I was diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome which from what I understand is the result of other cascading ailments.
My mother took DES while pregnant with me. I never had normal periods (started at 15 and had a period maybe once or twice a year) This all led to varying diagnosis of everything from Polycystic Ovarian Disease, Hormonal imbalance, Migraines, weight issues, acid reflux, Adrenal insufficiency, high normal blood sugar, inflammatory issues, mixed acid base disorders, electrolyte imbalance, failure of my intestines to properly absorb vital nutrients, my bodies failure to retain potassium, magnesium and sodium, insulin resistance, severe fatigue, and now fatty liver disease.
In 2007 I was diagnosed with mixed acid base disorder, metabolic acidosis and pulmonary alkalosis. After 12 HOURS in the ER, I was hospitalized because I was hyperventilating and my blood acid levels reached 7.625. They said it was due to an mixed acid base/electrolyte disorder. They didn't treat it, they just "watched" me for 23 hours because they didn't know how to treat me.
Since then, I have been to more physicians and specialists than I can count and have had CT scans (with and without contrast), MRI's, scopes, sleep studies, you name it.
Last year, I had an answer: Metabolic Syndrome which is the end effect of all the cascading issues listed above stemming from hormonal imbalances.
This year, I found a hepatologist who deals strictly with metabolic disorder, fatty liver disease and insulin resistance who told me that it all has something to do with an enzyme produced by the stomach. I was told there are two investigational treatments. One treatment was a medication, Byetta, one was gastric bypass surgery. I was given Byetta which is supposed to level off the blood sugar levels and get rid of that pesky enzyme in the stomach that creates many of the cascading medical issues of metabolic syndrome. The Byetta was prescribed a couple of months after having my gall bladder removed so my body was still trying to figure out what to do with all the bile dumping into my stomach. The Byetta on top of that made me very very ill. I never knew if I was going to throw up or have diarrhea. Most of the time I was just throwing up. I had severe stomach pain. After two months of Byetta, I stopped taking the prescription but the severe stomach pain when eating anything, vomiting and diarrhea kept going. I called the Hepatologist who said give it a little while, my Internal Medicine physician who sent me to a Gastroenterologist who prescribed Wellcol. Most of the gastric symptoms have stopped and my gastric system went back to semi-normal after a few days.
I am not to the point of even considering gastric bypass so......I decided that if hormones started this cascade of health issues I would go to a hormone specialist. I went to a hormone doctor and two weeks ago started bio-identical hormone inplants. I feel a little less fatigued and am waiting to see if the implants help with some of my other issues.
I have learned through all this to do my research (including researching the physicians and the hospitals) and listen to my body, not necessarily the physicians who may or may not know what they are talking about. I have been told it's all in my head, that losing weight would help (while others tell me it is almost impossible to do so because of advanced metabolic syndrome) and a host of other medical advice which has done nothing to help me. I was even yelled at by a pulmonologist once. They all want to treat the symptoms, not the cause. I have had almost a hundred thousand dollars worth of medical tests done which answered -0- questions. So now, I empower myself, through research. I know more than someone without a medical degree should know. I have found that knowledge itself sometimes intimidates physicians, but it empowers me to know if they know what they are doing because now I know the questions to ask.