Hi, sorry this is going to be a long one!
I've felt generally unwell for 3-4 years now.
Joint pains
fatigue
weight loss but not trying to (maybe 2 stone in about 2.5 years)
palpitations, low BP/dizziness when I stand up too quickly
loss of sensation in feet/hands with associated ataxia (balance problems)
brain fog/ confusion- trouble concentrating on anything outside my "normal" range for any period of time especially of someone talks fast or there are distractions.
poor memory
spotty, scabby,oozy sore scalp
Allergies that I never had before (think this might be the cause of the scalp problem). if a plant even vaguely breaks the skin I get a big red raised wheal. I sneeze a lot more than I ever used to and prone to sinusitis
dry eyes
problems with gums
several nasty sinus/skin/dental infections/abscesses
Eventually, 2.5 years ago I was referred to a Haematologist as my blood clotting results were off.
They found that I had a Monoclonal Gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS). After being "off" for 4 months my clotting was normal by the time I saw her. Not been checked since.
The MG is in my Immunoglobulin M and is thankfully very small and stable but I have an associated antibody called Anti Myelin associated glycoprotein (Anti MAG) which is probably what's causing my neuropathy and therefore the ataxia.
This neuropathy started as vague symptoms on the bottom of my right foot over 5 years ago when I think about it, but didn't really take much notice of it as just felt someties like I had something stuck to the bottom of my foot
It's now in both feet and in the last 6 months the symptoms have worsened and are moving up into my lower legs.
I walk with a hiking stick when we go for walks , and the rest of the time, although I can walk independently, I tend to hang onto my husbands hand, or walk slowly with no sudden movements of my body or head with a bit of a stagger occasionally. In the house I bang into things and have the bruises to prove it!
I was diagnosed with Irritable bowel 20 years ago and go through periods of quite painful and severe constipation but at other times ,whilst I wouldn't say I have diarrhoea, there's definitely a need to get to the toilet quickly!
I also notice that now my stools are sometimes difficult to flush away and have a tendency to stick. (too much information?-Lol)
When I was first feeling unwell and GP was putting everything down to anxiety I had some private blood tests done and my B12 was 374. Again, it's not been done since.
I'm not anaemic. Hb is 120 g/l, but my Red cells are low normal at 4 (3.8-5.8) and White cells the same at 5 ( 4-11)
My total protein hovers around 65 (60-80) with albumin at 36 (34-50) having gradually fallen from 45 2 years ago.
I recently requested copies of all my blood results from the hospital and I noticed that my Creatinine has been below the normal range at about 48 (50-110). Now 53, but 2 years ago it was 60. Low creatinine can be associated with a low protein diet, which I don't have, or loss of muscle mass due to diseases or old age. It is interesting to see that my Total protein and albumin aren't staggering.
So I guess with the gut/poop problems, the other multi system symptoms and now the protein thing I'm again wondering if I have coeliac?