The Danger of a Diagnosis

It's finally happened. Sick for years, many doctors, specialists, sets of lab work, x-rays, ultrasounds, exams...and someone has finally decided that they have me figured out.

This week a neurologist attributed all of my problems to low-grade chronic depression. When I reminded her of all my physical symptoms I was told that depression could be very harmful. What about my eyes, I asked. Does depression cause star bursting? No, she admitted. My diagnosis was then altered to low-grade chronic depression with migraines.

When I told her that I've never had a migraine before, she didn't care. Okay, I said, but my eyes have been star bursting for months now - can a painless migraine cause symptoms to linger for so long after the event? No, she said. I must have a low-grade constant migraine. When I refused her industrial-strength migraine prevention medication she announced that it wasn't worth making a follow-up appointment.

To be fair, I did feel a little depressed after the appointment. It's gone now, but lasted a day or so.

This led me to consider (once again) the danger of mis-diagnosis.

I was in bed last night, unable to sleep on account of some aching in my leg and arm, when I put some things together. A week or so before I stopped going to work I had an appointment with a GI who diagnosed me with ibs and gave me a list of foods to eat and a list of foods to avoid. The recommended foods were horrible - white bread, white flour, potatoes, white rice, no fresh vegetables, little fresh fruit, etc.

I was disgusted with the foods I had been instructed to eat, but having had a horribly upset stomach for the last 9 months I decided to try the diet and see if I could get myself balanced. My plan was to re-introduce healthy foods once I had things under control.

It didn't happen. I fell apart instead. I can't tell you if my intestinal health improved because I lost the ability to do much of anything - including think. All I know is that I felt horrible.

Instead of having fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grain breads, nuts, dark chocolate, and vegan ‘meats’, I landed in a diet of frozen low-fat pizzas, protein shakes, and rice crackers. Instead of packing fresh fruit and trail mixes for workday snacks I started stopping at the convenience store and buying croissants instead.

Thinking in bed last night, the foods I was told to eat for my ibs diagnosis are the foods to specifically avoid for Lyme. I was very run down and weak, and then started feeding the bacteria (and parasites?) the diet of their dreams. I fed them gluten and sugar while depriving myself of immune-boosting foods.

By mid-February I was too run down to go to work, and took two weeks off to catch up. When I returned to the city I had an accident that resulted in a concussion. Now my system was toast. I've been slipping since then - at first rapidly, but now I have a slower progression of symptoms.

I'm not on medication for depression or migraines. Instead, I've added turmeric and resveratrol to my daily supplement mix. Take that, neuro-lady!