Hi there everyone.
I apologize upfront, because this will be a rather long posting from me. I have a lot to say, and I think it will help quite a few of you out there.
I posted awhile ago all of my syptoms, which I believe helped to revive this thread. At the time, I sincerely thought I, too, had PCOS. I was sick, and I mean SICK! After my period drastically changed in April/May 2008, I saw my new OB/GYN, who did a batch of tests. My endometrial lining was 11 mm thick; normal is less than 5 mm. She did a biopsy, and there was no cancer or hyperplasia. Whew! Thank God. I elected to have a NovaSure Ablation done, to control/correct my menstrual irregularities, which I've had my entire life, and I also elected to have a laposcopy done to check for PCOS and Endometriosis; the latter my mom and sister suffer from.
Well. The NovaSure went fine (no more periods. Yes!
) There was no PCOS. (surprise, surprise! I thought for sure all of my symptoms were connected with PCOS. I had, like, every one of them! ) And all of my female organs were fine: no cysts, no fibroids, no other abnormalities. I had it done when I was 40 yrs old.
Hmm. So I didn't have PCOS. That made me happy
. But if I didn't have PCOS, then what the F*** was making me so sick?
Well, it took me until Aug 2008 to begin getting some answers. I had a new PCP by this time (my doctor kicked me out of the clinic in March 2008 after I became violently ill and he couldn't find anything wrong with me; all my tests came back "normal."). She ran all the same tests, and all the tests came back "normal." So as far as she, a conventional doctor, was concerned, I was normal, healthy, and there wasn't anything wrong with me. In fact, she asked me if I wasn't looking to be sick (sort of like saying, very nicely, if you're a hypochondriac?). I looked at her and said I am sick. I don't feel well. I don't want to be sick, I don't want a chronic, life-long, on-going illness, but I feel like ****, and no one should have to live life, feeling like ****. I then asked if she could recommend an Integration doctor to me (I needed an Integration vs a natureopathic doctor because I'm on prescription medicine). She, thankfully, sent me to a wonderful, wonderful doctor. An Integration doctor who understadns that, even if the conventaionl doctors say you're well and healthy, you can still be anything but.
The first test she had me do was two 24-hr urine tests, one plain, one with taking chelating medication. The results? I had several heavy metal toxicities. I started chelating with drnatura.com's wonderful organic herbal line, and my numbers are coming DOWN! I'm currently on my second chelating, and I take another urine test the first weekend of May to see if all the metals are out.
So there's one thing to consider: heavy metal toxicity.
Another test she ran on me was a saliva Food Intolerance Panel (SIgA) for soy, milk (casein protein), egg (albumin), and Gliadin Ab, SIgA (gluten from wheat); I tested POSITIVE for all of them but egg.
So there's another thing to consider: food intolerances and allergies.
Later that fall I became even sicker. I had been trying, very hard, to follow a no-gluten diet but was still feeling sick and was breaking out horribly all over my face. I went back and asked her if I could take another food intolerance test; I was afraid I'd become intolerant to corn, because I was eating a lot of it as I tried to figure my way through the landmine of gluten-free eating. I did a test panel for 99 foods; I came back POSITIVE for:
Severe Intolerance: Halibut, Pinto Bean, Soybean Moderate Intolerance: Apple, Baker’s Yeast, Banana, Barley, Beef, Scallop, Snapper, Spinach, Watermelon Mild Intolerance: Almond, Avocado, Black Pepper, Brewer’s Yeast, Carrot, Oat, Sole, Turkey, White Potato Mild Reaction: Aspergillus (mold)
Oh. My. God.
Now I had 20 more foods that I wasn't supposed to eat!
Another problem solved: If you have one food allergy or intolerance, you might have many, many more.
****. I had to give up eating anything with gluten--this included wheat, rye, barley, oats and ANYTHING that they and their derivatives are in--and also all of the above! It has been anything but fun! Except...
Except, the brain fog is gone. The pains in my hips and other bones are gone. I am not so tired now that I have to lie down for an afternoon nap if I want to be able to function for the rest of the day. Little parts of my life are coming back to me.
My heavy metals test also has a section called Nutrient Elements that tests if your body is depleted in or has too much of certain key elements the body needs to properly maintain itself. The test I took looked at levels of chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, stronium, vanadium, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sulfur. And you know what?
My body was horribly, horribly depleted in several key nutrient elements. I have since been taking a handful of supplements, and even more of my "mysterious ailments" have disappeared.
Problem solved: Malabsorption of key nutrients my body needed, cured by taking supplements.
I'm still having a few problems, mainly with constipation and constipation/diarrhea. Sometimes, I know it's from cheating and eating gluten or products with dairy in them. Other times, I'm not so sure. Next week, I finally am getting in to see a specialist in gastroenterology. I have asked for years to see someone in this specific area, but the doctor would never give me a referral. I want to know, once and for all, if I have celiac disease and, by extension, the celiac skin disease called Dermatitis Herpetiformis.
Another problem solved: I might have one, maybe two, autoimmune diseases.
Just a precautionary statement, for those of you reading this who are becoming giddy with the excitement of the possibility that there might be something else causing/also causing your ailments: I had to see an Integration doctor in order to get the answers I was seeking. My insurance company refuses to pay for her services or any lab work or tests done. It's not horribly expensive, but it's not cheap, either (Hoever, depending on how much you make, you're allowed to deduct so much in medical-incurred expenses on taxes; this is something you'll want to look into ito. Also, if any of you discover you have celiac disease, if the doctor writes you a note stating you have this rare disease, then you're allowed to also deduct a portion of the money you spend on buying special gluten-free and organic food).
I'm also having tests for both my daughter and my husband done. The Integration doctor is looking into the area of NUTRITION for our health problems and woes; conventional doctors will tell you nutrition has nothing to do with disease and that it's all bunk. Bull****. They only say that because they weren't taught anything about nutrition in med school and because they can't give you a prescription drug for your ailment. The only way to heal a nutritional problem is through food: organic food, whole grains that your body can tolerate, no supermarket foods made by big conglomerates that have little to no nutritional value after they've gone through all their processing. I always thought natureopathic doctors and the like were bogus; now that all of my ailments are caused by my body's inability to tolerate certain foods, and the only "cure" is to cease eating those foods, I am very, very leery and a lot less trusting of conventional doctors as a whole.
So. That is my story thus far. I wanted to tell it to all of you, in hopes that some of you will seek out an Integration or natureopathic doctor to see if, maybe, some or all of your symptoms might be linked to food/nutrition problems as well. You might be pleasantly surprised and even startled to discover just how much eating foods that don't agree with you can also lead to many health problems. Celiac disease/gluten intolerance has 309 different symptoms. Wow. Just think. And it's said there are many, many Americans who have celiac disease and aren't being diagnosed. If it's not addressed and taken care of, it leads to many very serious health problems and other autoimmune diseases.
I, for one, am tired of being sick and am doing something about. How about you? Are you interested in joining me? You'll be glad you did.
_________
I have a wonderful 9-year-old daughter, who I conceived naturally with no trouble. NOTE: Many women with celiac disease have problems with infertility.
If any of you are interested in the 309 symptoms of celiac disease/gluten intolerance, please note that in your responses; if enough people are interested, I can post the list.
Thanks. I hope my information has been helpful.
Since seeing the Integration doctor, I am off 2 oral prescriptions, 2 topical prescriptions, and 2 topical "as needed" prescriptions for my face (still having trouble there, but the medicines were not doing anything but covering up the problem); one high blood pressure prescription med; and 2 prescription meds for my Seasonal Affective Disorder (took care of that by upping my Vitamin D-3 intake to 6,000 mg/day).
