Q. Why do I get heat flashes and bloating whenever I drink caffeinated drinks?

Hi doctor,

I am 46 years old, 6 feet tall, and weighs 270 pounds (I recently lost 20 lbs). I am regularly active with CrossFit and weight training. About a year ago, I started getting strange symptoms. I have been to the doctor more in the last ten months than in my life combined. I am extremely frustrated. My BP was 127/66 mmHg yesterday.

About four years ago, I used to get heat flashes on occasion when I started a ketogenic diet and was drinking pre-workout drinks regularly. I would feel a stomach or gastric disturbance, then a lightheaded feeling for just a second a couple of times daily. I stopped taking the supplements and pre-workout drinks, and it went away for some time. The company representative said it was probably a mineral imbalance and suggested some minerals. I went back to taking the supplements, and the symptoms returned, but this time I stayed off them going forward. I would get the "hot flash" occasionally when I drank anything with a lot of caffeine ever since. Somewhere around this time, I kept getting a bubble feeling in my stomach and lower GI, particularly when laying down, like gas but fluttering. I went to my primary care doctor, and she was worried it was a heart condition and did an EKG in the office, but it was normal. My lipase levels in my blood were slightly elevated (57 U/L), so she wanted to do a full abdominal and upper GI CT. All came back normal, with a slight possibility of GERD. During my upper GI CT, they noted I had an SVT in the heart, so the GI doctor pushed me to go to a Cardiologist who did a complete EKG, stress test, and ultrasound and found no issues except the SVT. They then diagnosed AFIB. The Cardiologist wants to put me on the beta-blockers and something else, but I am hesitant due to a few issues I experienced in the past.

I have had minor back issues for years with sciatica and lumbar soreness (the CT scan noted some lumbar degeneration), along with a stiff neck issue that I have regularly corrected with the chiropractor. My neck stiffness got to the point that I had to buy a neck massager, which made it worse. I used to get a massage to loosen stiff muscles in my neck, but earlier this year, that became more painful (clearly a nervous issue) as I would be sore for a week afterward. I have a poor posture issue and sit at a desk all day. Also, I overworked my chest and caused some muscle imbalance, so I visited PT to help correct it, which helps sometimes but is still annoying. I have pins and needles randomly in my back (not painful) and some numbness in my toes, mainly when I lay down. I am not 100 % certain the toes thing has not been going on for a long time. I am just hypersensitive to everything now. No loss of strength anywhere, as I lift weights very regularly. Also, I have had feelings of hazy or foggy headaches, tension headaches, and occasional vision issues. I had extensive eye tests last year because I had cupping in the optic nerve, but all tests came back normal with no pressure.

Getting to my point. I have felt strongly that these things were connected for some time. I tried not to search on the internet. So, I went to a neck and spine specialist yesterday, and they took X-rays and scheduled MRI to look at the head and neck. X-ray reports seemed normal, but I was asked to wait on MRI. I do not know how to talk to a doctor about connecting these dots or if that is reasonable.

Please help.

Hi doctor,

Thank you for your reply.

My TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) level is 1.97 mU/L, as I had taken the test earlier. My question is, is it reasonable that these things could be connected and related to cervical neck or lumbar disk issues? Or is it merely a coincidence?

Please clarify.