Have they tested for Addison's disease, it fits the description.

No he hasn’t been checked for that. He goes back to the doctor on Thursday so is going to mention it to him. He does have all the symptoms. Thanks for your response.

A friend of my sons went through a year of tests and she had similar symptoms. The diagnosis was Addisons.

Has he been checked for C. diff?

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/c-difficile/symptoms-causes/syc-20351691

Poor guy, these are serious symptoms. If he hasn't been seen at the patient practice of a medical school, that's where he should go. The best doctors don't scratch their heads and wonder, they pursue all possibilities and consult with colleagues far and wide until (usually but not always) the answer is found.

Good luck. He should go wherever necessary to pursue this aggressively.

I did have a patient once who developed adrenal failure as a result of taking multiple (many multiple!) supplements that he was being sold by a chiropractor. I don't recall the brand, but I do remember that they contained dessicated animal glands.

Just double check that he isn't taking a bunch of things recommended by an "alternative medicine" practitioner.

Disclamer: I am not saying that all alternative practices are suspect! Unfortunately though, there are many who are.

I didn’t see diverticulitis mentioned but a colonoscopy and/or ct scan should have picked this up. It can cause these symptoms though.

Get a second (or third, fourth) opinion from an board certified internal medicine physician who is a professor on staff at the hospital/medical center of a medical school. If you need help finding that type of facility, let me know what large city/state is nearby.

The differential diagnosis for weight loss and chronic constipation is long and ranges from minor to life threatening conditions.

Graves?

No he doesn’t have Graves or diverticulitis. He has seen so many doctors and has had so many tests, he is very discouraged that they can’t find out what his problem is.

anti-CdtB, anti-vinculin antibodies

A friend of mine went through the same symptoms, she was a flight attendant. Took them forever to diagnose a parasite.

Not a doctor, but a long undiagnosed person with Graves disease. I ordered my patient records from my long time medical office years ago and my test results were right there. Hyperthyroid for years and years. Drs can and do miss it for some reason. I was not treated for many years and suffered needlessly. I'm alright now, been treated, but not without a lot of side-health issues caused by lack of treatment that will be life-long. Anyhow, just know that the normal ranges for thyroid tests are large and wide. Many people can be VERY ill while being inside the normal range for thyroid testing, thus the patient, on paper appears to be well when they are not. The ranges are too vast and most people do and feel well on a specific portion within the normal range. Each person is a little different as to where that spot may be.

I have a friend who had/has Addison's for many years also long-time undiagnosed. She was similar to your description. She finally received treatment and and is healthy now. Feels wonderful. Runs circles around me! Her treatment is for the rest of her life.

I hope a solution is found soon.

Parasites can be sneaky little bugs. Might want to get tested.

Very sorry, must be hard for him. He needs to see another physician or two. Also make sure he is telling them ALL medications he is taking, including Over the counters. Sounds like he is sick for sure.

His symptoms sound different, but I recall a case of a man in the hospital with chronic diarrhea and they couldn't figure it out. Turns out he was diabetic so his family kept bringing him sugar-free chocolates which he ate in quantity. Instead of sugar, it had sugar alcohols which can lead to chronic diarrhea.

GF spent years dealing with what she thought was colitis...turned out to be a side effect from a medication she was on. She finally stopped it for other reasons and her colitis went away.

So you might have him look at his diet or any medications which he may be taking which could give him side effects or an allergic type reaction.

A patient under the care of competent physicians doesn't need to do a self-diagnosis. Side effects of medications and regular foods eaten I believe are an early base that's touched when trying to find an elusive diagnosis and in other more normal situations too

Along with being checked for Addison's he may want to be checked for an autoimmune problem. There are so many autoimmune problems and each seems to affect each person slightly differently.

However I do agree about asking him about OTC stuff along with how much of each he takes. When I decided to take magnesium for foot and leg cramps constipation followed by violent diarrhea became my life.

I hope they can get to the bottom of this! It could be so many things, I would not rule out even an RX he could be taking and especially something OTC or even a food or drink he's consuming. My cousin's husband takes blood pressure meds and you know how doctors are always changing meds...right! Well his doc put him on a new med for his high BP and after that he began to have terrible diarrhea but they didn't put 2 and 2 together until the next doctor visit where the doc once again changed the RX and immediately the diarrhea stopped...it took that for the light switch to come on...ugh! Another story; my sister suddenly was unable to sleep at night so she thought "what's different?" and realized she'd started using a new face moisturizer and THAT was the culprit...it contained caffeine! It is hard to figure out and some people are better at it than others! I can take one Sudafed and become terribly constipated! It really is that simple sometimes. Stuff like these sports/energy drinks contain a lot of bad stuff...but people drink them all the time! The Pill made me terrible anxious and depressed but doctors will try and tell you that The Pill doesn't cause that and how many women are trying to figure out why they are so depressed when it is the BC Pill! So simple! I literally couldn't tell someone a sad-ish story without starting to cry...so ridiculous!

Thank you everyone for all your input. He goes to the doctor again tomorrow, he is definitely going to question the doctor about Addison Disease. He doesn’t take any over the counter drugs so that is ruled out.

Have they done allergy tests? You mentioned not having celiac but you can have severe wheat allergies without being celiac.

Has he had a PET scan? Wouldn't hurt to have one. My sister had similar issues, had every test and scans except the PET. It wasn't until a specialist had a PET done that they discovered she had stage 4 cancer.

Just a thought to explore based on personal experience before I discovered I had a problem with some sugar free or reduced sugar stuff especially anything with sorbitol which is added to many reduced sugar stuff. His constipation may be because his diarrhea has completely cleaned out his intestinal track. It is very hard to find any of the things like mints that people will use after eating or before meetings that does not have one of the products.

Good news, Judy. I hope they find what's troubling him and resolve it!

Also he might ask about a fecal transplant...getting the gut biome back in order, especially after so long of disruption, may be just what he needs.

Also wanted to mention, if you've ever watched those mystery health shows, sometimes people go for a long time without diagnosis who have parasites and depending on the parasite, it can show up with very strange and difficult to diagnose cases.

B12 deficiency is common among older people. As we get older, our stomach produce less acid for B12 availability. Chronic fatigue is the #1 symptom of B12. Eating lots of meat doesn't help, I have to use nutritional yeast and lots of lemon juice at 61-year old.

Sushi, what do you think?

Lots of posts, so long-term member.

My SIL has similar issues. Weighs 89 lbs. At one point she was told she had "pancreatic insufficiency" (I need to state here that she isn't the most compliant patient!) and given a good supply of very $$$ medication by the dr which SIL deemed ineffective after nine days. Dr. was not happy. I'll ask her about Addison's.