High eosinophils (acute process)

[poetessinmotion]

Hi everyone,

Two nights ago I had to go to the ER suffering of something I interpreted as an adrenal crisis, but they treated me like a fool. They did a blood test and told me everything was OK, but they didn't show me the results. Well, two days before that I had a blood test done because I've been in an acute worsening of symptoms in the last month and a half with very low blood pressure, gut bloating and shortness of breath which did not exist two months ago. Also, my fatigue and dizziness have worsened.

I'm taking electrolytes 4 times per day, pregnenolone (12,5) and half a pill of Florinef but the results have showed the sodium on the low range, as well as magnesium.

And the most significant thing is that the percentage of eosinophils is really high (9,2) whereas in April it was normal (0,1) which I find quite important to explain what I'm going through.

I've also had some mast cell symptoms together with eccema in one arm and a sort of dermatitis in my hands which has gone better with quercetin.

I have to see a ME specialist on Monday (but it's a Spanish one, which means useless in terms of treatment) and my internist, who is more useful, on Tuesday. If anyone has any idea about which tests to run to find the cause for this, I really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance

 

[poetessinmotion]

Oh, and I forgot to add that I had bad stomach issues at the beginning of this crash after eating a hamburger that was not in a good state.

 

[andyguitar]

Sounds like it could be food poisioning.

 

[Wishful]

Point out to your doctors that it might be food poisoning also causing worse ME dysfunction. A healthy person might just have had normal food poisoning symptoms. With your immune system in an overreacting state, you might experience additional symptoms. I don't see how it would help with tests or diagnosis, but at least the doctor would be less likely to dismiss abnormalities that he's not familiar with. It might make a difference for being willing to prescribe something that might be helpful.

Maybe try probiotics, fermented foods, or other treatments for a disturbed microbiome.

 

[CFS_for_19_years]

Oh, and I forgot to add that I had bad stomach issues at the beginning of this crash after eating a hamburger that was not in a good state.

Increased eosinophils are usually due to allergies or parasites. If that hamburger had giardia parasites in it, that could be what is making you feel sick.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/giardia-infection/symptoms-causes/syc-20372786

Giardia parasites can be transmitted through food — either because food handlers with giardiasis don't wash their hands thoroughly or because raw produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. Because cooking food kills giardia, food is a less common source of infection than water is, especially in industrialized countries.

On the other hand, your eczema and high eosinophils may be a sign that you have food allergies.
Eosinophilia as a predictor of food allergy in atopic dermatitis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20406588/

I have to see a ME specialist on Monday (but it's a Spanish one, which means useless in terms of treatment) and my internist, who is more useful, on Tuesday. If anyone has any idea about which tests to run to find the cause for this, I really appreciate it!

Explain to both of them that you are concerned about (1) food allergies causing your eczema and dermatitis and (2) possible parasite or bacterial infection from that hamburger. One of the doctors should take the responsibility of (a) referring you to an allergy specialist to be screened for food allergies and (b) asking for stool samples collected at three different times to be screened for ova, parasites and bacterial pathogens.

Be sure to give a good history, i.e. what day you had the hamburger, how long you've had other symptoms. Rather than saying "I think I have such and such a disease/disorder," say "I wonder if this is causing these symptoms" or "I'm concerned about....."

Doctors like to be the ones to solve mysteries and get to the bottom of things. Hopefully they will follow up with appropriate tests.

 

[kangaSue]

That are a few rare eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders that should be ruled out too
https://badgut.org/information-centre/a-z-digestive-topics/eosinophilic-gastrointestinal-disease/

 

[CFS_for_19_years]

@BeADocToGoTo1 any thoughts?

 

[poetessinmotion]

Thank you all for your answers, I'm still on the process of getting the tests done, so thank you for your suggestions. I'll let you know, when I have the results, if there's something relevant.

Anyway, I've decided to come back to the paleo autoinmune diet (AIP) which works very well for me although it's difficult to follow because of its restrictions. I've also noticed that my bloating has become way better by not eating any raw foods. Even now in summer I'm taking warm soups and steamed veggies and it's way, way better so I think I'll keep with this, + collagen with tigernut milk and veggie fats. Let's see how it goes.

 

[BeADocToGoTo1]

I would recommend a comprehensive stool test to check for parasites, pathogens, good and bad bacterial balance, yeast imbalance.

Food sensitivities or allergies is also worth looking into, as was mentioned above. Common ones include things like gluten, milk proteins (casein, whey), lactose (milk sugar), legumes (e.g. peanuts, beans), gluten. The easiest (and cheapest) way to test is using a temporary reset diet, where you stop eating potential irritants for a 1-2 months and then slowly re-introduce them one at a time and see how your body reacts. Blood tests can be good for blatant allergies, but not so accurate for sensitivities. Plus, if your whole system is inflamed and your immune system is on high alert it can be triggered by many things.

Doing an anti-inflammatory diet (Primal, paleo, nutritional ketosis, etc.) are a very good thing to try. You just have to be careful that you are still getting all the nutrients you need (vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, etc.). Also try to avoid inflammatory oils (e.g. corn, soy, canola, etc.), highly processed, and non-bio food to reduce insults to the body. If you are already avoiding most processed, restaurant type food, are you in taking enough high quality salt?

Have you checked for any malabsorption issues? Have you checked for any nutrient deficiencies?

Are you taking steroids based on a doctor's diagnosis, and can any of those symptoms have been caused as side effects?

Good to see that you are looking at food intake and listening to how your body reacts. I often recommend people take a good hard and honest look at everything they eat and drink, since it is one of the very few things we have complete control over and yet have an immense, chronic, influence. Keeping a diary of everything you eat and drink, and how you feel for a week or so can help. You can use a tool like a phone app like MyNetDiary which helps keep track and sum up a lot of data. Have you checked how many grams of carbs you roughly eat per day?