27 Jan When You Can’t Get a Diagnosis
I always thought of myself as a fairly healthy person. After all, I was a yoga practitioner, a healer, and a student of plant medicine. But after having my first child, my body rebelled and my hormones went haywire.
Doctors said, It’s just your body returning to equilibrium.
After six years, things had started to feel normal again but then WHAM! The symptoms came back stronger than ever. I was in constant pain. My hair fell out and my energy levels nosedived. My joints swelled and my body ached. My voice vanished and my motivation withered away. No one knew what to do with me.
Doctors said, It’s just menopause. You’ll get over it.
I knew it had to be something more. After doing my own research I begged my doctor to test my thyroid levels. Lo and behold, they were all out of whack! Within days, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and sent home with a bottle of pills.
I wanted someone to tell me I’d been right.
I wanted someone to acknowledge that my pleas for help had been ignored or undermined.
If you’re still reading, I’m sure you can relate because you too know just how hard it can be to get a diagnosis. How easily doctors shrug off your migraines, nausea, fatigue. Especially if you’re a woman. Despite the fact that we know our own bodies better than anyone – and that women are hyper-attuned to the messages our bodies send to signal danger – our health concerns are commonly brushed aside or blamed on our periods.
It’s not necessarily the doctor’s fault. They’re just doing what they’re trained to do: treat the symptoms.
The problem is that when it comes to autoimmune, those symptoms are often identical to so many other health disorders. As such, autoimmune and other chronic illnesses can go undiagnosed (or misdiagnosed) for years. Coupled with the gender bias in conventional medicine, this paints a frightening picture because 80% of people diagnosed with autoimmune illnesses are women.
You deserve to be heard.
It can be incredibly frustrating to feel that something is wrong with your health, and yet, be continually disregarded. Everyone deserves to be heard if they feel something is “off.” You may not be able to perfectly describe your symptoms, but that’s not your job. It’s the doctor’s. And they should take the time to really listen to what you have to say.
If you are struggling to get a diagnosis, try following some of my pointers below. Hopefully, they can help you get to the root of your health problems so you can treat your illness at the core.
1. Find a good doctor.
That’s not to say that most doctors are bad (though if your experience is anything like mine a few bad apples can leave you with a distaste for fruit altogether). Regardless, I would suggest you consult a specialist to get a diagnosis if you suspect you may have a chronic illness.
If you regularly experience common symptoms of autoimmune disorder, and you’ve followed your primary doctor’s advice with no results, book an appointment with a doctor that specializes in autoimmune disease specific to your primary concerns. For example:
- If you’re experiencing joint pain, consider a rheumatologist who works with autoimmune diseases.
- If you’re experiencing full body pains, headaches or nerve pain, consider a neurologist.
- If your autoimmune disease is affecting your digestive tract, meet with a gastroenterologist.
- If you’re having a hard time isolating a particular symptom, an endocrinologist is a great place to start since many autoimmune diseases affect the glands.
Whichever specialist you choose, ask the doctor to conduct some tests to confirm your suspicion. As a patient, you reserve rights to request or reject treatment procedures that could affect your health condition. In other words, speak up!
If the results are normal and you still have your suspicions, you can request for a 2nd opinion from another physician. As women, we tend to be non-confrontational so it can be hard to tell someone in a position of authority that you don’t agree with them. But this is your health we’re talking about here! Don’t allow your healthcare rights to be taken from you simply because your diagnosis isn’t as simple as they would like!
2. Get a second, third, and fourth opinion.
If the specialist still can’t offer a diagnosis, and their suggestions don’t alleviate your symptoms, you can look for other specialists in your area. You can ask for second, third, and fourth opinions to confirm your doubts or assuage your fears.
Don’t give up!
There is no limit to how many doctors you can see to get the diagnosis you need! Treatment begins with an accurate diagnosis and there ARE doctors out there who can help.
Of course, this can get expensive. There are tests you can order and take at home, but interpreting the lab results can be tricky. Take a look at some of the testing options I offer. They just might give you the foothold you need to get a diagnosis.
3. Chronicle your medical history.
No matter where you are in your health journey, start recording your medical history and describe the escalation of symptoms in detail. This provides valuable information for doctors down the road.
Doctors suggest that you record your pain tolerance, agitation, nausea, irritation, and other symptoms, which could be potentially associated with an autoimmune disease. Detail your emotional and mental state at the time of onset as well, since our minds and our bodies are unquestionably connected.
You should also include a detailed family history if you have family members with autoimmune diseases or other chronic health issues. Though the research is still unclear, some studies suggest a genetic basis for autoimmune.
Show the journal to your physician to get a second opinion on your condition. Keep your health journal nearby at all times so that you can quickly grab it and jot down notes as symptoms rear their ugly heads.
You are more than your diagnosis.
I know firsthand how complicated it can be to get a diagnosis for an autoimmune disease. If you think you might have an autoimmune or another chronic illness, I encourage you to sign up for a free discovery call so we can figure out how you can get over this hurdle and find better health.
I offer ongoing health coaching, but I also offer a la carte tests that can give you a better picture of what’s going on in your body at the cellular level. You simply order and take the test, ship it off to the lab, and when the results are in, we go over them together and come up with a game plan.
From there, you can decide whether you want to keep working together, but know this: You are more than your diagnosis. I would be honored to help you get back to feeling fully alive.
To learn more about the services and programs I offer, simply click here.
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