Additional Symptoms as of January 23, 2010

These additional symptoms had developed by January 23, 2010. The condition is now definitely evolving to include my autonomic nerves.

The autonomic nerves control all bodily functions including breathing, heart rate, kidney function, sweating, etc.

• In mid-January, I started having kidney trouble. My local physician found blood in my urine on January 18, 2010 (hematuria).
• I feel constantly full and am almost never hungry. I could go literally a day without eating. My current weight is 257 lbs, down from 282 lbs on July 13, 2009, without trying to loose weight.
• I feel shaky and trembly from the inside-out almost all the time, but it does not feel like hypoglycemia. Another person on a neuropathy website described the feeling like "vibrating all over."
• Sunlight, or bright spot-lights, make my face feel like it has been sunburned or like ants are biting me. I avoid sunlight.
• My local physician also diagnosed orthostatic hypotension (blood pressure drops upon standing) on January 18, 2010.

For a few weeks, I had been getting dizzy upon standing. I will have a renal and cardio ultrasound on January 25 for further study of these conditions. (The results of these studies were in the normal range. I did have a cyst on my right kidney, but so do 75% of adults over 50.)

The Vanderbilt Dysautonomia website has a chart for recording orthostatic hypotension readings. My readings on January 23, 2010 at 9:30 AM, two hours after eating were as follows:

Lying down: 146/81 pulse: 59
Standing one minute: 133/83 pulse: 102
Standing three minutes: 126/83 pulse: 86
Standing five minutes: 132/86 pulse: 84
Standing ten minutes: 130/88 pulse: 102

Yep, I fit the diagnostic criteria for orthostatic hypotension. I have repeated this process several times with similar results. My Vanderbilt neurologist suggested I stop taking my blood pressure medication to help keep my blood pressure from taking such wild swings.

Click here to read more about Orthostatic Hypotension