Becky, here's one for you:

Idiopathic Anaphylixis

My husband collapsed three times before he was diagnosed, and had a few mild to moderate attacks after he was diagnosed. They started out of the blue and stopped just as suddenly. No allergies to food where found (other than shell fish which we know, but even that as a very low rating), in fact nothing much beyond hay fever was found in testing.

What happened was this:

He woke up in the middle of the night itching. Not knowing what else to do (he'd never had an anaphylactic reaction before), he took a shower -- a hot shower (that only sped up the reaction). I heard him in the shower, then I heard him fall in the shower. Fortunately the door was not locked, when I went in, he was lying on the floor of the shower, looking like he was trying to figure out why he fell. He did not want me to call 911. He got up, was fairly coherent, but confused (as anyone would be if they just fell for no reason). He then fell a second time, his legs literally gave out. That time, I only hesitated long enough to make sure he was conscious and turn off the water before I called 911. We have a volunteer fire department and only one ambulance that we share with three other communities. By the time, the fire department got there, he had gotten out of the shower, and fell again, and almost had underwear on. He started drifting between lucidity and stupor. His skin was bright red, and he had moderate difficulty breathing.

He was very lucky he did not break any bones; didn't even break skin anywhere. Though he did loose control of his bowels sometime in there. (If it had been me, I'd have dislocated a knee, sprained an ankle, bruised my arm at bare minimum).

The next attacks were very similar except he was not in the shower. In fact, he was sitting down to dinner and decided he was going to the ER (this is a man who doesn't go to the doctor unless he is dragged kicking and screaming); anyway, he didn't get that far, I called 911 again. The third happened just as we were getting ready for bed.

By then we figured out the warning signs: itchiness that is almost painful, redness, swelling of the hands, and difficulty breathing. One of his doctors ordered the test to determine if an anaphylactic reaction was going on.

No cause, no cure, it came, and then it went. He's been symptom free for almost five years, but there are still times that I get a bit worried when I see his skin start to turn red or he starts itching too much.

__________________
Perspective Alters Reality

Never! He was seen by his GP, and allergist, and I don't know how many docs in the ER and hospital the first few times. The really weird part is that it stopped as if it had never happened. He had a series of attacks that ranged from a few weeks to a few months and then nothing. No major changes in behavior or routine. In fact the only change at all was he was diagnosed with diabetes shortly after the attacks began, and blood pressure after they stopped, but none of those should be related to anaphylaxis (though, I have heard that diabetes can be triggered by a major shock to the system in those that have a predisposition to the disease or are pre-diabetic).

__________________
Perspective Alters Reality

I was watching Untold Stories of the ER (great info for this kind of thing). They had a potassium deficiency story very different from what happened to my co-worker.

A 16 year old young man was brought in with numb feet. The numbness quickly started spreading up his body. He had such a low potassium number they said he shouldn't even be alive. They gave him an infusion of potassium and determined he had a rare disease where his body was having trouble mainaining normal potassium levels.

__________________
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...

ThIs is why I love mystery diagnosis!

My whole life I have been dealing with joint pain, came and went. Was always told it was growing pains, even when it would take my breath away.

Then, about high school started having sharp chest pains and problems with my joints got worse, pain, random swelling, and sharp pains in my pelvic area. Was told it was from being "overweight" altho I was a power lifter a.nd very fit. As well as anxiety.

Recently, my hands and legs would swell up and get hot, and be in terrible pain. Found out I had bursitis in hips but that didn't explain my hands. Blood tests showed anemia and high sedimentation rate, meaning inflammation. Was sent to a rheumatologist.

I explained all my symptoms, a few counsels and xrays later, they confirmed i have an autoimmune disorder related to psoriasis. So its a psoriatic arthritis in my back that effects my entire body, and my white blood cells are literally attacking my body.

It was great to finally understand what was going on with me after soooo many years of thinking i was a hypochondriac!

__________________
Slow down, you're gonna crash, Baby you're a-screaming it's a blast, blast, blast. Look out babe, you've got your blinders on
Everybody's looking for a way to get real gone. Real gone.

Tride, I'm sorry to hear that. I've heard of that type of arthritis, as I have the Rheumatoid version. I was diagnosed five years ago, but I can trace it back to my middle school years.

I wish you the best.

__________________
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...

Wow, these are interesting cases! I'll be looking forward to reading the fics that come out of them...

__________________

So true Becky! So true! I'm thankful for a diagnosis that I can treat and for good medical coverage.

__________________
Slow down, you're gonna crash, Baby you're a-screaming it's a blast, blast, blast. Look out babe, you've got your blinders on
Everybody's looking for a way to get real gone. Real gone.