I gave birth last August (I'm 25), and a couple of months later I had a cold which caused my throat to swell up slightly - I hadn't noticed until I was trying to sleep and found two pillows really uncomfortable. I'm very overweight (about 17st - I lost 2st within a week of giving birth as I think I had a lot of fluid retention) and thought that maybe that was the cause, but couldn't understand how it had come on so suddenly. It gradually cleared up a little but I continued sleeping with just one pillow.
I noticed my nails started to get weaker and could see the ridge as the healthy part grew out, leaving visible lines up the nail and prone to splitting. My nails have always peeled, but they're much worse now which I assumed was a vitamin deficiency due to breastfeeding.
However, mid-May I got another virus and the left side of my throat became swollen and achy, making swallowing even water extremely painful. A day or two later, the ache swapped to the right side, and then cleared up. Since then I've noticed a salty taste in my mouth - mainly after drinking things like flavoured water, blackcurrant squash or Diet Coke.
By mid-June, I began to have other strange symptoms. One day my nostrils were really itchy, and my husband said that was a sign of allergies, despite me not having any that I know of (I used to have mild dermographia from around 2006 to 2010, and cold urticaria as a child). Then, a week later I noticed I got really lightheaded and dizzy with slightly odd vision when I ate a big bag of crisps, and the following day when I ate foods with pastry for lunch. That day I also became very aware of my heartbeat and my limbs felt weak. I was also feeling really low for two weeks and could barely motivate myself to leave the house - the thought of going anywhere made me feel quite anxious.
Now, for the last three days I've had extremely sore eyes when using my phone. I got new glasses two weeks ago so I'm having another test tomorrow - without the glasses my eyes are less painful but not perfect. I've noticed for months that even when I feel like crying, it's not physically possible so I'm wondering if it could be due to a lack of tears - my Nana has recently been diagnosed with dry eye syndrome and told me I might have it too.
Other things I'll briefly mention:
For years I've had a problem with occasional bouts of sudden diarrhoea - this stopped whilst pregnant but has now returned. Greasier foods seem to be the main culprit.
Since giving birth my voice has been a little different - sometimes it takes slightly more effort to make a noise, and occasionally I'll squeak whilst trying to talk! (I have quite a deep voice so this is noticeable).
My periods prior to pregnancy were mostly very heavy, 7 days long and irregular (I was off the mini-pill for ten months, but they have been very heavy since I started at 11), and in the few months before getting pregnant I had a few very light periods lasting only a day or so, followed by one last heavy one in September 2013. My period returned in March this year and I've had two since at random times, all reasonably 'normal' in flow and lasting a little under a week.
I was anaemic immediately after giving birth and was encouraged to take iron supplements (I've started taking these again in the last week or so to see if they'll help the strange tastes). My blood pressure was also around 99/74 at one point.
I went to the doctor two or three weeks ago, around the time of my throat swelling up, and she said that I have oral thrush hence the strange taste, but to see if it clears itself up. She gave me a prescription but told me not to get it unless I needed it, and when I went the pharmacy didn't have it in stock.
I've been again since, about a week ago, and a different doctor said I didn't have thrush, my blood pressure was fine, my eyes aren't yellow so I'm probably not anaemic, my thyroid doesn't feel swollen so he doesn't think it's a problem, and I need to stop Googling! He said I can have a blood test for thyroid/blood sugar just for peace of mind, but he doesn't think it's necessary.
Since the strange taste is back, I have booked in for a test which I'm having on Monday, but I just want to know what other people reckon in case the results come back normal and nobody believes that there is anything wrong. I don't feel right, but my husband and the doctors think I'm just being daft - I'm not usually the type to be back and forth to the doctors and have gone years with no visits in the past.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!