Digestive issues (stomach trouble, bleeding) and general weakness...

I’m having this exact same reaction to pretty much any kind of food. On top of that, because of my cholesterol levels, I’m supposedly not supposed to touch eggs or heavy fats. But honestly? The worst part isn't even the diet—it's this crushing lack of physical strength, the constant aches all over my body, and seeing chunks of undigested food in my stool. It's gross and frustrating. I’m trying to get someone to figure out if this is all connected, because every single one of these symptoms hit me at once back in December. Up until then, I was on Lipitor for my cholesterol, but my doctor actually pulled me off it, thinking some of these issues might be side effects from the pills. Well, newsflash: I feel even worse now... both physically and mentally. I'm refusing to just pop painkillers or sedatives for now because I don't think masking the symptoms solves the actual problem long-term (unless I'm totally wrong here). But the absolute kicker? According to every single lab test I've had, I am a perfectly healthy man!!!!!!

Should I bother asking my doctor for a thyroid referral, or can I just go private? If I go the private route, where should I get tested and what kind of damage am I looking at for my wallet? My doctor has already burned through about thirty different referrals and prescriptions for me this year alone... he’s starting to give me those looks.

velvethound62 said:I’m having this exact same reaction to pretty much any kind of food. On top of that, because of my cholesterol levels, I’m supposedly not supposed to touch eggs or heavy fats. But honestly? The worst part isn't even the diet—it's this crushing lack of physical strength, the constant aches all over my body, and seeing chunks of undigested food in my stool. It's gross and frustrating. I’m trying to get someone to figure out if this is all connected, because every single one of these symptoms hit me at once back in December. Up until then, I was on Lipitor for my cholesterol, but my doctor actually pulled me off it, thinking some of these issues might be side effects from the pills. Well, newsflash: I feel even worse now... both physically and mentally. I'm refusing to just pop painkillers or sedatives for now because I don't think masking the symptoms solves the actual problem long-term (unless I'm totally wrong here). But the absolute kicker? According to every single lab test I've had, I am a perfectly healthy man!!!!!!

You should go get your hormones checked. I'm actually heading in tomorrow myself, so we can do it together, I guess.🙂

I noticed that Lipitor is contraindicated when you have hypothyroidism... and honestly, it feels like all these statins do more harm than good. Like, is it really worth dealing with those risks and side effects just for a 5% improvement in cardiovascular mortality? Especially when overall mortality stays the same. To me, that seems totally crazy. Especially for someone young...

Hey doctors, what’s the prognosis for someone who starts taking statins in their 20s or 30s because of cholesterol? If they've been diagnosed with that famous 'familial hypercholesterolemia,' then it basically means they're on statins for life. Everyone knows that statins wreck your muscles and can mess with your cognitive abilities, too. Plus, besides inhibiting cholesterol production, they also inhibit CoQ10, which muscles seriously need to function properly. Etc., etc.

What's the outlook for someone who has been on statins for 30 years?????

Anyway, just go get your hormones checked first...

Do I really need to go through my primary care doctor to get a referral for thyroid testing, or can I just head to a private clinic to get it done? And if I go private, what’s the damage going to be? My doctor has already burned through about thirty different referrals and prescriptions for me this year alone... he’s starting to give me some seriously dirty looks.

velvethound62 said:Should I bother asking my doctor for a thyroid referral, or can I just go private? If I go the private route, where should I get tested and what kind of damage am I looking at for my wallet? My doctor has already burned through about thirty different referrals and prescriptions for me this year alone... he’s starting to give me those looks.

Well, if you're in the city, I usually just head over to Quest Diagnostics, I think there's one right near downtown. TSH is probably around $50, and I guess T3 and T4 might be about $23 each. If you're still feeling all jittery and restless, maybe you could check your freeT3 too? It might actually correlate better with how you're feeling, though I'm not sure if the cost is about the same, maybe $23..

Yeah, I totally get it. I really don't feel like talking to doctors too much myself. I know they're going to give me that look because I have this whole list of symptoms that most of the medical community just can't wrap their heads around... or they just try to refer you to a psychiatrist instead. I find those experiences so insulting, really, and I just don't have the patience for being lectured or made to feel like I'm making things up.

Jessica Fowler4 said:I’ve been reading up on celiac disease, but honestly, I’m eating gluten again and nothing weird is happening...
Also, some of my symptoms pretty much rule out celiac. Since I can handle a high-fat diet incredibly well, I don't think it could be celiac. For a stretch, I was sticking to about 1,500 calories a day consisting entirely of fats and my digestion stayed perfectly normal—I just don't see how that works if you have celiac.

Plus, the total crash I hit after a month on that diet happened way too fast to be caused by celiac, especially since I wasn't even touching gluten during that time...

Celiac disease isn't about your calorie count or fat intake; it's strictly about the gluten found in grains and certain other foods. Your body simply lacks the ability to process it.
Celiac is a chronic condition that affects all organic systems. It is a lifelong struggle. It actually shows up more frequently in adults than in children. When someone genetically predisposed eats gluten, it triggers damage not just to the intestinal lining, but to various other organs in the body as well.
Even tiny amounts of gluten-containing food can trigger an immune response in affected individuals. The clinical presentation of this disease is incredibly diverse. It can manifest at any age, though recent epidemiological data suggests most cases are diagnosed in a person's fifties or sixties.
Distinguishing celiac symptoms from other potential illnesses can be an absolute nightmare. Unfortunately, it’s common for people to bounce between different specialists for years, searching for answers. Sometimes the disease presents with zero symptoms at all, which is why we call it "silent" or "masked."
Source:https://www.celiac.org/
Get tested so you aren't just guessing.

Angela Wright said:Celiac disease isn't about your calorie count or fat intake; it's strictly about the gluten found in grains and certain other foods. Your body simply lacks the ability to process it.
Celiac is a chronic condition that affects all organic systems. It is a lifelong struggle. It actually shows up more frequently in adults than in children. When someone genetically predisposed eats gluten, it triggers damage not just to the intestinal lining, but to various other organs in the body as well.
Even tiny amounts of gluten-containing food can trigger an immune response in affected individuals. The clinical presentation of this disease is incredibly diverse. It can manifest at any age, though recent epidemiological data suggests most cases are diagnosed in a person's fifties or sixties.
Distinguishing celiac symptoms from other potential illnesses can be an absolute nightmare. Unfortunately, it’s common for people to bounce between different specialists for years, searching for answers. Sometimes the disease presents with zero symptoms at all, which is why we call it "silent" or "masked."
Source:https://www.celiac.org/
Get tested so you aren't just guessing.

Well, one major symptom of celiac is being unable to metabolize fats. But me? I metabolize them perfectly fine, even in huge amounts.

I’d probably rather go get tested for Lyme disease—you know, from ticks—or maybe start with stool tests... but I think I'll stick with my thyroid medication for a little longer first. I mean, I feel okay for now. It could be better, I guess, but it's alright compared to how things were.

I’m sure I'll get tested eventually if I can't get things back on track, but it’s just not at the top of my priority list right now because, like I said, my fat metabolism is totally fine. Plus, for the last week, I've been eating three or four slices of bread every single day and nothing weird has happened yet... so... yeah.

Before even looking at celiac, I’d check for chronic Lyme (I had it once before), get an MRI of my abdomen and my spine (actually, I definitely need a spine MRI because my mid-back is killing me), run bacterial cultures on my stool, and stuff like that... but for now, all of that is on hold until I taper off my thyroid meds a bit to see how it goes. I'll give the hormones at least another month. They're serving me pretty well so far... then, after all that, if nothing else turns up, I'll look into celiac and some other possibilities.

velvethound62 said:Let me set the record straight here—it isn't blood in my stool, it’s just on the toilet paper after I'm done. And honestly, my digestion is a total mess right now; things aren't coming out "normal" at all. It’s like looking at a map of everything I ate the day before because there are chunks of undigested food everywhere. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, I’m dealing with this intense pain or a sharp itching sensation in my rectum after using the bathroom, and sometimes it hits me even when I haven't gone. Oh, and I totally forgot to mention the constant, heavy gas—though, thankfully, it doesn't smell too terrible. Then there's the exhaustion and the muscle aches, especially that stabbing sensation right under my ribs. Now, look, I already deal with lower back issues—specifically some slipped vertebrae in my lumbar spine—which occasionally sends shooting pains down my legs, but I fail to see how on earth that would have anything to do with my digestion???

Read carefully. That part of my reply wasn't even directed at you.
My answer stands.

Honestly, I don’t even have the energy to slog through this whole thing, but here is the gist of what I managed to parse out for you to fix...
A CT scan isn't going to be particularly helpful here.
Statins aren't contraindicated for hypothyroidism.

Nancy Morris5 commented on my post regarding that clumsy phrase "blood in the stool," so I went ahead and set the record straight by clarifying that I actually meant blood on the toilet paper after the fact... no offense intended, truly! Just keeping things accurate.

vividsailor7 said:Honestly, I don’t even have the energy to slog through this whole thing, but here is the gist of what I managed to parse out for you to fix...
A CT scan isn't going to be particularly helpful here.
Statins aren't contraindicated for hypothyroidism.

Lipitor and all those other statins... they kind of have this tendency to cause rhabdomyolysis, you know? Like, basically destroying muscle tissue, which then puts a ton of stress on your kidneys and causes inflammation, and eventually, they just stop working.
And when you combine statins with hypothyroidism, there's this synergistic effect—meaning, I guess, it might actually ramp up the risk of rhabdomyolysis.
It’s funny how some places frame it—like, in studies, statins were basically marketed as "hyperthyroidism regulators." It sounds pretty good, right? But the real-world translation is more like they slow down the thyroid, which is only a "plus" if you actually have hyperthyroidism.



Here are the contraindications (at least according to what's listed in the US)🙂:

•Personal or family history of hereditary muscular disorders
•Previous history of muscle toxicity with another HMG Co-A reductase inhibitor

•Severe hepatic impairment
•Severe renal impairment (CrCl less than 30 ml/min/1.73 m2)
•Hypothyroidism

vividsailor7 said:Look, let's get one thing straight: you’ve already ruled out all the physical, organic causes for these symptoms. There isn't a biological glitch in the machine. What you need now is a professional consultation with a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Period.

It all comes down to one critical question: has that blood actually been confirmed? Because honestly, what we're even talking about matters immensely here. Are we dealing with bright red blood in the stool, or is it melena—that dark, tarry stuff? There is a massive difference, and we need to be clear on what we're looking at.

Fine. So, do you have any actual advice for self-help here? I’m telling you, I really don't want to start popping pills if there's some other way to pull myself out of this hole. I value what you're saying, I really do, but if you actually take the time to re-read my post, you'll see that some symptoms—like that tongue stinging thing—might be negligible. However, this business with my digestion, my bowel movements, and this crushing fatigue? It's absolutely killing me...

I mean, before you go seeing a psychiatrist, maybe check your thyroid first.

It feels like you’ve got almost every symptom of hyperthyroidism:

- aching in your quads whenever you walk up stairs
- just general muscle aches everywhere
- food moving through your system way too fast
- a slightly elevated temperature
- feeling weak
- dark circles under the eyes
- sweating at night while you're in bed
- lightheadedness
- a burning sensation on your tongue and facial tingling
- losing weight
- sharp, stabbing pains

The only thing that seems a bit off is that pressure above your eyes. Because, I guess, a really specific sign of hyperthyroidism is pressure behind the eyes. So, I don't know, maybe, it's close enough 🙂
Another symptom that might be missing is hair loss and having a racing pulse while you're just sitting there resting.

Man, seriously, just go $100 get checked out. Or if you're really not sure, just check your pulse, especially at night when you're sweating in bed and stuff... and check your blood pressure and temperature too... well, see, having a racing pulse while you're lying down trying to sleep, especially combined with a fever, feeling hot, and sweating... that alone is probably hyperthyroidism.

People who have a fever because of an infection actually feel cold—like, they feel chilly even though their body temperature is high. It's only when the temperature starts to drop that they feel hot.

But people with hyperthyroidism? They're sweating and feeling hot, not cold. And they feel especially hot when it's warm out, or even more so if they're doing any kind of physical activity in the heat.

So, yeah, just see which one sounds like you.

Jessica Fowler4 said:I mean, before you go seeing a psychiatrist, maybe check your thyroid first.

It feels like you’ve got almost every symptom of hyperthyroidism:

- aching in your quads whenever you walk up stairs
- just general muscle aches everywhere
- food moving through your system way too fast
- a slightly elevated temperature
- feeling weak
- dark circles under the eyes
- sweating at night while you're in bed
- lightheadedness
- a burning sensation on your tongue and facial tingling
- losing weight
- sharp, stabbing pains

The only thing that seems a bit off is that pressure above your eyes. Because, I guess, a really specific sign of hyperthyroidism is pressure behind the eyes. So, I don't know, maybe, it's close enough 🙂
Another symptom that might be missing is hair loss and having a racing pulse while you're just sitting there resting.

Man, seriously, just go $100 get checked out. Or if you're really not sure, just check your pulse, especially at night when you're sweating in bed and stuff... and check your blood pressure and temperature too... well, see, having a racing pulse while you're lying down trying to sleep, especially combined with a fever, feeling hot, and sweating... that alone is probably hyperthyroidism.

People who have a fever because of an infection actually feel cold—like, they feel chilly even though their body temperature is high. It's only when the temperature starts to drop that they feel hot.

But people with hyperthyroidism? They're sweating and feeling hot, not cold. And they feel especially hot when it's warm out, or even more so if they're doing any kind of physical activity in the heat.

So, yeah, just see which one sounds like you.

Thanks, I'm interested in hearing what anyone else thinks or has to suggest. Dr. George, what’s your take on this?

Jessica Fowler4 said:Lipitor and all those other statins... they kind of have this tendency to cause rhabdomyolysis, you know? Like, basically destroying muscle tissue, which then puts a ton of stress on your kidneys and causes inflammation, and eventually, they just stop working.
And when you combine statins with hypothyroidism, there's this synergistic effect—meaning, I guess, it might actually ramp up the risk of rhabdomyolysis.
It’s funny how some places frame it—like, in studies, statins were basically marketed as "hyperthyroidism regulators." It sounds pretty good, right? But the real-world translation is more like they slow down the thyroid, which is only a "plus" if you actually have hyperthyroidism.



Here are the contraindications (at least according to what's listed in the US)🙂:

•Personal or family history of hereditary muscular disorders
•Previous history of muscle toxicity with another HMG Co-A reductase inhibitor

•Severe hepatic impairment
•Severe renal impairment (CrCl less than 30 ml/min/1.73 m2)
•Hypothyroidism

1. We are talking about rosuvastatin here. It hasn't been around as long as, say, atorvastatin or simvastatin—but let’s be clear, it delivers just as stellar results regarding both treatment efficacy and side effect profiles.
2. Rhabdomyolysis as a side effect is incredibly rare.
3. It also depends heavily on the dosage, which is usually anything over 40mg.
4. Hypothyroidism is simply a risk factor, nothing more.

velvethound62 said:Fine. So, do you have any actual advice for self-help here? I’m telling you, I really don't want to start popping pills if there's some other way to pull myself out of this hole. I value what you're saying, I really do, but if you actually take the time to re-read my post, you'll see that some symptoms—like that tongue stinging thing—might be negligible. However, this business with my digestion, my bowel movements, and this crushing fatigue? It's absolutely killing me...

I went back and read your post. Again.
Why on earth do you think you need to jump straight to medication?
Do you honestly believe that people dealing with organic diseases, like Crohn's disease, don't need psychological counseling? Of course they do! It's incredibly helpful for them. The exact same logic applies to hyperthyroidism.

velvethound62 said:Thanks, I'm interested in hearing what anyone else thinks or has to suggest. Dr. George, what’s your take on this?

Well, you might as well get your TSH checked; you've got nothing to lose. And you could also go for a stool test for parasites and Giardia at the Infectious Disease Clinic.

Jessica Fowler4 said:I looked into celiac disease too, but now that I'm eating gluten again, nothing special seems to be happening...
Also, some of my symptoms pretty much rule out celiac—given how well I handle a high-fat diet, I don't think it's possible. During one part of my diet, I was hitting about 1500 calories a day strictly from fats and my digestion was totally fine. I just don't think that works if you actually have celiac.

Plus, the crash I hit after a month on the diet happened so fast that I don't think it could have been caused by celiac, especially since I wasn't even eating gluten at the time...

Hey there, I read through your post... tell me, does dairy bother you? Does it cause bloating or sudden bathroom trips? For me, all carbs eventually became an issue—and it happened incredibly fast. First, I developed an intolerance to eggs (intense cramps, greasy yellow stools, incomplete movements), then bread, then dairy, then apples (more awful cramping), and even some nuts... nothing used to bother me before. It all started alongside a massive amount of stress. When I switched to LCHF, I reacted really well, just like you—my digestion stabilized after about 14 days, even leaning slightly toward constipation. But once I went back to carbs, everything went south again, even worse than before. Right from the start, I headed to my gastroenterologist, and they immediately sent me for celiac testing... and yeah, it was celiac. It was such a shock. I kept asking why, how, etc., and they explained it's an autoimmune condition that can be congenital or triggered by a sudden drop in immunity or intense stress—basically, our gut reacts because the brain and digestive system are so tightly linked. In my case, the villi just couldn't hold up. As for fat, people with celiac can technically eat it, though it isn't usually recommended; the goal for the gut is to keep things "clean"—eating foods that pass through without sticking to the intestinal walls (meaning avoiding things that cling, like fats, sugar, and GLUTEN) so the villi can regenerate. During the acute phase, believe me, people do eat fat and the body can handle it because it’s gluten-free and doesn't stick to the lining. Also, that itching or burning sensation you mentioned is likely a food allergy. Just before my test results came back, I started having physical symptoms—I actually had to keep eating gluten just so the tests would reflect my actual state—my eyes started watering after meals, followed by coughing, a runny nose, and then a rash. They also told me that celiac and that kind of immune response—where your own system attacks you—can develop in just a few days. So, definitely see a gastroenterologist. If you want, message me later this afternoon and I can give you a recommendation for a specialist at a major hospital in the city.

Jessica Fowler4 said:Well, one major symptom of celiac is being unable to metabolize fats. But me? I metabolize them perfectly fine, even in huge amounts.

I’d probably rather go get tested for Lyme disease—you know, from ticks—or maybe start with stool tests... but I think I'll stick with my thyroid medication for a little longer first. I mean, I feel okay for now. It could be better, I guess, but it's alright compared to how things were.

I’m sure I'll get tested eventually if I can't get things back on track, but it’s just not at the top of my priority list right now because, like I said, my fat metabolism is totally fine. Plus, for the last week, I've been eating three or four slices of bread every single day and nothing weird has happened yet... so... yeah.

Before even looking at celiac, I’d check for chronic Lyme (I had it once before), get an MRI of my abdomen and my spine (actually, I definitely need a spine MRI because my mid-back is killing me), run bacterial cultures on my stool, and stuff like that... but for now, all of that is on hold until I taper off my thyroid meds a bit to see how it goes. I'll give the hormones at least another month. They're serving me pretty well so far... then, after all that, if nothing else turns up, I'll look into celiac and some other possibilities.

Hmm... fat malabsorption is usually an issue in celiac during the acute phase. You can still process them because it hasn't caused that much damage yet. When I first had it, I could only manage bread for a little while before it got worse—more symptoms, more food restrictions, until eventually, I couldn't handle fats or fruit or basically any food group. Even probiotic pills made me bloated! Since celiac attacks the intestinal villi, fewer villi means fewer digestive enzymes. The more gluten you eat, the more those villi suffer. That’s why you can still handle fats—you stopped the gluten, so the damage isn't progressing. As for stool tests, make sure to check for parasites and Candida (definitely emphasize the Candida). Your symptoms sound incredibly similar to mine. If you want to go the psychiatrist route, they'll just send you straight to a specialist. When I was at the new hospital, they tried to label me as "psychiatric" because nobody could figure out what was wrong with me—then my psychiatrist actually suggested I see a different gastroenterologist! So I went to the specialist, and lo and behold—celiac!

Aaron Castillo73 said:Hmm... fat malabsorption is usually an issue in celiac during the acute phase. You can still process them because it hasn't caused that much damage yet. When I first had it, I could only manage bread for a little while before it got worse—more symptoms, more food restrictions, until eventually, I couldn't handle fats or fruit or basically any food group. Even probiotic pills made me bloated! Since celiac attacks the intestinal villi, fewer villi means fewer digestive enzymes. The more gluten you eat, the more those villi suffer. That’s why you can still handle fats—you stopped the gluten, so the damage isn't progressing. As for stool tests, make sure to check for parasites and Candida (definitely emphasize the Candida). Your symptoms sound incredibly similar to mine. If you want to go the psychiatrist route, they'll just send you straight to a specialist. When I was at the new hospital, they tried to label me as "psychiatric" because nobody could figure out what was wrong with me—then my psychiatrist actually suggested I see a different gastroenterologist! So I went to the specialist, and lo and behold—celiac!

I have a friend over at the Mayo Clinic, so that's cool...

but I won't be heading in anytime soon. It seems like the thyroid hormone therapy is showing pretty decent results so far... I have a checkup in two weeks and I just don't have the time to be running around from doctor to doctor right now..

I see some of you have started linking my thyroid issues to celiac disease... honestly, I’d rule out celiac myself since I don't deal with nausea or vomiting. What *is* weird is that every 4 or 5 days, my temperature jumps to 98.8°F when it’s usually sitting at a steady 98.2°F. I’ve noticed other changes too, like my eyes looking sunken. For instance, lunch today was a meat roll, salad, mushrooms, and peas—and now, sitting here on the toilet, I can literally see every single bit of it undigested in my stool. On top of all those symptoms I mentioned when I started this thread, there’s this constant ringing in my left ear. And here's another strange thing: I put in two hours of heavy physical labor this past Saturday after having three beers, and I didn't even feel particularly tired. P.S. Please don't come at me—I am not an alcoholic! I’ve had people suggest this might just be anxiety, but knowing myself, I just can't bring myself to agree with that. If anyone actually has some insight, I'm listening...

I haven't read everything yet—maybe you mentioned this somewhere. Are you having stomach issues? Have you actually gone to get checked out?