Diagnosis

the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms

The first thing to say about achieving a diagnosis is that it’s a process. The process for me included 2 ER visits, a 48 hour heart monitor, blood tests, urine tests, x-rays, a 9-day hospital stay, MRIs, EKGs, an EEG, an endoscopy, and a team of doctors. I had a primary care provider and was given a cardiologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, allergist, and a GI specialist. Together, they had to use my symptoms to find out how and why my body wasn’t functioning like it should. I had such a wide range of symptoms that stemmed from various organ systems. 

Fast forward to about 6 months after the symptoms began- we have a diagnosis. We actually have more than one. Happy ending, right? Wrong. 

See, the problem with finding the problem is that it didn’t come with a magic wand of solutions. (The Disney in me wished it worked this way). Unfortunately, the road to recovery is a journey. First things first, I’m learning to come to terms with the hand I’ve been dealt. Like they say, life isn’t fair. It comes with trial and error of medications, figuring out my body’s “triggers”, and retraining my body to do things it was once able to do. 

I take 17 pills a day, not including my “as needed” medications which can add anywhere from 1-8 more pills per day. Some of them have been successful and have been added to my permanent med list. Some are on a trial basis, so we wait. We wait weeks and maybe months to see if I improve. If not, we try again. And we wait, again.

It’s been a long 6 months for me, my family, my friends, and doctors. I value everyone who has stood by me during the physical pain, the mood swings, and the emotions. I wouldn’t be able to do this without my support system and I’m working on being able to talk about the actual diagnosis. More than anything, I want to be me again.

Thank you.

I love you.

Stay tuned. 

…Not so secret life of Alex