Let's play everybody's faaaavorite game show...

[crowdog66]

... NAME THAT DISEASE!

Well, not really, but it's one that I'm currently being forced to play.

To recap: On October 2nd I had a hysteroscopy, which is an exploratory procedure to diagnose uterine fibroids, with a spinal block as anesthetic. Apparently it went off without a hitch. However, five weeks down the road I'm still suffering back pain from the spinal (which is often normal) and persistant fatigue, which is not so normal. I'm also having what appear to be cardiac symptoms in the form of intermittant chest pain and pressure.

So, for symptoms we've got:

-- back pain (upper back muscle aches and lower back nerve pain)
-- fatigue so bad that I'm up late and to bed early, usually with a long nap in between
-- a non-specific rash on my upper back
-- intermittant chest pain and pressure
-- extremely infrequent tachycardia
-- elevated blood pressure (140/80) and heart rate (100 beats per minute)
-- pain in the legs (above the knee and in the calves) that presented for a couple of days two weeks ago and has since vanished
-- slight bloating in the hands, only enough to notice when I put on my wedding ring
-- elevated blood sugars (a few points above my usual readings)
-- extremely infrequent non-productive cough

What we don't have is:

-- a fever

What's been ruled out so far:

-- infection
-- anemia

What's checked out perfectly fine in the tests:

-- kidney
-- liver
-- thyroid
-- white cell count
-- red cell count
-- B12
-- iron

What they're in the process of checking

-- testosterone
-- cortisol
-- prolactin

So, contestants, with those clues, can you... NAME THAT DISEASE!!!

(Yes, I'm desperate after three weeks of investigation and no diagnosis. It's playing holy heck with my production schedules since it's really hard to work. I'm posting this on the slim chance that someone might recognize something that will give my doctor a clue that he's lacking at the moment.)

Comments

[colin-p.livejournal.com]

Could it be The Dreaded Lurgi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goon_Show#The_dreaded_Lurgi)?

[crowdog66.livejournal.com]

Hah! I haven't thought about The Goonies in years.

Thank you for playing "Name That Disease!" ;-)

[metisbutterfly.livejournal.com]

So many "could be's", it must be crazy-making..((hugs))
The following things crossed my mind, by no means a medical opinion, of course:

-Some kind of environmental allergy/food allergy or intolerance.
-Dietary., i.e. you might be missing or having too much of some nutrient but then it would likely show up on your tests
-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
-A virus of some kind (which wouldn't necessarily show up as an infection)
-Reaction to the anesthetic that is still ongoing (some people get that, it's rare, but it happens)
-could be related to your diabetes


And..it could be related to your depression. I know I went through batteries of tests (EKG's, CT scan, etc.) and it turned out to be stemming from my anxiety disorder and depression. They are powerful buggers unfortunately and can cause all kinds of physical manifestations.

You might want to consider seeing a naturopath if your doctor can't get to the bottom of it (they are licensed doctors, or should be), there might be something organic going on that medicine can't put its finger on.

Whatever it is, I hope you get better soon.

[crowdog66.livejournal.com]

I'm going to talk to my psych doc about the depression angle when I see him on the 21st. Someone else has also suggested that because I have sexual abuse and vaginal penetration issues, this might be my subconcious and/or my body kicking up high holy hell because of the hysteroscopy. If either of those are the case, treatment is going to be a lot trickier.

Thank you for playing "Name That Disease!" ;-)

[metisbutterfly.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome :) I hope that you get a satisfactory answer soon.
Now, where's our parting gifts? (snicker)

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

*takes a wild guess*

Lupus?

[crowdog66.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to think along those lines. If it's lupus I'm pretty much screwed (at least according to the limited reading I've done on the subject and my experience with a friend of my husband who has had it for years), but at this point just about any diagnosis would be better than not knowing.

Thank you for playing "Name That Disease!" ;-)

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

It occurred to me before but I don't like to offer unsolicited medical advice. The combination of symptoms and the fact that it appeared after a stressful event made me wonder.