I am (was rather) a perfectly healthy 42 year old make up until February of this year. I was experiencing some minor back pain due to a recent fall and started taking a comprehensive liquid multivitamin ( Mary Ruth's Liquid Morning Vitamin). Over the next month my back pain/spasms and weakness confined to get worse, I started getting a burning sensation in my big toe, a white fatty deposit developed on one of my eyelids, and I constantly have "floaters" in my left eye. I've seen four different doctors from my health care provider network and none of them understand why I am feeling the way I feel. I didn't have any of these issues 6 months ago and now I feel like I'm 90 years old. Often times my lower back, hips, and glutes are so tight I have difficulty walking. My back and legs feel weak and my spine unsupported and vulnerable. I am unable to hop, skip, jog, or run. The MRI shows some flattening of my L5-S1 disc, but the doctor said it is not abnormal. I have lost 30 lbs over the past 6 months which is not normal for me. I haven't weighed this little since college. I eat healthy foods and am a "normal" weight according to BMI charts, but this isn't normal for me. The more active I am, the better I tend to feel, but often times I'm too weak or sore to be active and just want to lay around, which doesn't help. My Calcium, magnesium, vitamin B, Vitamin D levels are all normal.
My question for the audience is, is it at all possible that a liquid multivitamin could have triggered something in my body that is causing all these ailments? It seems a little too coincidental that this all started happening shortly after I started taking it (I have since stopped if that wasn't obvious). Also, are there any other blood tests I could have done to help determine what is going on? My primary care physician thinks I have general anxiety disorder and is implying this is the cause of all my ailments, but I don't prescribe to that theory. Although I can be a little OCD sometimes and could be a little depressed (I cry when watching America's got talent, haha), I don't have anxiety, panic attacks, etc. Thanks for listening.
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Spark77
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Did your doctor say anything about possible allergies to the multivitamin? Any side effects related to having you start them? Are you on any other medication that may not be okay with the multivitamin taken together? Can you please call the doctor and let them and see what you can find out? Please let us know what they say.😀👍🌈
Hello. The doctor has lost his patience at this point and is convinced I'm just an anxious hypochondriac. I think I'll switch my primary care physician and start clean. I mentioned the multi vitamin to all the doctors I've seen and it was kind of like deer in the headlights. Sadly, a lot of docs just treat the symptoms and don't have time to research the underlying cause. I do not take any medications whatsoever, nor do I drink, smoke, or do drugs. I used to drink socially up until this all started, but we're talking less than a 12 pack a week on average. Maybe the rapid weight loss coupled with stopping drinking, COVID worry, and the multivitamin have my brain all screwed up and overly sensitive to pain? Forgot to mention that ibuprofen and Tylenol do absolutely nothing for me and actually make my pain and weakness more pronounced. That kind of points to a chemical imbalance maybe?
I eat three meals a day and don't get any headaches. My two biggest issues are the muscle weakness in my lower back and the debris in my left eye. Eye doctor said my eyes look good and sent me home with eye drops. My eyes aren't red or itchy, just have dust or whatever in them constantly. My best guess is whatever fluid/oil that my body is supposed to produce to keep the eye clean isn't being produced adequately. I don't see any other explanation.
I have Kaiser Permanente and have had the same primary care physician for 15 years. I could easily switch.
A couple other things worth mentioning, my cholesterol this past winter was in the low 300s (it is now down to lower 200s) and my vitamin D was 20 ng/mL (normal range is 40 to 100), but is now up to 60. Lastly, I was taking Sildenafil once or twice a week for about two years and stopped around November of last year.
Ask your doctor if you can stop using it for a while and see if the symptoms go down/goes away. If they agree to this, take notes about how you feel after you stop them.
I think I'll definitely do that. Get a new perspective. I've considered trying a low dose of Paxil to see if that helps, which would indicate a nervous system imbalance right?
I've felt a little unstable on occasion, yes. Sometimes light headed and head rush upon standing up quickly, but only a few times. I have felt more clumsy than usual. Fumbling with my hands and dropping things.
Interesting. I forgot to mention my shoulders are often tensed up and I have to make a conscious effort to relax them. I wouldn't say they are stiff or causing pain though. And my lower back isn't causing pain per se, it's more like weak muscles. Like if I place my hands on my back and walk around, I feel normal, but as soon as I let go I feel weak and have to take it easy.
My legs are weak and always have been. Exercising my glutes and hips makes benefits my lower back pretty quickly (meaning right after the exercise), but if I lay around for a sustained amount of time I feel weak again. Staying active feels better.
What about some sort of allergy brought on by the multivitamin? I've noticed white bread/flour, white rice, sugary candy, and ice cream all cause me constipation and hard stools. I avoid all of those things now.
The MRI showed a compressed L5-S1 disc, but they said it is normal for this disc to be thinner because people sit so much.
However, doing some decompression stretches seems to have helped.
At my worst, if I were to go on a bike ride for example, where I was in a seated position, my back, hips, and butt would get really stiff afterwards (even after only a 15 minute ride) and I would literally have to hold onto things to get around and my abs would get sore because they were the only muscle working it seemed. I haven't felt that bad in a while, so I am improving, just VERY slowly.
It takes time to heal sometimes when a person does certain types of exercises. It also depends on how many days you workout. Most people workout every other day.
Yeah. Other than riding my bike twice a week during the warmer months, I hadn't exercised for the past 5 years. That combined with sitting at a desk 8 hours a day and not eating the best foods probably all led up to this. I should have taken better care of myself. I'm 6'-2" and weighed 215 and got up to 225 at one point. I'm now down to 183 over just a 6 month period. Maybe this is the weight I should have been all this time!
The weight loss you’ve done so far is great! What type of diet are you using? Low carb high fat or low carb high protein diet?
I’m a type 1 Diabetic who does low carb high protein and gluten free dieting since I personally have an intolerance to gluten/wheat. I also have to do insulin shots and use a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) system to keep the blood sugars even during the day and evening hours ( especially when I sleep).
Thanks, but the weight I've lost is due to feeling unwell and not eating 😃.
I just try to limit my dairy, red meat, stay away from soda, chips, fried foods, and eat lots of fruits and some veggies, lean meats (tuna, turkey), and drink lots of water. Nothing too crazy/strict.
That’s a good list of things to eat so far. I tend to have a big salad and put either tuna, salmon or egg salad on the salad for protein and then add some carbs with it.
Are you allowed to have bananas with your medication? For the blood pressure medication that I use, they say I would have issues if I ate bananas and regular oranges. Too much potassium.
...physical therapist also mentioned possible gluten sensitivity and leaky gut syndrome. Cutting out bread and tomatoes is something I've been trying to do. No bread is a tough one.
Gluten free bread is what I have when I eat sandwich’s. I buy gf hamburger and hot dog buns. I actually had a hotdog and bun tonight for dinner with oven potato French fries.
Any idea why taking an NSAID or acetaminophen aggravate the issue and make me feel even weaker?
I tried CBD oil for a while because I thought it would help me relax, but it didn't help. In fact it made me feel worse, especially when I was taking muscle relaxers (I read the cannaboids react with a chemical in the muscle relaxer). Another reason why I'm wondering if this could all be a chemical imbalance causing my immune system and/or nervous system to over react.
Sorry for the rapid fire. I keep thinking of new things. I greatly appreciate your patience...
The spine doctor prescribed Prednisone for some inflammation that showed up on my L5 vertebrae, but I never took it. I often have pain in this area which radiates to my left hip. Stretching helps. If I sit or squat the discomfort goes away immediately.
I mentioned the Prednisone because it was mentioned to treat Polymyalgia. Maybe I should give it a try. The side effects concern me though.
Hi Spark77, I am not a medical expert, but I suggested you should investigate PMR as some of the symptoms fit and it does not respond to NSAIDs in most cases. In 20% of cases the inflammatory markers are not raised, but it is still encouraging that your CRP is within normal range. While rapid response to Prednisolone is one of the diagnostic tools with PMR, steroids will get on top of many other things and you need to be treated by a doctor following a reliable diagnosis. Steroids are dirty drugs with, as you say, serious side effects and I would not take them without a doctor's advice. I hope you find out what the issue is. But making sure you sleep and eat well would be a good start whatever it is.
The doctor prescribed Prednisone a couple months ago, but I didn't take it. I have the prescription though. He prescribed it for the aches/pains in my lower left side, which is a separate issue from the muscle weakness (although likely aggravated by my injury and resultant muscle weakness).
To clarify, when you said "on top of", do you mean the steroid would/could help with the other issues?
I believe I read that Prednisone can actually cause muscle weakness. Frankly, one of the primary reasons I didn't take it is because nausea and vomiting is a side effect, and I absolutely hate that feeling. Wonder if taking Dramamine-N along with it would resolve that. Regardless, the ache in my lower left back is not my primary concern. I really want/need to get the lumbar weakness resolved as this is affecting me the most. If that means taking an antidepressant temporarily, I'd probably be okay with that, at a very low dose. There are so many on the market though. Any recommendations?
Hi Spark77, I think you need to see a doctor who will be sympathetic and take all of your different issues into account both physical and psychological. Please don't self-medicate, it will just confuse the picture and make it difficult to diagnose the problem. I have no experience with antidepressants, but given that you are concerned about taking a multi-vitamin, why would you take any other medication before you know what is actually happening.
I think your fall may have triggered your issues along with anxiety making everything possibly worse
I fell hard on the ice Jan 2016 ( was healthy & 52 years old) took 2 months for the pain through out my body to go away with regular massages
then I got a virus, started having eye problems, then burning in my leg & feet, swallowing issues, stomach pain, part of my face went numb,lost my appetite started losing a lot of weight
Went to many different doctors in 3 states in 6 months trying to find out what was wrong with me
The last doctor said, “I think all your ailments are caused by anxiety.” He prescribed Valium.
Two appts later I had less anxiety but all the same symptoms & begged him to scope me which he did & finally got some answers & was properly diagnosed
I've also been dealing with some stomach issues. Some mild nausea that causes me to not want to eat, which is likely why I lost so much weight. It hasn't happened in a week or so, but typically happens towards the evening. Sometimes I can't sleep because I don't feel well. Popping some pepto and putting on some relaxing nature sounds helps.
I'm feel anxious and a tad nauseous as I write this...
The physical therapist recommended trying acupuncture, so I could give that a try. When my GF massages my shoulders especially, I get chills thorough my entire body, of that means anything (e.g., I'm super tense)
I've been experiencing mild nausea, flatulence (starts as soon as I start eating), and cramps. I haven't had any diarrhea and I'm pretty regular as long as I eat enough fiber. I've been limiting my bread/wheat intake the past two days and am feeling better.
I've experienced significant bloating in the past after eating. Like I literally looked 9 months pregnant. The next morning I'd be back to normal (I don't have much of a belly)
Very frustrating when doctors conflate "I don't know" with "There's nothing wrong with you".
Seems a bit unlikely that vitamins could set this off. Probably just coincidence. Are you taking any medication other than painkillers?
Sounds rather like fibromyalgia (which seems to be incredibly common these days), but that's just my random-stranger-on-the-internet guess, not a diagnosis
I'm not taking any medication. The only thing I took was some 5mg muscle relaxers for a month or so back in April.
Doesn't fibermyalgia cause aches and pains all over? I primary have the weakness in my lumbar region.
The more I talk about it, the more I think it could be anxiety related. Even though I don't feel anxious, I do clench my jaw a lot, have tense shoulders, trouble making decisions, concentrating, and get emotional often. I literally started crying the other day on my walk when someone stopped in the middle of the road to let me cross. I'm a mess. Haha.
Wow. Whatever else you might have, it definitely sounds like some stress in your life needs dealing with. Only you know what that is and what the solutions might be.
I was only double-checking the drugs issue because you have "high cholesterol" (possibly familial hypercholesterolemia), which would normally prompt a doctor to "put you on statins" - which in many people produces exactly the symptoms you describe. Having high cholesterol isn't a problem as such, but it may indicate that your diet isn't nearly as healthy as you think. Too many people are eating inadequate fat and far too many carbs because of unfounded superstitions, which eventually results in dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome.
Did you have your vitamin levels tested before you started this multi-vitamin? Although they're not typically likely to cause harm, if it were to contain ferritin and you didn't need ferritin, that could cause damage to organs.
You ailments sound more likely linked to your back than a multi-vitamin, but would islt be a possibility for you to have an appointment with someone who practices in functional medicine to get an opinion?
Hi Spark. I'm wondering if this all stems from your fall. Injuries don't always manifest straight away. Have you consulted an osteopath or chiropractor for an assessment? It may be worth doing so even just to rule out any misalignment somewhere. This could also be causing anxiety from the constant discomfort. Just a thought. Hope you get it sorted. x
I'm definitely misaligned. I recently corrected a left hip hike, which was due to a very tight left QL muscle. I also have weak legs and very tight hamstrings. I literally cannot sit up straight with my legs in front of me. I bet these things combined with lack of exercise and low vitamin D all made me vulnerable to injury. I also take a long time to heal. For example, I sprained my wrist a couple years ago and it took over a year before it felt 100%. Last November I sprained my finger and it is just now feeling better.
Regarding cholesterol and statins, I took statins back in my early 20s and experienced the same muscle weakness. I was at Target and bent over to look at something and when I stood up I got a shooting pain in my lower back and had to call my GF to come pick me up in a wheel chair because I couldn't walk. I had to crawl into my house and had difficulty walking for a week. I stopped taking the statins that day and was fine after a week. I didn't realize at the time that it was the statins, but didn't want to put anything foreign in my body at that time. A couple months went by and I started taking statins again and my back started hurting again, so I stopped again and my back got better. So...I have an intolerance to statins and it personally affects my lower back the most. Maybe I just have a really weak back and legs coupled with my imbalance coupled with vitamin D deficiency.
I'll keep up the diet, stretches, and exercises and hopefully I'll continue to improve. Work on improving my mental health and figure out why I get emotional so easily. Maybe give an antidepressant a try to help me get out of this rut.
I really appreciate all the feedback. I agree I should get my emotional issue squared away first and hope that everything else resolves itself.
I haven't gone to a chiropractor because I'm concerned the sudden jerking motion of any adjustments will trigger a spasm. To give you an example, until recently any sort of sudden motion (stubbing my foot on the ground, dropping something and reacting to catch it, being startled by something unexpected) would cause my back to spasm. Not a muscle tightness thing, but more like an electrical/nerve shock feeling. Same thing would happen if I arched my back to much. It is better now than it was a month ago, but I'm nowhere near healed.
I think it's just going to take time. And maybe a little boost from an antidepressant. I'm not one to take medication, but it seems like it may be appropriate given the situation. What do you guys think?
An osteopath wouldn't manipulate you like that if you asked them not too but it's up to you. Whatever you do, I hope it resolves as you are really going through it at the moment. Good luck. x
I’m sorry you have been dealing with this. I know what it’s like to have ailments and doctors not know what to do. It can feel scary and hopeless. If you do have any anxiety or depression it could be due to the constant pain. Tense shoulders and clinched jaw also could come from being tense from constant pain and discomfort. That makes sense.
I had some leg weakness a while back (nothing compared to what it sounds like you’re going through) that turned out to be a pinched sciatic nerve. I was afraid at first because it made it difficult for me to walk and I was afraid I was loosing feeling in my legs permanently. I saw a DO doctor who gave me some stretches to do and it helped. I got it from sitting at a desk all day at work. A DO is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and refers to a doctor whose medical school training includes a focus on the muscular and skeletal systems to treat problems throughout the body. They are more of a holistic type of doctor that use a unique whole-person approach to help prevent illness and injury. They are trained to listen and partner with their patients to help them get healthy and stay well. The one I saw was great. See if you can find one in your area.
I found this about lumbar spinal canal stenosis: aafp.org/afp/1998/0415/p183... maybe your doctor has already checked for this but something to look into. Have you done an MRI?
Even with the possible spine or nerve issues, it doesn’t make sense to have the fatty deposit in your eye. Looking that up shows more to do with high cholesterol, but I think I remember reading that you take medication for that.
When you said your eyes were dry too I thought maybe your body has a reduction of lubrication. Maybe check with your doctor and try taking omega supplements. It may help with overall joint pain and it even helps mentally.
I hope you can find some answers soon. You shouldn’t have to suffer like this. You just need to find a good doctor who is willing to investigate.
Hello spark77, well frist thing we sorry that you are feeling bad . Stop taking the those vitamins and just wounding have you ever been tested for diabetes .
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