Can I really do this #2

[hoosjim]

Wow, JS, that's a really tough deal medically for your W. I had no idea she was dealing with all that. Not to excuse her or anything, but... all of that, particularly the thyroid stuff, can't be helping the sitch.

I felt compelled to post about this because I, too, suffered from a lengthy period of oddball-type afflictions that eventually snowballed and, in fact, nearly killed me. It wasn't until I ventured off the beaten path into the realm of integrative medicine that I got the help I needed. My own issues boiled down to a root problem of heavy metal, particularly mercury, toxification/poisoning. I was very heavy consumer of large ocean going fish, particularly tuna, had a mouthful of mercury-laden amalgam fillings (and grinded me teeth terribly in my sleep to boot), and worked several years at a former munitions factory. On top of that, I have what is apparently not all that uncommon a genetic defect that significantly impairs the bodies natural ability to clear some of those metals. It was a perfect storm. I went through diagnoses ranging from gulf war syndrome to lyme disease to "fibromyalgia" (which, for anyone interested, is a non-diagnosis: It merely describes the person's symptoms and literally means "all your joints hurt.) At my nadir, I had a resting body temperature in the 95s or low 96s, tremors, brain fog, arthralgia in most of my joints, and was getting pneumonia about every 4 to 6 months. Finding the right doctors enabled me to identify the problem, and clear the root causes (replaced all my silver fillings, chelated out the heavy metals, cleaned up my diet, fitness regimen, etc.) I am now healthier than probably at any point since my early 20s. But it takes the right doctors. I am wondering if your W is getting the right kind of medical care. Doctors looking at hard-to-diagnose problems can sometimes do more harm than good. For example one of my early doctors was convinced I had some sort of chronic infection that required a long, strong course of antibiotics. Unfortunately, that ended up resulting, witn my surpressed immune system, with thrush/yeast/candida setting in and I ended up with an allergic fungal sinusitis which is not under control (thank you, Mayo clinic) but with which I will probably always be dealing with. I also still deal with a certain level of adrenal and thyroid suppression as there was a certain amount of long-term damage from the mercury, but my current doc has finally got me on the right combination of replacement hormones and I have been steadily weaning off some of them.

My point is, these things can be difficult. Very difficult, They can become all-encompassing and make everything else seem unimportant to the sufferer. They can also be aggravated by poor or overly dogmatic medical treatment. Some of what your wife is dealing with (structural damage to her spine) is unfixable, but a lot of what she is dealing with sounds like it could be systemic in some way... a lot of inflammatory and auto-immune type stuff. I kind of wish we knew each other in real life and I could refer you to some folks who might be able to help her (not that, at this point in your relationship, she would likely accept such help, but it might be worth a try.) I know for a fact from my own experience that thyroid issues can be touchy and can require a delicate approach. I was very lucky to find a doctor who is on the cutting edge of thyroid research and who is starting to change the philosophy of a lot of current practitioners who, she believes, are prescribing the wrong stuff at that wrong doses to a LOT of people. IDK, I am not a doctor myself, and even in terms of referrals can't really give you any advice on these forums, but I really hope your W is getting good care and, if not, that you/she can find her someone who can get to the bottom of her issues. The one thing my current doctors have impressed upon me is that in a lot of cases where you have a diffuse range of symptoms like that, is that there is often some root underlying cause... it may require peeling back a few onion layers, but oftentimes, as with my case, if you get to the root of the problem you can fix a lot of the ills.

I wish both of you the best. Chronic illness just flat-out [censored].