Diagnosis

Well, I went to the Internal Medicine Doctor last Friday and he was able to diagnose what I have. I scanned the diagnosis and instruction sheet he gave me but it looks like it is too small to read so I will recap:







Date: 6/6/2008


Diagnosis:


Fibromyalgia (multiple tender and tense muscle groups).


Fatigue


Insomnia (Sleep disturbances)


Depression, Anxiety


Hypothyroidism


Headache, mixed vascular and muscular


? Apnea, Sleep





The last one means that they are testing me for sleep apnea. It would be kind of funny if I have it because Matt does too. He sleeps wearing a C-Pap machine which looks and sounds kind of funny. I told him we could probably count on the kids not getting into bed with us if we were both wearing one! They started me on Darvocet twice a day for the pain and then Amitriptyline for sleep. So far the Amitriptyline has had some weird side effects but I'm going to give it a while before I complain too much. The doctor wants me to see a psychiatrist and a psychologist and start water aerobics. I am currently being treated for depression and anxiety but he want them to make sure my medicines are correct. As for the psychologist, I am not super thrilled about going back to counseling but if it will help with the symptoms then I will. I did not know this but Fybromyalgia ( http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/hormone/623.html)
can be directly linked to psychological stress and lack of sleep. I think it's a dead ringer. I am just glad to know that there is a reason that I have felt the way I do. I thought I was just fat and lazy but it turns out there is more to it than that. The doctor that I am seeing is really cool. He scheduled another visit with me in 2 weeks so he can go over my medical records for the last 7 years. He had never treated someone who has or has had Cushing's disease. (Cushing's disease is the name doctors use when Cushing's syndrome is caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is on the bottom of the brain and controls the body's production of cortisol. These small tumors can cause the adrenal glands, which are near the kidneys, to make too much cortisol. The tumors on the pituitary gland in Cushing's disease aren't usually cancerous. However, if these tumors get too big, they can cause problems with your eyesight. )

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/hormone/623.html

So I am going to try to access those records and he asked me to bring any pictures I have of myself when I had the disease. He said I was "interesting" and he also said in the medical world it is never good to be "interesting." GREAT!!!! On top of all of this, I am headed to the dentist today to have a crown put on my front tooth and a filling on a back tooth! I tell you, it never ends with me and my body. At least I didn't have to wait years for a diagnosis this time.