Hi John ! I don´t mean to scare you but I think you have to check with your doctor for carcinoid (a slow growing cancer). If your symptoms are abdominal discomfort, diarreah and flushing you have to check for hormones produced by a carcinoid tumor. Theese tests include a 24-hour urine collection called 5-HIAA and bloodtest for Chromogranin A+B. I have just the red ears and occasionally the flushing of the upper body but my doctor thinks I have a carcinoid tumor, I will get my testresults next week. Theese tumors can arise in the lungs,stomach and gastro intestinal tract. They are often very small and hard to find with ultrasound, CT and MRI. 10 % of the people with carcinoid tumors never find the original tumor but just the metastases. I´m telling you this because if you get a correct diagnosis fast you have better chances to fight the tumor succesfully.
Ok, I will list the following symptoms and what I have found, btw I'm 27 and in pretty good health, but was diagnosed with ADD in high school and took Ritalin for about a year:
1. Hot, red ears
2. Hot, red face and neck
3. Occasional upper chest gets red and hot.
4. Very mild edema swelling in my shins.
5. Occasional throat trouble (almost like it's closing up, but never any breathing trouble).
Bear with me, this is long, but has a point...
So here it goes, I've been to the doc for a couple of problems in the last 3 years. I had horrible stomach pain, still do, several days a week. Usually accompanied by a hurried rush to the toilet for a #2 :). However nothing was ever found, despite colonoscopy and endoscopy, scan, and ultrasound. I was told to de-stress, as the gastro physician tagged my profession with over stressing me and causing irritable bowel syndrome. Fine right...well, it hasn't gone away, but I gave up on it (after spending a lot of $$$ on tests).
A year later I was training for a mini-marathon and had horrible shin pains. Unbearable. Thinking that I might have stress fractures or shin splints I saw my doctor again. They took MRIs and X-rays, even a scan. Well, nothing. All they could see is that "yes" there was swelling. My instructions were to quit running. Fine, I did, but the swelling is still here (more than 1 year later). Now it's not bad swelling, but enough that if I put my finger on either of my shins with some light pressure, I can leave a small divot.
These two problems surfaced in the last three years, and you know what else did, the hot red ear, face, neck, and chest thing. I started to become very aware of it (the hot feeling, and red display).
Yes, drinking triggered it on many occasions, but not all drinking. It was specific beers that were causing me trouble, I have not had trouble with wines. I started to notice that wheat beers were the worst. Not only would I turn red and get hot, but my throat would kind of toughen up and get uncomfortable, thus I would always stop drinking. Funny again though, it doesn't always happen with the beer, but it does most of the time.
Well, just last week I had a bad episode (which led me to this site and others). What were the circumstances? I had a handful of pretzel sticks, and wheat was one of the key ingredients. But looking online it doesn't seem like wheat is a common allergy, so I'm skeptical that it's that simple, but I feel I'm getting closer to figuring this out.
I started putting the pieces together. I read that food allergies or intolerances can cause significant stomach trouble (pain, excessive trips to the stall, etc.). I also read that food allergies can cause fluid retention and edema. This could explain my shins, and the fact that in the last three years I have managed to put on 30 lbs. with relatively no change in activity level (I still go to the gym, just lower impact on the shins), and even less change in my diet (it's perhaps even better than it was 3 years ago).
On top of all of this, a final piece. The last two years my company has provided me with a complete blood screening. Both years my allergen indicator (Eosinophil) was very high...at 5.0 (1.0-3.0 is normal). Funny, even the nurse said, wow, you must be miserable with allergies. I don't get allergies, so I said no, not at all. No hay fever, no nothing. She was somewhat perplexed. The first year I just figured the test was off, but my most recent test indicates the same thing. So given this circumstance I really think that this all may be caused by a food allergen.
I will be contacting an allergist next week, but would like it of some others could respond to this before then. If anyone can pinpoint similar trouble, please let me know. You can send comments to my email if you do not wish to respond here.
Comment
Hi John !
I don´t mean to scare you but I think you have to check with your doctor for carcinoid (a slow growing cancer). If your symptoms are abdominal discomfort, diarreah and flushing you have to check for hormones produced by a carcinoid tumor. Theese tests include a 24-hour urine collection called 5-HIAA and bloodtest for Chromogranin A+B. I have just the red ears and occasionally the flushing of the upper body but my doctor thinks I have a carcinoid tumor, I will get my testresults next week. Theese tumors can arise in the lungs,stomach and gastro intestinal tract. They are often very small and hard to find with ultrasound, CT and MRI. 10 % of the people with carcinoid tumors never find the original tumor but just the metastases.
I´m telling you this because if you get a correct diagnosis fast you have better chances to fight the tumor succesfully.
Parent comment
Ok, I will list the following symptoms and what I have found, btw I'm 27 and in pretty good health, but was diagnosed with ADD in high school and took Ritalin for about a year: 1. Hot, red ears 2. Hot, red face and neck 3. Occasional upper chest gets red and hot. 4. Very mild edema swelling in my shins. 5. Occasional throat trouble (almost like it's closing up, but never any breathing trouble). Bear with me, this is long, but has a point... So here it goes, I've been to the doc for a couple of problems in the last 3 years. I had horrible stomach pain, still do, several days a week. Usually accompanied by a hurried rush to the toilet for a #2 :). However nothing was ever found, despite colonoscopy and endoscopy, scan, and ultrasound. I was told to de-stress, as the gastro physician tagged my profession with over stressing me and causing irritable bowel syndrome. Fine right...well, it hasn't gone away, but I gave up on it (after spending a lot of $$$ on tests). A year later I was training for a mini-marathon and had horrible shin pains. Unbearable. Thinking that I might have stress fractures or shin splints I saw my doctor again. They took MRIs and X-rays, even a scan. Well, nothing. All they could see is that "yes" there was swelling. My instructions were to quit running. Fine, I did, but the swelling is still here (more than 1 year later). Now it's not bad swelling, but enough that if I put my finger on either of my shins with some light pressure, I can leave a small divot. These two problems surfaced in the last three years, and you know what else did, the hot red ear, face, neck, and chest thing. I started to become very aware of it (the hot feeling, and red display). Yes, drinking triggered it on many occasions, but not all drinking. It was specific beers that were causing me trouble, I have not had trouble with wines. I started to notice that wheat beers were the worst. Not only would I turn red and get hot, but my throat would kind of toughen up and get uncomfortable, thus I would always stop drinking. Funny again though, it doesn't always happen with the beer, but it does most of the time. Well, just last week I had a bad episode (which led me to this site and others). What were the circumstances? I had a handful of pretzel sticks, and wheat was one of the key ingredients. But looking online it doesn't seem like wheat is a common allergy, so I'm skeptical that it's that simple, but I feel I'm getting closer to figuring this out. I started putting the pieces together. I read that food allergies or intolerances can cause significant stomach trouble (pain, excessive trips to the stall, etc.). I also read that food allergies can cause fluid retention and edema. This could explain my shins, and the fact that in the last three years I have managed to put on 30 lbs. with relatively no change in activity level (I still go to the gym, just lower impact on the shins), and even less change in my diet (it's perhaps even better than it was 3 years ago). On top of all of this, a final piece. The last two years my company has provided me with a complete blood screening. Both years my allergen indicator (Eosinophil) was very high...at 5.0 (1.0-3.0 is normal). Funny, even the nurse said, wow, you must be miserable with allergies. I don't get allergies, so I said no, not at all. No hay fever, no nothing. She was somewhat perplexed. The first year I just figured the test was off, but my most recent test indicates the same thing. So given this circumstance I really think that this all may be caused by a food allergen. I will be contacting an allergist next week, but would like it of some others could respond to this before then. If anyone can pinpoint similar trouble, please let me know. You can send comments to my email if you do not wish to respond here.
Replies
Hi Pierre,
What were the results of your May 06 bloodtest? Please let us know.
Thanks!