Hi there,

As some of you already know, Fame is a dear friend of mine in real life and he's the one who told me of this site, we even use the same computer. I came back here today asking for your help. His health is not great, and the problem is we can't figure out what to do since all of his tests came out good. And yet the problem remains. I'm posting this here and am about to give more details, in the hope that one of you may have a doctor in his/her family, or maybe one of you is friends with a doctor, or know someone who may give us some kind of advice in dealing with this. The doctors we've seen so far say they can't help his situation, again because the tests show no problem. So PLEASE, if you can print/send this post to anyone who may help, this would really really mean a lot.

3 months ago (!!), Fame went to bed feeling all fine but in the morning he was unable to sit in bed, saying he felt movements inside his head and was unable to focus and remain steady. Eventually he managed to get up and walk, but for 2-3 weeks things were really bad. The head was not in peace, there was pain in the chest, stomach, lack of appetite, but mainly the head and the constant feeling that he was about to pass out. He was unable to watch TV without taking multiple breaks every 2 minutes because of the head. Walking outside the house made him feel even worse. One morning he woke up shaking in bed for 30 minutes and we took him to see the doctor who said everything looks ok, no fever or blood pressure issues or anything. The blood test were all good. So we went home and a week later, the chest and stomach problems were gone, the head was better, he was able to watch a movie on TV, take a walk outside, however the head problem keeps showing up and won't go away. It's been months!! he says he feels something in the head that makes him uncomfortable and that annoying feeling that he's about to pass out persists. He's unable to lead a normal life like that. CT scan of the brain was ok and so did the blood tests. We went to see a neurologist who said that his tests show no problem and that it might be a virus, but 3 months already! the guy is an athlete and yesterday he was unable to finish a walk in the neighborhood, we turned around and got home and up till this very moment the head is giving him hell. Now I know it's not a mental issue, since I've known him for years and I see him every day and he's the happiest man I've ever met, so nothing in that direction. But what the hell happened to him and how do we fix it? we don't know which other doctor to go to, where else to turn to, this thing is a nightmare, and yet it has no name and no treatment, so PLEASE pass this around to anyone who may help. If you know any doctor who may read this and give his opinion, anything might help.

Thank you in advance. Fame sends his love and says "thanx again everyone for your support".

Please help if you can,

Debbie

Debra,

Thanks so updating us. It's been a while since we heard from Fame. I'm so sorry to hear his health is not any better. When you say problems with his head, is it noises or ringing or what? I can't believe the doctors can't pinpoint it. How awful for him. Can his doctor/s recommend any kind of specialist? Please tell him that I send my best and wish him well. I'll keep him in my prayers.

Thanks

TIS

Hi Debbie, I'm so sorry to hear about Fame being so ill. He is such a sweet chap.

I'm by no means qualified to give opinion, but from what my father experienced, which was dizziness, pain in chest and stomach, inability to move and having to lie in the bed for hours, that was his stomach. He went on Ranitidine, over the counter prescription is available and somehow the problem got fixed. How acid reflux could have something to do with dizziness is beyond me, but it could be as simple as that. Since you mention chest pain and stomach problem, it might not hurt if you tried to fix his stomach problems and see if the others are the side effects of that issue.

I wish you and Fame all the best, keep us posted.

If it's mostly dizziness and a feeling like he's going to pass out, has he seen an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist?? The feeling of vertigo could bother his stomach and his appetite. Has he been checked for Meniere's Disease?? My husband's aunt has it, and some of the symptoms sound like that could be causing his imbalance, etc.

"A Meniere's episode generally involves severe vertigo (spinning), imbalance, nausea and vomiting. The average attack lasts two to four hours. Following a severe attack, most people find that they are exhausted and must sleep for several hours. There is a large amount of variability in the duration of symptoms. Some people experience brief "shocks", and others have constant unsteadiness. High sensitivity to visual stimuli (visual dependence) is common. (Lacour, 1997). During the attack the eyes jump (this is called "nystagmus")."

Give him my love, and check out this website:
http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/menieres/menieres.html#whatis

Where's Dr House?? Please give Fame our best wishes, Debra! We hope he feels better, and hopefully some of the replies here (not mine) might be helpful in tracking it down. Please take any advice here w/ a grain of salt and discuss the possibilities with his doctor first.

Debra,

First of all thank you for letting us know about our Brother Fame. Sounds like you are a caring friend of his. To go along with what Afs suggested my hubby has Gerd. He has some of the symptoms you described. The Doctor put him on Nexium and he said he's feeling better.

I hope the doc's can find out what is wrong with him soon. Please check in from time to time and let us know how he is doing. Please tell Fame he is in my thoughts and prayers.

it always sucks to hear somebody is ill...just check with the experts, and keep a log of whats going on/how long they last...that kind of stuff. hope he gets back on his feet soon, but make sure that everything is covered (catscans, MRI's)...if anything though keep in touch over here.

Thanx a lot guys, means a lot!!

I should make it clear that the chest & stomach issues are long gone, for the last couple of months it's only the head. We're actually going to see an ENT dr this week, but we don't think there's any problem with his ears, still we must check. The problem is the doctor won't tell us which specialists to go to! he's a real pain in the ass! all he keep saying is "all tests are good, so we're done here". He didn't recommend any specialist at all! not even when we asked him! we went to see a neurologist because one of our friends suggested it.

It is not Gerd or Menieres. Not Vertigo either. It's frustrating that not only does he suffer, but we can't find a cure for his pariticular situation.

If you can think of any specialist that may deal with head problems, dizziness, imbalance etc, please let me know. So far we've seen a neuorologist and are about to see an ENTist.

And yes..we're already in the process of replacing a doctor. We're done with that asshole.

It's disgusting that there are doctors out there with that kind of crappy bedside manner.

Debra, Just tell Fame to hang in there and remember that doctors are not gods. My mom was experiencing abdominal pain many years ago. She went from one doctor to another, having all sorts of tests. This was back in the day before ultrasound. Anyway, after all sorts of specialists and tests, they finally told her it was in her head and to see a psychiatrist.

She went to her OB/GYN as a last resort. He told her that he had known her for years, that she wasn't a complainer, and that if she felt pain, there was something wrong. He made her feel so much better and restored her faith in herself and in the medical profession! He scheduled her for exploratory surgery that following week. Sure enough, he found ovarian cancer. At the time, it was almost a certain death sentence. However, because that doctor caught it early enough, she will celebrate her 84th birthday this August.

Don't let any doctor intimidate you! Buy a spiral notebook and write everything down in it and take it with you to every doctor's appointment. Record every specialist, the tests done, when they were done and the results.

You're obviously a wonderful friend and Fame is blessed to have you.

God bless you Fame & Debra. I am praying for you both. Get well soon, Fame! You are missed!

I can't offer any advise but to just keep doctor shopping until someone finds an answer. And tell him to be persistant.

You are a great friend Debra and your concern for him is evident. Give him my best and I'll be praying the doctors get it right quickly.

Sorry to hear about Fame Debra. Hang in there,both of you!

Debra, thank you so much for giving us all an update - I was worried about how he was doing, and we always appreciate any kind of information.

I'm sorry to hear he's still having trouble, but it must be a comfort knowing that you're there to support him. Sounds like you're a great friend!

I wish I had some kind of medical advice to offer. I asked my mom about it, and besides what was already posted, she thought maybe it could be stress-related. Mainly, she suggested that, depending on where you live, to be sure that you seek medical attention from the best location/staff. When my aunt had her stroke, we at least took comfort knowing that she was in a renowned hospital for our city, so perhaps if you two get a second opinion, you could keep this in mind - depending on who you're already with?

I will keep Fame in my prayers.

Has anyone heard anything about our friend Fame? I have tried to contact both him and Debra, and I really hope to hear some good news about how he's doing. I really miss his posts and presence here.

He hasn't posted on here for a while, hope he is ok..