altered this system in some way.

My questions to you are:

  1. What do you think is causing the pain/swelling? It is near my right rib, but the pain can sometimes spread out in the middle and lower right of abdomen.

  2. Do you think the high level of stress could have damaged or affected my autonomic nervous system? If yes, how do I go about trying to fix it.

  3. What should I do about the erectile dysfunction issue? I already have had low T for many years and this has made things much worse.

Some important things for you to know:

–I have noticed since this happened that my stools will often be clay colored or very light brown.
–When I drink a green superfood vegetable drink, it used to turn my stools green colored. It now does not affect the color of stool at all.
–I am taking clomid right now to help raise my natural T level. I have not felt any positive benefit so far.
–When I stopped gambling completely, I felt so tired I could barely stand up. I ended up taking small doses of cortef and this helped me regain some energy.
–I do not have any more night time erections and this is affecting my sleep. Worse sleep.
–Taking prilosec (acid reducer) does seem to help a little with the pain in middle of stomach. Still have alot of pain in right area of abdomen.
–Have daily headaches, feel dizzy, etc. I am thinking this is blood pressure, blood sugar, or both.
–Since this happened, my appetite has increased alot. I have gained weight and body has basically went to shit. I think the appetite increase is probably due to increased blood sugar levels, higher insulin, loss of blood sugar control, etc.
–I am working with a surgeon who will do an exploratory laproscopy to see if he can find the problem. He mentioned there could be some scar tissue or something similar to this in the area that is causing a problem

Read more from the MESO-Rx Steroid Forum. I am trying to save this a last resort, and find another way to treat this if possible.
–There are probably more, but this is all I can think of right now.

My thoughts on the issue:

I do not think the pain and swelling are going to go away on its own. I think the area in my abdomen with the pain is causing some of other problems with digestion and could be affecting my autonomic nervous system.

I believe it is most likely nerve entrapment or nerve irration in the area and this causing the muscles in the area to swell. Abdominal wall pain in some form. The second thing it may be, but unlikely, is some kind of blood flow problem. Not having the proper blow to digestive system could cause constipation, but I am not sure. It could be a combination of these 2, or maybe none of them.

I am very concerned about the ED issue and need to address it asap. I do have an aggressive plan to treat my low T levels and I think I that will really need to focus on balancing all my hormone levels.

I am also pretty concerned about my autonomic nervous system. I am hoping it will get better with time and when I rebalance my hormone levels. I think my smpyphatic nervous system became very overactivated, and this caused alot of problems. I looked into trying to activate my parasymphatic nervous system through medications or lifestyle changes, but have not been able to locate too much info.

Any thoughts or recommendations is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Your Liver is located right behind and somewhat under your right lower rib. Your clay colored stool is probably the result of decreased bile production. Bile is created by the liver and stored in the Gall Bladder. ( the gall bladder is located in roughly the same region but closer to the center line) Biie is produced to help digest fats. The Clay colored stool and digestive issues scream Liver or Gall bladder. How much alcohol do you drink? Has anyone mentioned an MRI to check for cirrosis, Gall Stones, or growths on either? If it was me and I had pain in the general location of my Gall bladder, I would try eating a completey fat free diet for a day just as a diagnostic tool.

What are the numbers for blood work “liver function” markers? Post lab numbers and ranges. Get the lab reports into your own hands.

Have you had and radiology done?

Any rashes?
Unexplained weight loss at any time?

What changes to BP, pulse?

The brain and the intestines form from the same Neural Crest. The enteric nervous system connects the two and as a person with an autoimmune disease effecting my large intestine I can say that chronic stress eventually effects your gut, however all of your symptoms are non-GI related as I skimmed your post so its seems that something else is the cause of your pain.

His case is extremely complexed and has to be chunked down into smallest components needing to be examined by several medical specialists. In order to resolution one needs to have a clinic specializing in structural, neurological, and state of the art alternative medicine facility. i have personally dealt with his case and it has to be the most complex case I have ever crossed. Alot of imbalance where uncovered, but the order to which to proceed was just to delicate because when you goto to correct something else there would be a consequence. Even having proper medical jusitification for doing something may be a blessing for one and a curse for another. I recommended the top specialist where you may seek some help and all I can do is wish you well.

Liver biopsy?

[quote]jrm850 wrote:
Your Liver is located right behind and somewhat under your right lower rib. Your clay colored stool is probably the result of decreased bile production. Bile is created by the liver and stored in the Gall Bladder. ( the gall bladder is located in roughly the same region but closer to the center line) Biie is produced to help digest fats. The Clay colored stool and digestive issues scream Liver or Gall bladder. How much alcohol do you drink? Has anyone mentioned an MRI to check for cirrosis, Gall Stones, or growths on either? If it was me and I had pain in the general location of my Gall bladder, I would try eating a completey fat free diet for a day just as a diagnostic tool. [/quote]

Thanks for the reply. I agree the clay colored stool most likely has to do with bile in some way, shape, or form. Whether something is being blocked or not produced enough of or something, I am not sure. I do have a history of alcohol abuse growing up, but nothing for the last few years. I had MRI of abdomen, ultrasound, ct scan, and hida scan, and the only thing that showed up was a fatty liver. And it said well distended gallbladder on one of the tests as well, but I believe that is normal.

I could try eating fat free and see if that might help.

The pain is more of dull pain, that sometimes get sharper or more intense throughout the day, but mostly dull. It feels like something is stuck in there. Near my right rib. I also have alot of pain around the center of my stomach, between the belly button and breast bone. It feels like it is burning sometimes right on top of my skin. The burning feeling is located going towards my skin area. But the dull pain like something stuck in there feel like it is deeper in my abdomen area. There could be 2 things going on with this, I am not positive. Other doctors have mentioned there could be 2 problems going on. I do have history of an ulcer and gastristis, I also tested middle of the range on a h pylori blood test. But other biopsies and h pylori breath test I had were negative.

Taking prilosec does seem to help a little with the burning pain in the center of my stomach. It does not completely resolve, but helps alot. However the constant pain and swelling and stuck feeling near my right rib still remains everyday.

[quote]KSman wrote:
What are the numbers for blood work “liver function” markers? Post lab numbers and ranges. Get the lab reports into your own hands.

Have you had and radiology done?

Any rashes?
Unexplained weight loss at any time?

What changes to BP, pulse?[/quote]

I am getting recent blood liver tests back this week and will post them as soon as I can.

I have 2 ultrasounds, 1 regular/1 doppler. Mri abdomen, ct scan, hida scan, endoscopy, gastroparesis test.

I do not remember having any rashes, but it feels like my skin is not that healthy. Very dry often, pale, etc.

No weight loss. Weight gain of about 7-10 pounds.

Blood pressure seems to fluctuate more recently. I had it tested awhile ago it was about 100/60 something and I thought that was low. Other times it has been 120/70, sometimes 110/65. Whatever is going on, it feels as thought my heart is working extra hard in this situation. I have noticed that my heart is beating very slowly sometimes, and this is scaring the hell out of me. I have chest pain on a daily basis and not sure why it is happening. Ever since this happened my body has basically went to shit. Can’t poop anymore, can’t urinate properly anymore, chest pain, impotence, severe blood sugar problems, etc. I need to try and find a solution asap.

One thing I am concerned about alot is the blood sugar issue. I have had a very out of balance hormone system for many years and this lead to problems with insulin resistance, increased appetite, obesity, etc. Recently is seems as though my body is having a very difficult time controlling my blood sugar at all. If I eat certain carbs at night, I will wake up starving, body feeling weak/shaky, head feeling dizzy/headaches/ all signs of a hypoglycemia or low blood sugar problem. And this has progressively gotten worse in the last few months. And it doesn’t just happen at night, it occurs during the daytime as well. It was manageable before this problem happened 8 months ago, but know it is a major problem.

In the past few weeks, it feels as though my body is not processing glucose well at all and I have many low blood sugar symptoms, one of the main ones that I worry about this blood sugar dysregulation affecting my head/brain. I will get very bad headaches, feel dizzy alot, and need to lay down sometimes, which is not normal.

I have thought about maybe my pancreas being affected somehow in this situation and maybe that is having a negative effect on controlling blood sugar and digesting food. I have only ran one pancrease enzyme blood tests and am considering doing another one soon. It is possible that maybe the extreme stress and my out of balance hormone system is caused the increase in blood sugar problems, but I am not sure. If you and anyone has an input on this, that would be very helpful.

[quote]KSman wrote:
What are the numbers for blood work “liver function” markers? Post lab numbers and ranges. Get the lab reports into your own hands.

Have you had and radiology done?

Any rashes?
Unexplained weight loss at any time?

What changes to BP, pulse?[/quote]

I am getting recent blood liver tests back this week and will post them as soon as I can.

I have 2 ultrasounds, 1 regular/1 doppler. Mri abdomen, ct scan, hida scan, endoscopy, gastroparesis test.

I do not remember having any rashes, but it feels like my skin is not that healthy. Very dry often, pale, etc.

No weight loss. Weight gain of about 7-10 pounds.

Blood pressure seems to fluctuate more recently. I had it tested awhile ago it was about 100/60 something and I thought that was low. Other times it has been 120/70, sometimes 110/65. Whatever is going on, it feels as thought my heart is working extra hard in this situation. I have noticed that my heart is beating very slowly sometimes, and this is scaring the hell out of me. I have chest pain on a daily basis and not sure why it is happening. Ever since this happened my body has basically went to shit. Can’t poop anymore, can’t urinate properly anymore, chest pain, impotence, severe blood sugar problems, etc. I need to try and find a solution asap.

One thing I am concerned about alot is the blood sugar issue. I have had a very out of balance hormone system for many years and this lead to problems with insulin resistance, increased appetite, obesity, etc. Recently is seems as though my body is having a very difficult time controlling my blood sugar at all. If I eat certain carbs at night, I will wake up starving, body feeling weak/shaky, head feeling dizzy/headaches/ all signs of a hypoglycemia or low blood sugar problem. And this has progressively gotten worse in the last few months. And it doesn’t just happen at night, it occurs during the daytime as well. It was manageable before this problem happened 8 months ago, but know it is a major problem.

In the past few weeks, it feels as though my body is not processing glucose well at all and I have many low blood sugar symptoms, one of the main ones that I worry about this blood sugar dysregulation affecting my head/brain. I will get very bad headaches, feel dizzy alot, and need to lay down sometimes, which is not normal.

I have thought about maybe my pancreas being affected somehow in this situation and maybe that is having a negative effect on controlling blood sugar and digesting food. I have only ran one pancrease enzyme blood tests and am considering doing another one soon. It is possible that maybe the extreme stress and my out of balance hormone system is caused the increase in blood sugar problems, but I am not sure. If you and anyone has an input on this, that would be very helpful.

[quote]Hardasnails wrote:
His case is extremely complexed and has to be chunked down into smallest components needing to be examined by several medical specialists. In order to resolution one needs to have a clinic specializing in structural, neurological, and state of the art alternative medicine facility. i have personally dealt with his case and it has to be the most complex case I have ever crossed. Alot of imbalance where uncovered, but the order to which to proceed was just to delicate because when you goto to correct something else there would be a consequence. Even having proper medical jusitification for doing something may be a blessing for one and a curse for another. I recommended the top specialist where you may seek some help and all I can do is wish you well.[/quote]

Thank you for wishing me well. I agree my case has been pretty complex so far. However, after reviewing all the lab work, medical history, notes, etc., I have realized that the main problem to begin with was a very out of balance hormone system. This lead to problems with insulin resistance, blood sugar dysregulation, increase appetite, obesity, and this list goes on. I am working with some pretty good docs and think my quality of my life will improve soon. The 2 main things that are going on is the stomach/abdomen problem and and a very out of balance hormone system. There might be a a few other things that are negatively affecting my health, but these are the main ones. And the correcting hormone system is the most important.

The bottom line is that I have to raise my T levels in order me to truly feel healthy again. My testosterone has been suppressed or low for probabaly close to 10-11 years and this has caused a wide variety of health problems. For too many years I was looking at so many other factors that I thought were causing my poor health such as thyroid, nutrition, adrenal, heavy metals, leaky gut, dybysosis, h pylori, etc. and it took me a while to sort through everything. I finally realized one day that I have the T levels of a 95 year old man and I need a good/higher testosterone level so I can increase my sexual drive, put on muscle again, lose weight, improve mood, stregthen bones, etc., and all the wonderful things that T does for a man. I am very confident that once my hormone levels start to balance out, that other health problems I was experiencing will start to get much better. I am working with an open minded doc who is great in the HRT field. The doc also speacializes in weight management and detoxfication (chelation) so I am in good hands. I have tried clomid the for the past few weeks and it does not seem to be doing much. I knew there was a slim chance that it would help, but I had to try. I will now move onto raising my T through other ways. I plan on either doing the chelation through dmps oral pills for awhile and maybe IV stuff if the doc wants first or moving in the TRT option first. Or maybe doing both at the same time.

For the TRT, I am just going to need to go real slow and ask for help if problems arise. I probably will start out using a small doses of T gel, along with dhea cream/pill, preg cream/pill, and maybe wait to incorporate hcg or an AI later down the line.

I probably will be posting some of the progress in the forum and asking questions. You are more the welcome to reply and help out. I know that my quality of life will improve dramitically once my hormones are balanced out and I am working towards that.

In the meantime, if you can think of anything on this abdomen/stomach issue I am having, please let me know.

[quote]KSman wrote:
Liver biopsy?[/quote]

I had not had a liver biopsy and do not know who I would even request that from. My primary, surgeon,?

I have thought about it to check for an infection or some signs of inflammation, but I don’t know if the docs would do it without lab test indicating the need for it. They could do it based on my medical history with this situation, but I am not sure.

Do you think I should request this from a doctor? Thanks.

[quote]Hardasnails wrote:
His case is extremely complexed and has to be chunked down into smallest components needing to be examined by several medical specialists. [/quote]

Well I dont know I have been thinking my situation is extremely complex. I do not mean to hijack his thread but I just left the coumadin clinic where they cut me to see how well I bleed vs clot each week. Problem is in 2006 I got Ulcerative Colitis which flares up with bleeding large intestine, now I am on blood thinners of all things because the previous medication caused a stroke/clot.

The complex part used to be that UC has no cure, so you end up collaborating online with the other poor b@stards, comparing notes and trying everything you read about.

Well now they have me on blood thinner ( coumadin ) and I am really boxed in because everything that keeps UC under control is disallowed, yet if I lose control of UC then the blood thinner must stop which could kill me. So I told them to up the dosage as I have to keep eating the things that are known to work with my UC while allowing my INR reading on the bleeding/clotting to ride the lower end of the range.

Anything healthy is disallowed, fish oil, vitamin D, C, spinach, grapes etc. Number one is vitamin k but its in all the good things like spinach.

I am on low dose T - about 125mg every two weeks but not about to attempt to exit with PCT as I had planned, do not see any reason to throw a bunch of new meds into the mix. I am stable now leaving as is.

[quote]HiredGun wrote:

[quote]Hardasnails wrote:
His case is extremely complexed and has to be chunked down into smallest components needing to be examined by several medical specialists. [/quote]

Well I dont know I have been thinking my situation is extremely complex. I do not mean to hijack his thread but I just left the coumadin clinic where they cut me to see how well I bleed vs clot each week. Problem is in 2006 I got Ulcerative Colitis which flares up with bleeding large intestine, now I am on blood thinners of all things because the previous medication caused a stroke/clot.

The complex part used to be that UC has no cure, so you end up collaborating online with the other poor b@stards, comparing notes and trying everything you read about.

Well now they have me on blood thinner ( coumadin ) and I am really boxed in because everything that keeps UC under control is disallowed, yet if I lose control of UC then the blood thinner must stop which could kill me. So I told them to up the dosage as I have to keep eating the things that are known to work with my UC while allowing my INR reading on the bleeding/clotting to ride the lower end of the range.

Anything healthy is disallowed, fish oil, vitamin D, C, spinach, grapes etc. Number one is vitamin k but its in all the good things like spinach.

I am on low dose T - about 125mg every two weeks but not about to attempt to exit with PCT as I had planned, do not see any reason to throw a bunch of new meds into the mix. I am stable now leaving as is.[/quote]

I am sorry this has happened. Try to stay positive. I don’t know too much about UC, but I think 2 things I have read in the past may have helped people. They are taking VSL #3 or the double dose version, and taking low dose naldextrone (sp). Those are the only things I can think of. Maybe a different probiotic (beneficial e-coli), forgot the name of that one. I am glad at least that you hormone levels seem to be stable. Good luck in the future.

Hey thanks Bigpete for the upbeat thoughts. Yes I take VSL#3DS twice daily and it has been great. I have kept notes on LDN but have not tried it yet. My problems stem from overcoming UC and then getting over confident, not taking meds and eating the wrong foods, not hydrating, etc.

I thought I was cured.

But I got a new contract and if I can take the heat till Dec 1st I have a new health care which I need since I maxed out the last one. I need to stop the contracting and take a job with Comprehensive Medical Coverage, the contract agencies give plans with maximums for them but no out of pocket max for you. All in all I am feeling MUCH better than I was 6 weeks ago.

Good luck chasing down your medical demons, thank God we have the web, it would be VERY tough to learn about this stuff without it.

Read these:

http://search.lef.org/search/default.aspx?s=1&QUERY=liver

Above links are different, how they are displayed might look the same.

The December issue of the LEF magazine will be free access in a few weeks. When that happens, it will appear at this link:

There is a good article on fatty liver disease that you must read.

have you ever tried adding Betane HCL or Digestive Enzymes with OxBile?

[quote]Bigpete757 wrote:

[quote]KSman wrote:
Liver biopsy?[/quote]

I had not had a liver biopsy and do not know who I would even request that from. My primary, surgeon,?

I have thought about it to check for an infection or some signs of inflammation, but I don’t know if the docs would do it without lab test indicating the need for it. They could do it based on my medical history with this situation, but I am not sure.

Do you think I should request this from a doctor? Thanks.[/quote]

Based upon working with you in the past and knowing more about the immune system. I would defintely look into the cytokins, interluklen, th1, th2 imbalances. This may help govern your therapy in the proper direction. Dealing with gut and stomach issues would add excessive stress to the liver. With lower then normal cholesterol liver the first thing comes to my mind is impaired bile flow not allowing the body to detoxify the heavy metals. FYI if your dr is up to date on lastest research he may want to look into removing biofilm before commensing chelation therapy. Since we have known each other I have been able to make contacts with some of the brightest minds in the field and have access to the update newest trends in alternative medicine. At the time we began working I was just starting to scrap the surface of what I know. Not to many drs knew that giving cortef for a person with suspected lyme disoreder has the ability to have a huge impact on immune system. Blood sugar issues are mainly related to the liver and gut because that is where they are processed before getting into the blood stream. Medical field is always expanding and changing field making it extremely challenging with constant new procedures and information.

Forgive me for not responding in a timely manner. I have been very busy and cannot think good enough sometimes to reply quickly. I will try to do a better job in the future. I do have 2 issues going on with my health which is the pain/swelling problems in my abdomen and also trying to rebalance my endocrine system. They do overlap in my case and I would like to address both in the thread if possible. I just think it would be easier for me and the other members trying to help if it was in one place.

I got some labs back from the doc and wanted you guys to check them out and let me know what you think.

Testosterone total 281 250-1100
Testosterone free 59.7 46.0-224.0
Testosterone bio 122.7 110.0-575.0

SHBG 16 7-49
Albumin 4.5 3.6-5.1
Lipoprotein(a) 27 <75
IGF I, ECL 338 88-374
Tsh 3.16 .40-4.50
T3, free 3.5 2.3-4.2
Uric acid 6.5 4.0-8.0
Vitamin D 25-0h 26 (L) 30-100
Hemoglobin A1C 4.9% <5.7%
Ferritin 96 20-345
Dhea Sulfate 367 110-510
Fsh 7.8 1.6-8.0
LH 4.5 1.5-9.3
Insulin 11 <17
Prolactin 15.1 2.0-18.0
Estradiol 41 13-54
Psa 0.4 <4.0
Cortisol a.m. 6.7 4.0-22.0

Creatinine Random 176.6 20-370
Cholesterol total 124 (L) 125-200
HDL 25 (L) >40
Trigylcerides 154 (H) <150
LDL 68 <130
Cardio Crp (r) 6.0 (H) 1.0-3.0
Homocysteine 4.2 <11.4

Glucose 84 65-99
urea nitrogen (bun) 22 7-25
creatinine 1.14 .80-1.30
sodium 138 135-146
potassium 4.5 3.5-5.3
chloride 104 98-110
carbon dioxide 24 21-33
calcium 9.2 8.6-10.2
protein 7.2 6.2=8.3
albumin 4.5 3.6-5.1
albumin/globulin 1.7 1.0-2.1
bilirubin .8 .2-1.2
alkaline phosphatase 80 40-115
ast 11 10-40
alt 23 9-60

cbc
Low hemoglobin, low hemocrit, and high rdw. This happens on all my cbc tests. Sometimes mcv, mch, and mchc is lowered as well.

The doc reviewed them and said the I need to raise my T levels to an optimal range (at least 564 total and 300 bioavailable). My growth hormone levels are good. She said I was very stressed out and needed to take a good amount of cortef to start raising my cortisol levels. My low cholesterol levels could be contributing to my low hormone levels and the tryglycerides need to come down. We should keep an on the cardio crp (r) level. She is happy about H1AC level. Vitamin D needs to come up. The low levels on the CBC are from iron and vitamin b-12 defiecies. My estradiaol level is not good for the amount of T that I have. My thryroid needs to be in optimal range.

This is my interpretation and things I have noticed from previous labs.
–My testosterone levels are about the same. (low)
–Shgb the same.
–Estradiol levels went up 10-20 points. The highest e2 level I had was about 30. Lowest between 10-15. 41 is pretty high for me and high in comparison to my T level.
–FSH went up about 3-4 points. My lh and fsh were always usually in the middle of the range. Now FSH is almost out of the top of the range.
–Growth hormone levels about the same. (good/high level)
–Vitamin D is same. (low)
–Cortisol levels dropped bigtime. First tested 1.5 yrs ago at about 12-13. Took cortef raised them to about 19. Now they are 6.7. This is due to the extreme stress I was under. I am pretty sure it is affecting other systems and causing multiple problems being this low.
–Insulin about the same. (too high) With at level of 11 and looking at my lipid panel, it probably indicates a big problem with insulin resistance is still going on.
–Dhea is same.
–Prolactin the same. (little on high side)
–Tsh level about the same. (a little high)

After I took these tests, I started clomid for the last month or so. It did not seem to help at all, so I switched to hcg only recently. I plan on taking this for the next 4-6 weeks to see if it will help. I also am taking synthroid 25 mcg, cytomel 5 mcg, and cortef 10-20 mg at day. Along with some supplements to help adrenals, sleeping, etc.

I am very concerned about my symptoms recently. In the last few weeks, I have noticed that I have went almost 100% impotent. This is hard to deal with at 27. I have had partial impotence for the last 10 years, but ever since I went through this extremely stressful situation and developed the pain/swelling in my RUQ/abdomen, it is almost impossible to get an erection. The first signs of this was that I was no longer getting an erection at night anymore or in the morning (morning wood). I have always had erections at night since I was a kid until now. After further research, I noticed this most likely is a physical cause behind this lost of erections from reduced blood flow to the penis or nerve damage/nerve related from the central nervous system. Basically, its probably either not enough blood going to my genital area from poor circulation/blocked arteries/reduced blood flow somewhere in the body, or my nervous system/brain is no longer sending the right signals to iniate the erection process, the nerve pathways for the erection process are not working correctly. Or it could be both of these.

Due to reduced erections at night, I am finding it harder to sleep. Maybe it from my cortisol levels being so low or out of balance endocrine system I am not sure. But sleeping just does not feel right anymore when I no longer can get an erection at night.

In regards to the stomach pain, I have noticed something important. If I do not take any prilosec or anti-acid medication, then after a few days, the middle of abdomen starts becoming extremely painful. It feels like it is burning and the pain is very close to my skin. It hurts to touch the middle of my stomach when this happens. And the area that is painful is a little bigger than a softball. It does not feel likes it is in my upper esphagus region, rather in the middle of the belly. I also noticed I have more pain in my RUQ where the swelling is. When I do take the prilosec medication, the burning pain in the middle of abdomen gets better and I do not feel the RUQ pain as much, but it is still there, just more dull instead of the sharp pain.

I have looked high and low of what could be causing the stomach and RUQ pain. The stomaach burning pain started a few weeks after I had a smart pill camera test (the camera that you swallow and takes pictures of small intestine). I never noticed the camera came out in my stools, but I have done x-rays and they docs said its gone. The doc also said I had an gastric ulcer at the time.

I have a strong feeling that the RUQ pain and swelling has something to with bile because I will produce clay colored stools sometimes and this has never happened before. It could some problem in the bilary system drainage (liver, gallbladder, or pancreas). Or maybe a problem in the small intestine, large intestine, or part of the stomach. All of these besides the pancreas I think in in the RUQ area.

Instead of searching for the exact cause of the abdominal problem, I think it is best that I just narrow things down and focus on doing tests and treatment until I can find a solution.

The current plan is to meet with the pain management doc on Dec 8th to see if a nerve pain shot might help the area. I probably will try multiple shots for about about 1.5 months. If no relief, then I am probably going to schedule laproscopy surgery with the doc for the end of January.

In the meantime, I could ask one of docs if they think I should do another ct scan or mri of the abdomen just to be safe. I had the test done locally where the equipment and techs are not the best. Probably could have it done at a major hospital. What do you think I should do here about testing? I don’t know if someone would do a liver biopsy, but I could try to ask that as well.

I also am thinking of telling the surgeon to just take the gallbladder out and see if it helps. The surgeon now is just doing exploratory surgery and if he finds something out of the ordinary he is going to fix it, but if not then he does nothing. I am not sure he will go back in their a second time and take my gallbladder out if nothing happens the first time and my pain/swelling continues to be the same. I am kind of stuck on this situation. What do you think I should do here?

About my endocrine system and labs, the current plan is take the hcg, thyroid meds, and cortef for the next few weeks and see how I feel. I have felt jack crap from the hcg so far and do not expect it to do too much. I took it in the past briefly and did not notice any benefit. I am on 250 iu’s eod. I most likely will be moving to T gel/cream in the next few weeks. Last time I tried this, I noticed a great boost in sexual function and drive for about 3-4 days and then I got alot of chest pain so I had to discontinue it. This time around I find to find a dosage that my body can handle and slowly make progress. Basically I have to make the T replacement work this time around. Either by titrating it or adding in other hormones at the same time, etc. I am probably going need your help with this part.

Right now is there anything I can do before my next appointment in a few weeks to help my endocrine system? I have some arimidex on hand and thought about taking that to help lower e2. I am going to boost my cortef dosages as per the docs instructions. I am using life flo preg cream. I am taking various adrenal natural boosters.

About the impotence issue, I looked into some kind of medicine to help calm down my nervous system too see if that might help or taking some kind of vasodilator to open up my blood vessels and improve circulation. Do you think I should try one of these ? One thing that may be of importance is that I can still get a partial erection if I look at some sexual images/porn online. It won’t be as near as good as erection as I used to have, but it is at least something. Maybe this signals somethings, blood flow is at least working, brain signaling at least working, etc., I am not sure.

I am hoping that once my T levels raise that this issue should get a little better. What do you think?

Also about the endocrine system, I probably will be starting chelation soon to see if this will help my endocrine system and help the medicine work better.

[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
I take it you tried an anti-inflammatory diet?

If so, what happened when you cut out wheat, gluten, dairy?

I ask because your issues sound like a more well-developed case of my own issues. Never did track down exactly what was causing the pain, but when I began eating ‘anti-inflam.’, the pain went away and only comes back when I ‘misbehave’ on the nutrition front.

BBB[/quote]

I have tried an anti-inflammatory diet. I have cut out alot of things and it did not help. Thanks for asking though.