Hello everyone, first, I know this is really long, but please read and respond if you have any clues as to what is going on with me. I have posted this on a few forums to hopefully find someone who can help me with what I am going through.
I wanted to see if anyone has experienced this in their life or if i can intrigue any of the “science” members on the board. I have been going through some tough times for the last few years and have really been beating myself up. A lot of negative thinking has lead me to a pretty poor self image of myself. It all kind of came about when I was dieting for a show. I was down to about 170, with another 8-10 lbs to lose when I started getting nagging injuries.
I decided to pull out of the show i was preparing for and get back into a healthy off season diet. Not being completely educated in this, I pushed my carbs up way too fast and believe that I have really done a number on my metabolism. I gained a lot of fat and can tell it is fat because my appearance overall has become more flabby.
Since I was dieting for my show, I had a lot of nervous, anxietal feelings. Heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and overall displeasure with my life. This has gone on for years now as I have bounced between caloric deficits and caloric overages. I also started to get test results from my blood being drawn telling me that I had high BUN/Creatinine clearance levels. I was told to see a kidney specialist.
I was given a 24 hour urinalysis test and also had an ultrasound of my kidneys. I was given the run around but in the end, my kidneys are performing optimally. I now believe that the stress that I have put on my body through the contest dieting which eventually lead to me putting on a lot of fat after my show prep have increased my cortisol levels. I dont know how to confirm what I believe but the simple fact that I see my muscle wasting away tells me that something is happening in my body.
The high bun / creatinine clearance according to my research could have something to do with my body not having the ability to repair properly and therefor releasing a lot of muscle waste into the blood stream. That is exactly what those tests measure. I cant convince my doctor to perform other tests to confirm what I believe, so I am not sure what to do. He believes that any additional testing would be like opening pandora’s box.
I am going to see an endocrinologist at the end of October because I am not satisfied with my Primary Care Physician. Basically, he told me that I am just depressed and need to be put on Zoloft. I believe that he is correct in that I am experiencing anxiety and depression, but I dont think that Zoloft is going to help this. I need to figure out what is happening inside my body that is causing this and I believe it has something to do with my diet and how beat up I was after attempting to do a bodybuilding show.
Really what I am getting at, is, does this make sense to anyone? Do I sound crazy? I feel like i cant get clear answers from my doctor and he doesnt trust my theory at all. He tells me that he treats symptoms, not assumptions. I understand where he is coming from but he doenst understand the tax an athlete can put on their body. Should I see a sports medicine doctor? or am I doing the right thing by seeing an endocrinologist?
I dont know if anyone else has gotten the feeling that they are sick but that the doctor cant help you figure out what is wrong. It is a helpless feeling and it really tears you down.
Thanks for the help
Patrick