Have Psoriasis And Mental Health Issues. Started Recurring Headache, Nausea And Vomiting. What Is Causing This?

Posted on Sun, 21 Oct 2012

Question: Hello. I have been having recurring symptoms on and off for the past month. What could be causing this? My symptoms are as follows: mild to moderate headache. Nausea and vomiting sometimes profuse vomiting. Generally feel weak, and can be shaky. I can either have chills or I feel hot but have no fever but flushed face, and I have two other symptoms that may or may not be related. I am also extremely thirsty, even though I have been consuming a lot of water. And I also been having a slightly runny nose. These symptoms have been coming on and off for over a month. Lasting between one and a half weeks and at the minimum, three days. I am now sick again, and this is the fourth time now in 6 weeks. Do you have any clue as to what this is??? I have psoriasis and mental health issues, but doubt they have anything to do with this. Thank you for your time!

Answered by Dr. Aparna Kohli (4 hours later)

Hi,
Thanks for writing in.
The problems that you have can be due to a hormonal disturbance or due to anxiety issues or both. The recurrent nausea and vomiting, fatigue and excessive thirst could be due to an hormonal issue and the flushing, shakiness can be due to anxiety issues.
What we need to do is run some basic tests like an electrolyte level and a cortisol level to check for hormonal disturbances.
I would also like to check for diabetes, although its extremely unlikely that you have such an issue.
The runny nose is not related to this issue and may just be a coincidence. Please see your GP and get these tests ordered. Once we have the results, we can tae this discussion ahead in a more useful manner.
Hope that helps
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Aparna Kohli (12 hours later)

Actually, diabetes runs in my family super heavily on both my parents sides, and I am overweight. I've also never had a stable menstruation, tho my hormone levels are checked and have been normal. The anxiety is also right. My cat has gone missing... So definitely stress had been an issue. I'll see if I can get these tests done. Could this be viral? And I'm just being reinfected?

Answered by Dr. Aparna Kohli (9 hours later)

Hi,
Thanks for writing back.
Please get yourself checked for diabetes. You would need a fasting blood sugar and a post prandial blood sugar ( 2 hr post meal, you need to give a blood sample to check for sugar levels) for that. It could be contributing significantly to the symptoms.
As far as the menstrual cycles are concerned, please get yourself checked for polycystic ovarian disease. PCOD and diabetes are often linked to one another.
You would need an ultrasound of the pelvis to diagnose PCOD.
Once you have the reports, we can discuss about the treatment options.
Hope this helps
Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar