Health Issues that su** (long)

[ginny]

Um... have you been tested for Lyme disease? You live on the Eastern Seaboard. There are instances (not all that rare) of lyme arthritis and even neuro borreliosis (Borrelia burgdorferi is the bacteria that causes lyme disease). I'm not a physician, but I am a research scientist, and I can tell you what you probably already know, it sounds like there's a problem with your nerves. That's why they looked at MS. There are a number of things that can cause problems with the demylenation of nerves - MS is one of those things. Some are autoimmune, some are caused by disease causing organisms (a very rare viruse HTLV-1 can cause symptoms nearly indistinguishable from MS), and they are nearly always very tough to track down. Good luck! Keep after it. Do your own research and suggest things to your doctors. You know yourself better than doctors, and they sometimes tend to blow people off... if you are sick, you know it better than anyone. I'm sorry you are going through this.

[latelatebloomer]

just a couple thoughts....

I tested negative for Lyme disease but had it anyway, my doctor said that false negatives were not unusual, and since I spend a lot of time in deer territory, I did the antibiotic treatment, and the neuro symptoms disappeared.

I agree with LBTC that you might want to look into acupuncture. If you could find the right practitioner for you, they can do a whole lot to de-stress your system, calm your mind, get you back into a balance that will allow your body to heal itself. It almost always knows how, you know? - if we can get out of the way and give it a chance. My husband and I both had serious problems for which "standard medicine" was useless. We worked with a chiropractor who specializes in using nutrition to help people with serious diseases and an acupuncturist who worked on us weekly for awhile. It was expensive, but we are both REALLY well now, way beyond what we thought possible for ourselves. So don't despair and don't give up.

sending healing thoughts your way. sharing was the right thing to do!

[silver]

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. Please share here whenever you need to.

My MIL has celiac. There is a blood test they can do to confirm but I think that you need to be eating gluten for the results to be useful. She nearly died before they figured out what it was. First GI doctor totally missed it. Put her through all kinds of tests. Would have been so much easier if he had just tested for this first.

I have the benign thyroid nodule. Went through the tests after being told that it could be cancer. The primary doctor sent me for the ultrasound and then the radioactive thing (not a medical term ) The endo did a needle biopsy in her office and confirmed that it was benign. She said that I hadn't needed the other tests.

[Crankin]

I really don't think I have Lyme Disease. I've had some of these weird things for over 20 years; I lived in AZ when it started.
I am not adverse to alternative medicine, but in this case, that will not help if I have thyroid cancer. I have tried chiro and found it to be most unsuccessful. I would rather investigate PT or accupuncture if I go that route.
Silver, they would not put me through the "radioative" thing first, I would have the needle biopsy. I already had the regular ultra sound, which confirmed what the dr. felt. I am nervous because one of the nodules is solid and I think it is causing the pain in my ear (not common but can happen).

[emily_in_nc]

Robyn,

I have nothing new or useful to add, just wanted to lend my support and caring. The community here is wonderfully supportive, so I am really glad that you divulged your situation. Please do keep us updated, and know that we're all pulling for your improved health and for a benign diagnosis.

Warm thoughts,
Emily

[Triskeliongirl]

I know you are freaked out at the possiblity of thyroid cancer, but benign thyroid nodules are relatively common, and you know that the probablity is that yours are indeed benign. So operate on that assumption until proven otherwise. I know its easier to say than do, but I think the best thing is to not worry about it until your doc tells you there is something to worry about. That is why we get screened. Without screens, lots of nasty stuff goes undetected, but when screens turn up stuff that could be scary, we need to hang tough until the real test results are in. Thanks for sharing, and warm wishes go out your way to hope you and your docs get to the bottom on your problems.