Over the years Mr.A has developed small, seemingly insignificant medical issues. Throughout his life he has always been very healthy but recently he has had a growing number of problems.
Mr.A has been a runner his entire life. Within the last couple of years, he started to get weak, shaky, and his hands, arms and face would get tingly and numb during and after running. He would get weak at random times without strenuous physical activity and dizzy and occasionally nauseous for no reason. After it went unseen by others and undiagnosed for two years, I insisted that he speak to a doctor about it.
During this time, he was starting to get more frequent heartburn and indigestion. He was eating Tums like it was his job and it also got to the point where he needed to speak to his doctor.
During his appointment (in February this year) his doctor listened to his concerns and set up a stress test to make sure that his issues were not cardiovascular. His doctor prescribed him medication for his heartburn that he was told to take twice per day. She also was concerned that he might be hypoglycemic based on his weakness and wanted to set up some blood tests to rule out any blood sugar issues. Mr.A did the stress test, and passed without any issues. He followed up with the Dr.s office several times to try to set up the blood tests but they never followed through.
Around the summer Mr.A discontinued working out and running since his numbness, tingling and weakness began coming on worse especially when he does strenuous activity (sad but true confession to follow: including sex).
Edited to add: After talking with a friend last night, I realized that there are some other things Mr.A is experiencing that I did not mention. He has been experiencing Restless Leg Syndrome recently, but thought for sure that it had to do with the fact that he is no longer running and as not very active throughout the day at work. Also, over the last few years he has had what I can only describe as mini seizures during the middle of the night (this only occurs once a month or less). He feels as though he is caught in a trance between being asleep and awake and will have self-induced panic attacks because he feels as though he cannot breath. When he is caught in his "trance" he cannot move, but is aware of every thing around him. Once we were laying in bed, spooning and I could feel his eyelashes tickling my neck. I moved a little since he was tickling me and he jumped up gasping for air. Generally, I have no idea these episodes are happening until he wakes up, but they have always scared me. We have talked to several doctors but since it does not happen frequently and we cannot find what triggers it, even with a sleep study there is no guarantee that it would happen.
Fast forward to the present. The medication that Mr.A has been taking for his heartburn just doesn't do the trick anymore. He is taking it twice daily as prescribed and also eating several Tums to supplement it. He called his doctor and picked up a new prescription today.
On the pamphlet, there was one section that caught my eye. It said, "Tell your doctor immediately if any of these highly unlikely but very serious side effects occur: signs of vitamin B-12 deficiency (eg. unusual weakness, sore tongue, numbness, or tingling of the hands/feet)." After reading this, I decided to consult Doctor Google and find out more about Vitamin B-12 deficiency. I read that it can cause all of his neurological symptoms, mental symptoms including irritability and depression, AND gastrointestinal issues (which can include heartburn).
After reading about Vitamin B-12 deficiency, I am worried. Dr. Google stated that some of the neurological problems are irreversible depending on how quickly it is caught; these issues have been going on for probably 2 years. Mr.A said he would set up an appointment in the morning to go get some of the necessary blood tests. I am worried that this could be the cause of so many of his issues but hopeful that if it is at least we know what needs to be done to fix it all. If you could spare some extra thoughts and prayers please pray for my wonderful and loving Mr.A.
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