Question: Hello and thank you for your time.
I am not really sure where to turn but I have an array of issues, and I really need help. My quality of life sucks right now and I don’t where to even start, but I am willing to pay/ do whatever it takes to try to get better.
After an immense amount of research I believe I have either leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, a combination of both of those, thyroid problem, or even low testosterone.
For a quick overview of myself, I am a 26 year old male. I am an Army Ranger so I live an extremely stressful lifestyle, but my issues did not start in the Army. I am physically fit and for the most part have normal lab results.
Two issues I have uncovered from so far are
1.     lots of food allergies (wheat, soy, corn, peanuts, and more)
2.     And potentially low testosterone. One test I did was the high 200’S (but it was done in the mid afternoon). A later test I did in the morning put me at 475.
SYMPTOMS
My worst symptoms are anxiety and fatigue. I am somewhat of a perfectionist, so anxiety is not new to me, but in the past few years it has physically gotten worse. I basically go from 0-100 in any situation that causes anxiety…. Meaning my fight or flight mechanisms sail through the roof at the sign of any anxious situations. My heart beats hard (not always faster), but much harder, I get brain fog, I sweat, and just get really uneasy. I literally get anxious, about thinking about getting anxiety (haha I know it sounds crazy). My anxiety if often times physical and for no reason. I have read many places that this may be generalized anxiety or social anxiety, but I really don’t think this is my case. Do not get me wrong, I am an anxious person, but the physical feelings I am getting here are extreme and often times unfounded. By unfounded I mean sometimes they just come out of now where.
My next biggest issue is fatigue. I am constantly tired and never feel well rested or excited. I used to get really upbeat about stuff and now I lack the energy to do so.
My next issues are allergy and stomach issues. As stated before, I have lots of confirmed food allergies. So occasionally I eat stuff and it gives me a minor allergic reaction (itchy throat, red face, hives)
     Allergy scenarios: I have had a few different types of scenarios with allergies.
1.     I have lots of minor issues where I eat something and get and itchy throat. This has happened throughout all my life. Although I am now trying to stay away from these foods.
2.     Are medium reaction issues. A good example of this is when I had a reaction to a workout supplement I took. I had taken the supplement a lot before, and then just one day I had a bad reaction. I broke out in hives and felt my throat swell. It had happened to more other times, so I was not too worried, but it none the less was a bit of an eye opener.
3.     Finally I have had a few severe reactions. The first was to a multivitamin I took (Standard GNC). I had taken the multivitamin a few times, but one day I had a severe reaction to it. The vitamin literally felt like it was tearing my stomach apart. It felt like I was being stabbed and was enough to put me on my knees in pain. I rushed myself to the campus hospital and they thought I was having an allergic reaction and took the necessary steps.
a.     Similar issues to this have happened two other times in my life. Once I was out with friends and drank a drink that had similar consequences. Again I had severe stomach pain and was rushed to a hospital. They thought it was an allergic reaction (not really sure) and again took the necessary actions.
4.     The next issue I had was in basic training. I am still not sure what the cause was, but I think it was from drinking a drink everyday (had to) that may have had something I was allergic to in it. For about two weeks straight I had severe stomach pains in basic training. Again crippling, but very constant. I could not eat or sleep. I was going to the bathroom as much as 15 times a day. This was not a normal stomach bug, it was severe pain. When I finally got to a doctor they ran a slew of quick tests (but due to my schedule) they never got an official answer. They did rule out that it was not a virus, and they also did an upper endoscopy that came back normal.
My final major symptom is I carry belly fat like a pregnant woman. I am extremely physically fit, at my ideal body weight, but I still have bad belly fat. I am cut and strong everywhere but I have a ring of belly fat below my belly button that I cannot lose. I work out and run every day.
Overall my mood is slowly going down. I am irritable, lack motivation, and my anxiety is getting unbearable.
Some things that make everything worse:
1.     One thing that can absolutely destroys me is drinking alcohol, specifically binge drinking. If I binge drink it will literally affect me for weeks. I put on a lot of weight, (just from one night of drinking, like 5-8 pounds. It takes me a week of hard exercise to drop that back to normal), my anxiety runs out of control for days. I cannot be around people and just feel like complete dirt. My heart beats uncontrollably out of my chest and I cannot sleep at all. Loud noises are enough to send my heart on a sprint. I also crave unhealthy food for days. And after I binge drink my belly fat seems to swell and get soft, almost like I am holding water in my belly
a.     As a result of this I have drastically limited how much I go out, but I would still like to be able to go out. Also the anxiety I get has gotten extremely severe. It was never an issue when I was in my early 20’s
2.     Another thing that makes it worse is pre workout supplements or caffeine (basically most stimulants). After I take a pre workout supplement I literally feel awesome…. Its one of the few times in my life where I actually feel like myself. I am excited, upbeat, and generally not anxious. When the supplement starts to wear off, I start to crash. My anxiety then spikes and I feel slightly worse than normal until I can recover. I get similar results with coffee, although coffee usually gives me anxiety while I am taking it and after.
3.     Some vitamins give me anxiety issues. Sometimes random vitamins or supplements will give me issues. A great example of one I have taken recently is 5HTPs. I took that thinking it would help and it really had the opposite effect. It made me extremely tired, and worse it actually gave me worse anxiety and made my heart pound hard.

Potential solutions I am working on:
I have been dealing with this stuff for many years now and as a result have tried many different things. I have read many books on anxiety, depression, and functional medicine. I work out almost every day and do my best to stay physically fit. I have tried different vitamins and minerals, none of which do much. I recently started the Paleo diet, which means I am only eating meats, vegetables and fruits. I have been doing it for about 3 weeks and it helps some what.
Why I don’t think its anxiety/ depression:
I know a lot of these signs point to anxiety or depression and while this could be the case I genuinely do not think it is. I am an extremely up beat person. I am always smiling and happy, I am just physically losing control. I am very happy with my life and love where I am at. I love my job and have a great support network. I have also tried many different psychological techniques to ease anxiety and depression and none of them seem to work.

What I think it could be and why:
Adrenal Fatigue and or Leaky Gut: I think that years of my extreme lifestyle and being slightly anxious in general have either torn up my stomach lining or crushed my adrenal levels or both.
Leaky Gut: To start, years of eating food I am allergic to could have destroyed my stomach lining. OR I may have leaky gut now and it may be giving me false positives as having a lot of food allergies. Either way my years of extreme living could have taken a toll on my gut. Having mild anxiety, binge drinking, poor diet at points throughout my life, and high stress jobs.
Also, pre workout supplements may have taken a toll on my stomach lining. They are all usually a drinkable powder and I have taken them since I was 18. They obviously have not been examined by the FDA and the long term issues are unknown.
          Leaky gut may explain why alcohol affects me so bad, as I would be absorbing it more.
Adrenal Fatigue: What can be said about leaky gut can also be said about adrenal fatigue. And one could have been cause by the other. My adrenals could have been making up for the issues in my gut and now just be shot. Or the years of binge drinking and supplement use. Alcohol and supplement use may have spiked and dropped my adrenal levels so much that they are now having trouble recovering. Adrenal issues would also explain why caffeine, preworkouts, and alcohol give me such issues
Thyroid problem: To me this seems like the least likely problem, but again it would fit many of the issues listed about.
Low Testosterone: Finally there is low testosterone. I have had my testosterone tested three times in my life. The first two the numbers came back in the high 200’s, low 300’s, but that test was done in the late afternoon so the results were debatable. The most recent test I had was done early in the morning and they came back at 475. While 475 is in the normal range, it is low for someone my age. The average testosterone for someone my age is close to 600 and some Dr’s argue it should be closer to 1,000s to be optimal. Again I am not sure where the right answer is with this, but low testosterone does explain everything listed above.

Conclusion: Sorry for the long and confusing rant, but I am trying to figure this out. I am not sure what type of doctor to even go to or what types of tests to run. Every article, or book I read, leads to more questions. Also, every doctor review I read contradicts another doctor. Some doctors believe leaky gut and adrenal fatigue are real, while others think it is all in your head… I am very confused and will literally do anything to get my life back to normal. I cannot keep living like this
Thank you so much for your time and I would really appreciate any help you can give.