What the heck has happened to me??

Hi all! Sorry if this is a bit of a long post, but I’ve had the most awful couple of weeks and I’d really love a bit of clarity.

(This first paragraph is a bit of additional info that may or may not be relevant) It actually started on March 25th, I went to a gig with my boyfriend to see my favourite band (Gorillaz). I’d been so hyped for months, but when the day came I felt a little off and chalked it up to anxiety of big crowds/stadiums etc (added context, we saw them last September in a much bigger venue and whilst I was anxious, I was ultimately fine). Anyway we got in and I immediately had a huge panic attack over the height, we were right at the top so we’re taking steep escalators all the way up, I’m not good with heights so I really panicked. Once we got to where our seats were they were so high and with no barriers that nausea and vertigo hit me immediately and I had another panic attack. We spoke to staff and they were kind enough to relocate us to seats much lower down, for about an hour I was way more comfortable and settled, but then the nausea hit me again. It felt like my whole body got really cold suddenly and then I was convinced I would be sick. I spent the next 40 mins or so running to the smoking area outside to get some air, but as soon as I felt better and headed back in the nausea smacked me down again immediately. In the end I had to call it a night and go home. I was pretty sickly for a couple days after but I figured I’d just gotten myself so worked up and frightened that my body was reacting physically. I was absolutely devastated but there wasn’t much I could do.

That brings me to last Tuesday (14th? April). I’d been pretty much fine since the last incident, but I’d noticed a bit of a change in my appetite, I wasn’t as hungry and food I usually really enjoy wasn’t grabbing me at all (I’m autistic and vegetarian and VERY fussy, so suddenly not having safe foods was a pretty big deal). On Tuesday around dinner time I spoke to my boyfriend about how I’d been feeling and how it had all stemmed from the gig fiasco. We had a good long chat about my reaction and about what foods would feel safe for me right now. We had some cereal and some fizzy fish sweets about an hour after the conversation started, when suddenly the exact same feelings as the gig hit me. It started with feeling like my blood sugar was dropping fast (I’m type 1 diabetic), then the sudden cold chill, then the awful nausea. After a little while I had to run to the bathroom with diarrhoea as well. At this point I thought it was like a psychosomatic trauma reaction to talking about the gig, it seemed weird that we were discussing it properly for the first time an hour before the symptoms suddenly came on again.

Except this time, they didn’t ease up. The next day (Wednesday) was me sleeping or having diarrhoea all day. Thursday wasn’t as bad but still awful, and I was barely eating. Friday I did mange some more food but ultimately ended the day feeling crap. Saturday I completely stopped eating. Everytime I even thought about or looked at food, the nausea hit so hard. I wasn’t actually *being* sick, but the fear of puking alone was enough to make me stop eating all together. Obviously this is super dangerous for a diabetic. By this time I was running with the theory of food poisoning, we’d had some pretty bad tofu the day before I got sick and my boyfriends immune system is amazing, so it made sense to me that I was sick and he wasn’t. Sunday I still couldn’t eat, still had diarrhoea and nausea, and brain fog was hitting me so hard I couldn’t even watch an episode of the Simpsons or something, my brain just couldn’t focus at all.

Monday I really started panicking as I figured food poisoning should be letting up after six days, so I called 111. They told me to call my pharmacist, who told me to call my GP, who didn’t have any appointments so I went to a walk in doctors clinic and they gave me some anti nausea medication and sent me on my way. I still hadn’t eaten since Saturday.

Tuesday (a week since the sickness began) I felt so rough, confused, sick, frightened, and I knew something wasn’t right. I ended up going to A&E (ER in America). They do blood tests etc and said I was on the cusp of diabetic ketoacidosis due to not eating for four days. They triaged me there and admitted me to a ward that night.

On the ward they did a stool sample, but I never heard the results. They monitored my blood sugars/blood pressure/ temperature every few hours etc. every day I asked the doctor what was wrong with me. The first doctor said food poisoning, the second said gastroenteritis, the third said it was impossible to know but she thought it was a viral infection. I was on the ward from Tuesday to Friday (today, 24th April), when the third doctor said there was nothing more they could do. During my time in hospital I didn’t eat Tuesday, had a spoonful of porridge on Wednesday, some more porridge and a jelly pot on Thursday, then today I felt much better and managed half a bread roll, a small pot of ice cream, a kinder bueno and a plate of cheesy pasta (I feel like the very hungry caterpillar at this point!!) I was so excited to be discharged, but as soon as we left the ward to head down the nausea suddenly got me again and the dizziness was unreal. I got home and had more diarrhoea, lay in bed with awful nausea for an hour or so, then finally started to come round a bit.

I know it’s not gonna be a quick fix, but I’m really struggling with not knowing what actually happened to me? My boyfriend ate the same as me and he’s been by my side in hospital the whole time without getting sick, which makes me skeptical of gastroenteritis. I just want to know why I got so sick, how I can stop it from happening again, and how long it’ll take before I feel like normal :(

TLDR: mystery illness of a week and a half landed me in hospital and nobody can tell me what it was. Key symptoms were nausea (no vomitting), diarrhoea, dizziness/brain fog/ wooziness, general aversion to food and inability to eat. I’m also type 1 diabetic and diagnosed autism/ADHD. 27f, white British, located in England, 5’3” and 87kg.

Current medications: omeprazole for stomach acidity, amitriptyline for nerve damage in tooth, insulin via omnipod pump with libre CGM, methotrexate for psoriasis once a week with folic acid other six days, desogesterol (birth control), venlafexine for anxiety. I’ve been on all of these medications for several years apart from the methotrexate (started last November) and the venlafexine (started end of March after the gig incident). Happy to answer any questions regarding this!

Thank you so much to anyone who got this far! Appreciate it’s a long read and anything you guys can offer me will be received so gratefully! Thanks in advance 🫶🏻