The Doctor Rundown

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0. Newbie Doctor: This is the very first doctor I saw. I basically came to him because of the joint swelling and pain. He knew there was something inflammatory going on and had no idea what it could be. So he ran every single lab test imaginable. Every time a new test was drawn, I was terribly nervous. I'm giving him a '0' because he did a crap job by over-prescribing some meds and caused drastic weight loss.

"We're testing for lupus today! Try not to worry about that."

"Okay, when will the results be in?"

"Sometime soon. We'll call you..."

"Okay."

"..but if it's not lupus, then we'll test you for hepatitis..."

This Doctor was super relieved when I moved away. He found I had a +ANA, anti-thyroid antibodies, and anti-smooth muscle antibodies. Basically, my immune system is screwy.

1. Phsycian's Assistant: This is the first person I saw after we moved. She was very wonderful, did lots more tests, recommended I still take some thyroid meds (at a lower dose), and also recommended I go see lots of other doctors. A stool sample showed that I had a parasite (Blastocystis Hominis) and possibly worms.

2. Chiropractor:  The chiropractor surmised that I had a case of chronic inflammation, perhaps caused by something I was eating. His thought was that chronic inflammation grows into major inflammation that grows into major problems, like arthritis. Like ulcerative colitis. Like BAD THINGS, people. The only blood allergy test the chiro. recommended was about $500, so I opted to keep a food diary and try to figure out what might be messing me up.

3. Acupuncturist #1: A really nice lady who gave me some homeopathics, but who only offered appointments in a town an hour away. That fact is what kept me from going back for a second visit...

4. Infectious Disease Doc: Perhaps my favorite doctor ever. Not only is his name Dr. Watson, but he was very witty and listened to every little thing I had to say. His job was to deal with the Parasite Debacle; I took Flagyl and Albenza for this and had to stop breastfeeding for a few weeks. :( The P.A. was hoping that my immune dysfunction was due, at least in part, to possible parasites.

5. Gastroenterologist #1: This guy was just a douche. He was in a rush to get somewhere else and didn't have time to look over my labs before my appointment. It went something like this:

"So, what are we here for today?" (As he flips through my already thick stack of lab work.)
"Well, I was told to come because I have a positive Anti-Smooth Muscle Antibody, which is associated with autoimmune hepatitis..."

Silence. Because he is STILL looking at my labs.

"...I've also read it can be associated with celiac disease, and I was kind of hoping I have that instead..."

"Well, you don't have elevated liver enzymes."

"Ok."

"So, if you had elevated liver enzymes, I could treat that, I could give you something to get the enzymes down, but since yours are normal I can't do anything for you. Unless you wanted to do a colonoscopy, but I don't think that's necessary."

Really?!

6. Rheumatologist: This guy felt all my joints and took some X-Rays. The end result? I don't have Rheumatoid Arthritis and I don't have osteoarthritis. On X-Ray, my joints look fine. So....what was his conclusion? I have joint inflammation (um, arthritis) of some kind. Who knows why, no one knows what causes it, and all I can do is take drugs to control the discomfort. The Anti-SMA was a wild card. He said someday it could start attacking my liver, or not. !

7. Endocrinologist: This man is a Task Master. He patiently explained Hashimoto's Thryoiditis to me. When I asked if I could take pig thyroid instead of the lab-created stuff because I felt more comfortable with that, he just told me that pig thyroid was even less natural than the stuff created in a lab because it wasn't chemically identical to what my body creates.

Let's just pause to reflect on that. I think both are unnatural, but to say that something a man created in a lab is more 'natural' is just silly. The endo basically said I had to take drugs for the rest of my life and to get used to it.

8. Gastroenterologist #2: This lady was super nice! Especially compared to #1. She listened, she looked at my lab work, and she didn't immediately tell me to be on drugs. She recommended a pro-biotic (a new, popular one, called VSL#3) but it *surprise* gave me diarrhea. She recommended keeping the food diary still and just waiting to see if the pro-biotic did any good. If after that I still had issues, she's a fan of a colonoscopy (I'm not, if you couldn't tell...) and figuring out for sure if I had Celiac Disease. Overall, she was the most practical MD I'd been to.

9. Medical Acupuncture Guy: I filled out a bunch of paperwork and talked to this guy for an hour. He even did some blood work to check my Vitamin D and Vitamin Bs. But then I talked to a friend who had a bad experience with his office and also read through his paperwork. Before you could get acupuncture from him, you had to sign all these disclaimers. One actually said "I understand that with acupuncture there is a risk of internal organ puncture and bleeding".

Not so surprisingly, I had a nightmare where I was getting acupuncture from him. Basically, I was on a table and he kept accidentally putting the needles in too deeply and injuring me. He was basically stabbing me and then taking the dirty needles out and putting them on that metal tray with the white paper, so the paper was all spotted with my blood!

I cancelled my appointment the next day. Let it be known that this guy didn't lose me through any fault of his own necessarily, I just decided it wasn't in my best interest. ;)

10. Cool Acupuncture Guy! or Acupuncturist #2:  He came highly recommended. Here's what his plan is: cleansing, figuring out my potential food sensitivities, stopping the inflammation in my body (therefore eliminating the diarrhea, arthritis, and thyroiditis). I had to stop going to see him because every appointment resulted in a $200 tab, not covered by insurance, out-of-pocket, etc. I saw the most progress with him and his dietary recommendations.

11. Doctor of Osteopathy: A wonderful woman who truly does try to treat my WHOLE BODY. She is understanding and willing to try new things. I started going to her when the herbal thyroid stuff I was on appeared to stop working, probably due to a bad batch.

12. Nurse Midwives: Sweet ladies who don't know why I'm having miscarriages and referred me to two new doctors...

13. Reproductive Endocrinologist: A (honestly) world-renowned woman who is very difficult to see. She normally only sees pregnant people, but each time I've seen her has been after a miscarriage. She believes that a) I was initially misdiagnosed and shouldn't have been put on as much thyroid medicine as I was and b) that I can be weaned off of thyroid meds. Unfortunately, the plan to attempt this has been derailed by failed attempts to have another Q Kid. Thus, I present:

14. Curly Haired Lady Doctor at an office for Problem Children, like me, who have recurrent miscarriages.

I started this blog to:
a) chronicle this mess of healthcare issues,
b) hopefully to find out what works and what doesn't work for me,
and
c) summarize. It's getting tiresome trying to explain what's been going on with me because it's getting to be a long explanation! People don't want to listen to me anymore. :)