Friday, April 3, 2015

Advise for those waiting

What would I tell others trying to be diagnosed?

Yes. The BIG question... What to tell someone else who is trying to be diagnosed? That is the million dollar question. I have some very basic advise, but I hope it helps at least one person. First, I would say to make sure you have told your doctor every symptom you are having. Don't think that they just want to hear about the ones you think are major problems. They need to know about every last symptom. Sometimes it's the simple things that are bothering us that alone they don't mean anything, but when they happen together it is something major going wrong. My first husband went to the doctor for a sore throat, after a lot of tests and a biopsy he came out diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer. He died two and a half months after being diagnosed. He was 36 years old. When he went to the doctor many times he would tell them about his sore throat, his cough, the pain in his side and how it woke him up at night, his nausea, him losing a lot of weight all of a sudden, or just feeling like he was choking. But he never told him about all of these symptoms at once. Separately, it looked like he had a virus or a bug of some sort. Together, it amounted to symptoms to look for something more serious, like cancer.

Second, I would say to trust yourself. When you are going through these tests and you get some normal results don't worry or doubt yourself. There have been many of us that have gotten normal results on some tests for one reason or another, but we trudged forward and ended up getting the Cushing's diagnosis. My endo told me to always trust myself. I know my body better than anyone else. I even know how to treat myself better than most ER doctors. I usually end up telling them what medicines to give me and what tests to run.

My tests had come back normal ranges when I was testing for Cushing's and my endo thought there was no way I had it then.  I ended up talking to my him and going off most of my medications for a week or two before my body had cleansed itself of the meds and how they helped regulate some things in my body. After my body was cleansed and when they re-tested and low and behold, my tests came back out of ranges and indicating I had Cushing's Syndrome. It also showed that I had high blood pressure and diabetes. 

Believe in yourself. You know your body. You know when something is not right. You know better than anyone possibly can. So, don't give up. Stick with it. Change your doctor if the one you have won't listen to you or take you seriously. Good Luck and Good Health.

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