My 17-Year Quest For The Correct Medical Diagnosis

How many times can you begin again? That's what I asked myself as I entered the Hospital for Special Surgery, just three weeks after my first lumbar spine epidural steroid injection and SI joint procedure. I was late. I spent two hours stuck in traffic during my drive from New Jersey to New York. So I was frazzled and my thoughts were scattered when I arrived. Yet, that question, can I start over again after another procedure rattled around in my head. My entire adulthood has been a long and winding road, at least medically. At 17, a sparse menstrual cycle, joint pain and spontaneous fever left doctors scratching their heads about what was wrong with me. I got progressively worse during my time at Boston College and it's been downhill ever since. Sure, I was tested for every common ailment. Since I'm African-American doctors focused on conditions associated with my race like sickle cell anemia, sarcoidosis, lupus and even multiple sclerosis but none of them proved to be the source of my deteriorating condition. So, doctors treated what went wrong with me on an individual basis. When I hemorrhaged and almost died, I was given something to help my blood clot and a D&C procedure was done. When I began coughing up blood, doctors pumped my stomach, removed the polyps from my esophagus. When my pancreas became inflamed, I got pain meds, drugs to reduce swelling and a digestive enzyme to help me process food. I did what I was told. I swallowed pills, took what I call a hospital t...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news