Barely a day can go by without someone mentioning the television shows House MD or Mystery Diagnosis to me. “You need to go on Mystery Diagnosis!” Well, not really. You see, Mystery Diagnosis features people who have already been diagnosed. The show tells the story of their mysterious symptoms, the persons that helped make the [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: pimp my pill sorter, silly, TextbookBusters, The Patient, tv for the undiagnosed, undiagnosed chronic illness | 9 Comments »
This has got to be my worst pun post title ever. But so fitting…please bear with me here. I’ve long thought that if I wanted real medical answers, I’d go to Mayo. The Mayo Clinic. Why? Several friends have recommended I go and from what I’ve heard, the costs can be reasonable, “they work with [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: bad puns, mayo clinic costs, medgadget weblog awards, undiagnosed chronic illness | 10 Comments »
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I’m accustomed to not feeling my best. I suppose that’s why I can’t tell when I have a respiratory infection. And, I suppose it’s why I didn’t think my neck swelling was a big deal. I’ve noticed for months that there is some swelling on the right side of my neck. It became drastically more [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: salivary gland biopsy, sternocleidomastoid, torticollis, undiagnosed chronic illness | 2 Comments »
The Today Show has a new feature, Today’s Medical Mysteries. Kelly’s been undiagnosed for 8 years. The segment features the National Institutes of Health Undiagnosed Diseases Program. The program serves 50 to 100 patient participants annually. About a year ago, a friend suggested I contact this program. I didn’t. I feel as though I would [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: doctor patient relationship, National Institutes of Health Undiagnosed Diseases Program, undiagnosed chronic illness | 7 Comments »
I was so proud that no matter what was going on with my body, I pressed on. And on. No naps under any circumstances. No missed hours or days of work no matter how limited I was in my walking or how generally sick I was. This is as recent as five to six months [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: fatigue, limited foot dorsiflexion, pain, Sjogren's Syndrome, undiagnosed chronic illness | 3 Comments »
The left-sided leg weakness, limited foot dorsiflexion, and pain are back in a big way. Nothing has happened in terms of finding a cause since my muscle biopsy. My leg issue got put on the backburner as I dealt with the long-term ear infection and all that was related to it, including another surgery. Here [...]
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Back in September 2009, I wrote about my desire to hire my Primary Care Physician to more aggressively coordinate my care. As great as Dr. PCP is, she simply does not have time to follow through on what’s needed to progress my case. Yes, I now am labeling my health, a case. I asked, “What [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: coordination of care, doctor patient relationship | 5 Comments »
There used to be an overwhelming anxiety that would blanket me as I waited in doctors’ waiting rooms. The thought of what was to come – information that could change my life, determine my fate, impact me emotionally in a way that I may never recover… Not so much anymore. I sit in the waiting [...]
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My father was admitted to the hospital on December 31, 2009. He walked into the emergency room and it was discovered that he was severely dehydrated and had kidney failure. He is no longer dehydrated but he can no longer walk. He remains hospitalized and will be transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. This is heartbreaking. [...]
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