Need advice on strange health problems

[Winston]

Hi all,
I know most of you aren't doctors, but I'd like some input about the following strange ailments I've been having lately from those of you who have experience with them. After all, doctors do not know everything either and often have to speculate or undergo trial and error methods too.

Hypertension

For some reason, my Atenolol (beta blocker) doesn't seem to work anymore. The diastolic portion of my blood pressure (the bottom figure) was at around 99 to 100 (normal level is below 90) and the Atenolol wasn't lowering it anymore. So we went to a Doctor in Taiwan and my dad asked if I could try the Ace Inhibitor medicine. To ease the transition, I was prescribed half a pill of Atenolol and half a pill of Ace Inhibitor. That had no effect, so it was increased to a full pill of Ace Inhibitor. That finally worked and my diastolic lowered down to normal levels now.

I don't know why the Atenolol didn't work anymore. Maybe I needed to increase the dosage of it? Or perhaps my body developed a resistance to it? Or perhaps my recent weight gain increased my blood pressure and made the Atenolol less effective? I don't know. Do you think it was the right decision to switch to Ace Inhibitor?

Food allergies in blood?

That same doctor in Taiwan drew a sample of blood from me and I got this report that showed a list of food allergies. The list was quite long and included things like dairy, peanuts, etc. I was told to maintain a very low intake of such things. I've never heard of using blood to determine food allergies. Is that a legitimate science?

The doctor also said that the reason for my mysterious headaches could be that I'm eating things my blood is allergic to, which triggers disruptions in my nerves, thus causing headaches. Is that possible? I didn't know food allergies could cause headaches.

Stomachaches

Ever since I arrived in Taiwan I've had strange stomachaches, usually after eating. I think I have irritable bowel syndrome because the causes of my stomach cramping tend to be inconsistent. Sometimes if I eat fruit right after dinner I'll immediately get a terrible cramp that could range from mild to acute. And sometimes I won't. Pears and pineapples tend to cause my stomach to cramp a lot. I don't know why. It's like my stomach or digestive system can't handle certain type of "transitions" in what goes down. It might be temperature related too, like if I eat something hot then cold, I get cramps. Whatever the case, my stomach seems to be overly sensitive, as if slight changes in things - food types, temperature, etc. cause cramps.

What does that mean? Is that a case of irritable bowel syndrome? If so, how come the symptoms are inconsistent?

I'm also wondering if something in the food in Taiwan or the climate is causing this. It could be that my stomach doesn't like certain oils in the foods, but if so, that would be odd because I grew up on Taiwanese foods so I should be used to them. Or the air and temperature in the climate here is triggering sensitivities in my body? My metaphysical sense though, is telling me that it might be because my vibes and aura are very different from the closed conservative stern Taiwanese society, and that difference is causing pain and disturbances.

I asked my aunt today, a person with a lot of knowledge and wisdom, about this. She said that as you get older, your tolerances often decrease, so that things that didn't ail you before might start to ail you. So you have to make adjustments and be careful about avoiding certain things you can no longer tolerate or that make you ill.

She also said that ideally, when you are eating a meal, you should not be thinking too much, even if they are positive thoughts, because thoughts and emotions are not good for digestion and could interfere with your stomach's ability to digest food. I have heard in America that one should not argue at the dinner table because it could interfere with your body's ability to digest food. But she said that thoughts of any kind could interfere with digestion. That's why Buddhist monks do not talk when they are eating. They eat mindfully and focus on every little taste sensation during the act of eating, rather than thinking or talking.

Is that true?

Vomiting

I do not usually vomit, and haven't in years. But so far here, there were two occasions where I vomitted, and they were very painful and dreadful. Both times though, happened after I went swimming and hot tubbing. The first time was when I first arrived. The morning after I swam and hot tubbed, I had an awful headache that got worse and worse until I felt nauseated and then had to vomit. After vomitting my stomach continued to try to vomit even though nothing came out. It was like a horror movie where my stomach had a mind of its own and wouldn't stop "pumping". I never experienced that before. Eventually, on the last vomit, some blood came out, as though a throat muscle was torn.

The second time this happened was in the same evening after I had gone swimming and hot tubbing again. This time, at a restaurant, after eating some strange spaghetti (Taiwanese spaghetti is weird and not like western spaghetti) I suddenly cramped so bad that I became nauseous and had to go to the bathroom to vomit. It was awful. The feeling was worse than I could describe. Really bad is an understatement.

So I'm wondering if the temperature change from the pool and hot tub caused the nausea and vomitting, or the physical activity of swimming. The thing is, I've swam a lot in my life and never has this happened. But like my aunt said, the older you get, the more sensitive and less tolerant to things you can become, especially if you're not in shape.

But if the swimming and hot tubbing caused this, then how come the first time it happened I had a heachache and vomiting, and the second time, it was a stomach ache and vomiting? Weird. I wonder if it was the food the second time.

Headaches

On some weeks, I'll have a headache several times during the week, usually in the morning. I had this problem in the Philippines too. Many things can cause a headache, so it's hard to narrow it down. Does it mean anything if it happens in the morning? Does it mean you didnt sleep well or had an uncomfortable sleep or slept too late?

I was going to get an MRI scan just to be safe, but the doctor said that you can't just get that at your request, even with insurance, because it's a very expensive procedure and to be done only when other measures to alleviate the headache have been tried first.

Fortunately though, my headaches have stopped the past few weeks now.

I don't know why I am having so many strange ailments and discomforts that have no regular or consistent pattern.

Maybe too much time in front of the computer is causing this?

My stomach has always been kind of oversensitive though, even when I was a child.

Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions? Any of you experience the same?

Winston

[Winston]

Today I had an endoscopy exam of my stomach, it's that thing where they stick a scope attached to a hose down your esophagus to see what the problem is, since I sometimes have extreme abdominal pain after I eat lasting for hours, to the point of vomiting sometimes.

Unlike in the US, they don't have to sedate you here for it. They just have you drink some sweet syrup and put something like novacane (the thing that dentists use to numb your mouth) to numb your mouth.

Anyhow, four problems were found in my stomach that would explain the pain: peptic ulcers, gallstones, irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux

I was given medication for the peptic ulcers, which control acid, and for the irritable bowel syndrome, but the gallstones can't be eliminated except by surgery, so you can't do anything about them except to avoid certain foods that make them worse. As for acid reflux, I'll have to look that up to see what can be done to treat that.

Any of you ever had these things? If so, how did you deal with them?

I had ulcers long ago that were serious and bled a lot, but after being treated I was given antibiotics which were supposed to prevent the bacteria causing them from causing them again. So I have no idea why I have them again. I also thought that in order to have an ulcer, you had to have blood in your stools, I didn't know you could have an ulcer without that. But peptic ulcers are minor lesions, not major ones.

As to hypertension, my blood pressure has been down at normal levels now, due to the new ace inhibitor medication that I've been taking, which have worked great. I'm still taking atenolol but only in half doses, to help ease the transition.

It remains to be seen whether losing weight will lower my hypertension naturally. I have been losing a little weight in my belly now though.

Anyway, that's the update for those interested.

Winston

[Winston]

Hi all,
Just to let you know, in the states I bought this thing called Benefiber, which contains chewable tablets that are fiber supplements. Since then I have not had any Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms again! It turns out fiber really does the trick, at least for some people. So if you suffer from IBS, try some fiber supplements. The chewable tablets are easiest cause you can take them without water. You don't even have to take the recommended dosage, which is way more than you need. If you just take one or two tablets a day, your symptoms get a lot better. I don't know why Benefiber wants you to take 9 tablets a day. Perhaps they just want to sell more? Sheesh.

Later, before I returned to the Philippines, I got a big bottle of fiber tablets from Costco, but of a different brand.

But I still get stomach pains from pineapple, olives and wine though. I don't know why. Is my stomach allergic to those things? How can you be allergic to pineapple? I eat sour candy all the time without problem. So if it's not the sourness in pineapple, then what is it?