Can anyone tell me the symptoms experienced by a person who is a
phenylketonuric?
I am having a frustrating time getting diagnosed at my HMO for my acute
and mysterious symptoms. These include:
Headaches
Dizziness and lightheadedness
Generalized "flu-like" body pains
Aching pains in my cervical and thoracic vertebrae areas
Aching muscles, especially in my upper back
No fever
No anomalies found in my blood
Negative for HIV
I carry:
Valley fever
Genital herpes
Macular degeneration in my left eye
I recently suffered from:
Shingles
A mysterious aching pain in my left testicle which lasted for about six
months. Various urologists were mystified.
I am a 42 year old male. My present symptoms began gradually but have now
become chronic after a few months.
I have been concurrently suffering from a "polyplike" growth on the
septum of my nose which was cleared up with Cipro and Bactroban.
The reason that I am asking about phenylalanine is beacause I was
experimenting with it a few years ago after having read Durk Pearson's
"Life Extension" book, which advocates taking vitamins and amino acids.
I became extremely edgy when I took L-phenylalanine, so I stopped.
Recently I have begun drinking Diet Coke in a (rather futile) attempt to
lose weight. I also have been eating Kellogg's All-Bran cereal for about
six months. Both of these products contain aspartame. They both have
warnings to phenylketonurics that they contain phenylalanine.
I am going in for a CAT scan of my brain tomorrow to see if my problem is
brain lesions due to valley fever. :-P
Another question for you neuroscientists and neurologists:
Is it possible that my intense industrial exposure (as a silkscreen
printer) to toulene, MEK, xylene, and benzene, five days a week, eight
hours a day for ten years during the 1970's is coming back to haunt me?
Or is the nervous system damage caused by these chemicals a more immediate
phenomenon?
If you can give me any advice on this stuff, please email me (as well as
posting for the benefit of others) as I don't have regular access to
usenet.
Thanks,
-Neal
nweiner at csulb.edu
