I have been ill for a few weeks. I had mono about 5 yrs ago. I had blood transfusions about 10 yrs ago. Im a 27 yr old female. I have been bloated so bad you’d swear im 4 months pregnant but Im not and I have gotten my period 3 times this month. Also, Im tired all the time. My breast are engorged they went from a size b to C. Again pregnancy test is negative. I get the chills off and on all day I have spurts of feeling ok then back to sick. Along with this I have hot flashes,shortness of breath, feeling I might pass out and 2 wks ago my muscles hurt like I just run a marathon but didn’t . I seem to have no fever either. Also I have been noticing large bruised areas on my body and I know I didn’t get hurt. Im a full time student and don’t have time to go to the dr. Im scared though too. Also Im taking paxil 20mg, seroquel 400mg at night.

Dr. Joshua’s Answer:

From this description of symptoms alone, I cannot tell you what is causing all this in your specific case, but generally speaking, there are various possibilities for such symptoms, such as infection, hormonal imbalances and so on that come to mind. Muscle soreness, fatigue, shortness of breath and chills can be symptoms of infection. Bloating, bruising, fatigue and the other symptoms together may be caused by a hormonal disturbance such as hypothyreosis or Cushing’s disease (hypercortisolism), but of course, also by a great variety of other diseases. Shortness of breath may be a symptom of asthma, and shortness of breath combined with bloating could signal heart disease, which of course is rare in a 27 year old. Menstrual irregularity and hot flashes may suggest some hormonal imbalance. The point is that the symptoms you describe fit dozens of illnesses and a visit to the doctor is recommended. This could be a simple virus infection - and yet again it could be something more serious. In medicine there is a saying, “the most common diseases are most common”, which means that usually there is an common illness (such as infection) behind a patient’s symptoms. See your doctor - a thorough history and physical examination is needed.

Again, generally speaking, when a patient complains of such symptoms, and the history and physical examination do not immediately offer a diagnosis, some tests may need to be taken, such as chest x-ray, and lab tests such as whole blood count, TSH, CRP, possibly other hormonal tests as well.

Keep us posted!