DO YOU RECOGNISE THIS?

Mysterious attacks  that baffle doctors:

My friend:

Is a woman of 36. Diagnosed with acromegalie  in December 2003. Had an operation April 2004: tumor was not fully removed. After that on medication:  octreotide = Sandostatine. From November 2005 Pegvisomant =  Somavert. In February 2006 she had radio surgery ( gammaknife). Not declared stable  / cured. Other pituary hormones regularly checked, still normal. No longer on any hormonal medication. Had in October 2007 her first child: healthy girl. Breastfeeding.

The complaint that baffles her doctor is: On and off she has mysterious and frightening attacks, experiencing the following symptoms:

Feeling trembling and shaking inside, whereas externally there is nothing to see, a bit like having had a bad fright, without the fast heart rate. This feeling does not diminish in a few minutes. Some times she feels stressed, some times feeble, but there is always a

reduced  level of consciousness . She feels as if she may fall down / faint any minute.

She experiences

very bad coordination: bumps into tables etc., drops things, feels very unsure of her movements.

This is accompanied by

strong insatiable hunger feelings

Having a snack can diminish symptoms but only when the attack has not very much progressed. Having a substantial meal during a full-blown attack does reduce symptoms but not take them away.

After an attack she feels not well for quite some time and a new attack may come in just two to three hours.

What triggers the symptoms and what they are remains indistinct. A lot of “maybe’s” are going around: At first a connection to medication (pegvisomant) was suspected, but she does not use medication anymore and still has the attacks. There may be a connection to an empty stomach, to physical and or psychological exertion. The symptoms seem like  hypoglemia, but blood sugars are normal. Etcetera, etcetera.

As she never knows when this will strike again my friend feels extremely shaky about herself. Dubious to leave the house, dubious to be alone at home with the baby.

If anybody can shed any light on these attacks, experiences them too, knows more about them, maybe even has a remedy, will they please mail me. My friend has given me permission to look for information this way. I am doing this as a service to her as she does not have the energy to do it herself. I will forward your mails to her.

I DO HOPE THERE IS SOMEBODY OUT THERE WHO CAN HELP!!

bouwienbvz@hotmail.com

Bouwien Berkenbosch

Assen

Netherlands