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Cause for abdominal pain, acid reflux, white bands in nails.

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Hi Docs,

Over the past year I have had extreme abdominal pain & acid reflux, i was and still am congested and avoid any processed foods. My nails have white horizontal bands across most of my nails apart from the thumbs, the lines move with the nail. 1 month after my abdominal pain started I started developing weak legs and tingling hands; If i sit too long or walk long distances they tingle more however whenever I eat something that I'm intolerant to I also get flares in my hand tingling and feet. Easter last year was my worst where I would get extreme panic attacks in my sleep, the tingling crawling up to my knees and my hands turning bright red and tingly when I'm in a hot environment- I get relief in colder temperatures. The docs said my anxiety was due to the mineral imbalance, once my levels were normal the anxiety subsided.

I have had white lines on my nails for many years and I'm only 20 years old. I have been to every single doctor including 2 neurologists, 1 vaso doc who said my blood pressure in my extremities were normal, and a few GPs. I had 1 abdominal X-ray, CT scan & Ultra-Sound and all normal. B-12 vitamin is also normal however I was extremely deficiency in Zinc so I have been taking 50mg/day for a year now. I also had low magnesium and take a high quality supplement also. I also had a endoscopy & colonoscopy, all normal.

On Jan 1st I went completely vegan and 1 week later my abdominal pain disappeared for the first time. I had hand tingling on both hands however now the pain subsided; my foot pain is a lot less and feels normal when I stay at home, it is only aggravated when I walk on my feet (e.g. from home to supermarket).

Docs said they don't think I have a nerve issue but open to other opinions, Right now my thoughts are that it was due to a weak immune system that needs to be strengthened as I always had post-nasal drip and felt congested after I ate. I'm guessing the tingling in my extremities (as I see a connection between the tingling and the food I eat) may have something to do with too much histamine in my blood stream that is triggering some allergic response (I have no allergies but I am very sensitive to certain foods).

I must say that with a good diet and proper supplements my hand pain is gone and only comes when I eat food I'm intolerant to, my vegan diet is has included a lot of high-histamine foods so I'm wondering if that the last part of the puzzle in solving the tingling (which is on the bottom of my foot, where the toes are)- the tingling is now only aggravated when I am out of the house and walking, when Im at home I rarely feet it. I'm guessing the tingling is a blood vessel issue as my hands feel better in a cool environment than very hot and my feet tingle perhaps due to blood vessel changes and histamine release when walking. Once I stop walking and sit in a chair for 20 mins the tingling subsides. The documents attached have some medical records :)

Pls help :) any advice would be appreciated

Category: Allergy and Immunologist

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Category: HIV- AIDS Specialist
 22 Doctors Online

Hello,
Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring.com
I understand your concern.
The tingling which seems to be the major problem as of now, is more nerve related and is not related to the excessive histamine consumption. Even though your vitamin levels are normal, I will advise you to take a multivitamin-multimineral supplement like Neurobion Forte once daily at bedtime from now on. Even the white lines on the nails are due to vitamin deficiency. You have also changed your diet in the past 6 months, and that also contributes to vitamin deficiency. Minor deficiencies can be unnoticed.
Regarding your diet, can you please mention what exactly is your diet as of now? And what food items are you sensitive too? I will also advise Cap. Omeprazole 20 mg twice daily once before breakfast and once in the evening for 2 weeks. Please update me if your symptoms improve on taking both the medicines.
Hope this was helpful,
Feel free to discuss further,
Regards.


Patient replied :

I have changed my diet to vegan because of the stomach pain and acid reflux that I had, I have taken Omeprazole and other medications for acid reflux before but that just made my issue worse, the only thing that relieved me completely of the pain is a change in the diet. My diet mainly consists of leafy green vegetables and fruits, a few nuts which i am not intolerant to and seeds, sweet potatoes, chick peas, quinoa & brown rice.
I did a YORK test for food sensitivities and they mainly concern meat, dairy, gluten, eggs and a few types of nuts. I take a multi-mineral, zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, Solgar B-Complex, Omega 3 & 6, probiotics, and vitamin D. I got hot, red hands when I ate something and that also relates to my legs feeling "buzzy" as well, there is a time delay of about 2 hours normally but now since my symptoms improved the tingly legs only come when I walk for a while. Whenever my I had a big stomach ache after eating oily foods, my legs seem to tingle a lot and I used to get extreme brain fog all at the same time. Now luckily I don't have that! I don't know why my hands would have stopped becoming "hot" after changing my diet after a few days when they tingled pretty much for the past 6-7 months prior to the change in diet; all the docs I've asked said different things and are still quite confused, many think it's some immune response that may have caused changes in my blood vessels which cause allergy related symptoms


Hello,
Yes, if the symptoms disappear on changing the diet, it seems to be allergy related.
However, the tingling part is not related to allergy. The ' hot ' feeling indicates you end up developing systemic inflammatory response after certain kinds of food.
Next time, you feel the hot feeling coming back, I want you to try Tab. Claritin ( Loratadine ) 10 mg SOS and update me on whether the symptoms are improving. If it is indeed due to allergies, the symptoms will disappear immediately on taking the medicine.
Meanwhile, you also need to start Tab. Neurobion Forte as I mentioned.
Feel free to discuss further,
Regards.


Patient replied :

Thanks for your time doctor, I will try Claritin and find Neurobion Forte.
I need to mentione that other docs said the low zinc levels in the past have contributed to copper toxicity so I'm still addressing that as well-that mineal imbalance gave me chronic anxiety which subsided after supplemenatation. Would you recommend I see another neurologist about this matter?I just hope I didn't do any permanent nerve damage if that was the cause as this foot tingling does cause quite a bit of annoyance.
all the best


Hello,
You can consult a neurologist if the Neurobion does not help.
As of now, I will advise you to continue the medicines for 7 days. If it does not resolve your symptoms, you can go ahead and get a detailed neurological evaluation done.
Regards.


Dr. Jaydeep Tripathy
Category: HIV- AIDS Specialist
Experience: 
MBBS from Sri Ramachandra University in December 2011
M.Med (Family Medicine) - TNMGR University, Chennai
MBA-MPH in Public Health in March 2016, SRM University
Finished AFIH in March 2016, SRM University
MRCP ( UK ), Internal Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, June 2016
Fellowship in Diabetology from Martin Luther University in January 2017

Currently Resident Physician, in MD Radiodiagnosis - Kamakshi Memorial Hospital, Chennai
Dr. Jaydeep Tripathy and 4 other Medical Specialists are ready to help you

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