The Challenge of Western Medicine

I stood there bawling, asking my parents what I was doing wrong, why I was struggling so much, and why it was happening now. Before this point, I hadn’t fully let on everything that was happening or how awful and exhausted I felt daily. They were astounded, still, I think trying to comprehend everything that I just dropped on them. They had little to say that was of benefit, so I walked out the door and drove two hours home to Des Moines, still crying. What might baffle others now, is that to this day, I try not to let on truly how bad my energy levels and aches can get.

This happened about a year ago just after I truly started to dig into my health problems.

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Growing up I was a pretty healthy kid. Other than continuous UTIs and yeast infections that were treated with antibiotics, I did not have many health scares until I was diagnosed with vocal cord dysfunction. This breathing disorder can be triggered by anxiety and is often found in teenage females. Most grow out of it ( I now only experience it during panic attacks). It is caused by an extreme muscle spasm in the vocal cords that cuts off airflow in the trachea. After my breathing disorder, I was diagnosed with anxiety and then I had two knee surgeries after this.

My real health issues began in college. I started having dietary issues, which we attributed to lactose intolerance (spoiler alert, it wasn’t) and extreme fatigue. I didn’t think much of it because I was working at least 3 jobs at any given point throughout college and taking a minimum of 17 credit semesters. It’s funny to say, but the best I felt throughout all of college was when I had covid in the fall of 2020 because I didn’t have to work or go to classes. I began having chronic back pain in 2019 (which I had absolutely no improvement from my breast reduction following in 2021).

Eventually, I decided I needed to do something about my fatigue during my last semester of college because I didn’t feel that a 20-year-old should be feeling as crappy as I was feeling. I went to a few different clinics, all of which thought I must have COVID due to my symptoms, but eventually, I convinced one doctor to test me for Lyme disease. I went on 3 rounds of antibiotics with no change in symptoms, so I decided to try out a functional medicine doctor.

This doctor was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I could tell she cared about getting me better. Unfortunately, after the first appointment, all we discovered was that I needed about 12 different supplements. I was not looking forward to twinning with my grandma every morning and evening as we ‘popped pills’ together. I would have loved to continue with her just to see what else she may have to offer, but I financially could not afford it.

After two months on those supplements, I decided not to continue with them because I saw no improvements in my symptoms. Over the next 6 months, my symptoms drastically worsened. I was working 80-hour weeks in order to pay off my student loans. On top of working insane hours, I was desperately attempting to lose weight. I had a decent diet and tried to work out at least 3 times a week.

On several occasions, I heard that peers from my high school were discussing how much weight I had gained and how fat I had gotten. It even was shared on social media at one point. This led me to attempt not eating for a period of time (1.5 weeks where I actually gained 2lbs) and also working out multiple times a day (this led me to throw up often), despite my lack of energy. I was, and still am, highly insecure about my weight and the way my body looks. I do not feel like myself, and it's pretty hard to when it takes an hour to wake up in the morning because your muscles are so tight and your whole body aches.

Eventually, I was fed up with feeling so awful mentally and physically. After a short discussion with a doctor, I was referred to take a sleep test. This test required me to sleep at the facility overnight and then take 6 naps the following day (each 20 minutes long and an hour apart). The assumption was that perhaps I had sleep apnea or narcolepsy. Unfortunately, what we discovered I had instead was Idiopathic Hypersomnia. If you break that down it means unexplainable excessive sleep.

The only way to treat IH is through stimulants. I have been on stimulants before for ADHD, but I figured I would try it anyways. Again, no improvement. Now, I was feeling really frustrated, so I finally set up a blood test at my doctor’s office. They tested for thyroid, diabetes, vitamins, and a few other markers. The only thing they stated that was low was my vitamin D levels which were 41 points below where they needed to be on a 100-point scale. They put me on a vitamin D supplement and called it good. When retesting my levels, my vitamin D levels read to be at 31 which happened to be one point above a “level that was concerning”. My doctor said all seemed normal.

That doctor did however refer me to get an upper endoscope to see if we could figure out anything with my gut. At this appointment, they tested two markers for celiac (or gluten intolerance) both coming back negative. The results of my upper endoscope showed that my stomach acid was hyperactive. Rather than helping me figure out why it was hyperactive, I was prescribed a medication to help. At my follow up they switched the medicine because the one they were giving me could cause bone density issues.

Around this time I switched chiropractors and actually began to feel a slight difference in my back pain. My chiropractor, Dr. Lydia, gave me some helpful suggestions like taking magnesium to assist with my sore muscles. She also referred me to a massage therapist and a functional health doctor. Now, that I am in a little bit better of a place financially, I took advantage of both of these referrals. She also encouraged me in going back to physical therapy. All of these have impacted me in highly positive ways leading me to find my answers that the western medicine doctors have failed to find.

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TIME LINE OF EVENTS

In 2013, I was diagnosed with Vocal Cord Dysfunction.

In 2014, I had my first knee surgery due to a torn meniscus. I got a partial removal.

I went from 130lbs to 150lbs over the course of 2 months.

I also was first diagnosed with anxiety this year.

In 2016, I went from 150lbs to 170lbs in 1.5 months.

In 2017, I had my second knee surgery for my meniscus.

In 2018, I started having allergies this summer. I had never had any allergy issues before,

but this got so bad, very quickly. My eyes would swell almost to shut if I didn’t get the eye drops in on time. My allergies have been like this since then.

I started having my first digestive issues. We thought this was a lactose sensitivity, but sometimes nothing would happen when I consumed specific dairy products (eg: It would be bad with white milk but not with chocolate).

This is also when I began aching, feeling sore, and tired regularly. It is also not uncommon for me to have episodes of nausea, headaches, dizzy spells, and light headedness.

In April of 2019, I began having small seizures randomly. I had an MRI and a tilt table test done. The tests were inconclusive, and I was just told to increase the salt in my diet. It seems to have helped.

In July of 2019, I began having chronic low backpain. I started by seeing a chiropractor about this, then I went to physical therapy, had an MRI and XRay done, and eventually I also tried cortisone shots.

In September of 2019, I started taking Lexapro to assist with my anxiety.

In November of 2020, I began having abscesses. Sometimes they get to be quarter-sized and change colors (blue, black, and green).

In January of 2021, I got in a skiing accident. I got a bruise and it never fully went away. I still have a bump on my leg from it.

In March of 2021, I was diagnosed with Lymes Disease. Everyone in my family has had it. I took 3 rounds of antibiotics to get rid of symptoms.

A month after getting diagnosed, I went from 170lbs to 200lbs within a month.

A month after this, I got a breast reduction. I recovered quickly, and I did not feel much pain at all.

I began having insane headaches quite frequently.

In January of 2022, I was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia. I began taking Methylphenidate and Bupropion to assist with my constant fatigue.

Recently, I have had a couple of small, seizure-like episodes that I have not had the time to deal with.

I still get abscesses regularly.

In March of 2022, I had an extensive line of blood tests done to see if we could

understand my health issues better. All the levels were fairly normal other than

my Vitamin D levels; since then I have been taking a 100mg supplement once a

day. When tested 3 months later, my levels increased (still not normal levels though). They also checked for gluten intolerance.

In July of 2022, I got an allergy test. The food suggested I was not allergic to anything,

but I was sensitive to just about everything they tested. My environmental test had

a lot of responses though. My largest environmental allergies include grass, weeds,

trees, and cats.

I also had my first seriously scary situation where I lost complete feeling in my

left leg and could not move it. This weakness and sharp pain lasted for 3 hours and then basically went away. My leg continues to randomly get numb and weak however I have not had it last longer than 15 minutes since that first experience in July.

In August of 2022, I had an esophagus scope to see if all my issues might be more

digestive-related. The esophagus scope showed that I have hyperactive stomach

acid and they prescribed me medication and said it might be beneficial for me to

follow a FODMAP foods diet. They also did a celiac test just to confirm I was

not.

In November of 2022, I started to work out more consistently 5 days a week. Over the

course of a month, I went from 200 to 220 lbs. Not changing my diet, and

exercising an average of 5 days a week.

I was regularly throwing up throughout the whole month, felt dizzy constantly, and regularly got headaches again.

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Part Two Coming Soon

*This story has been summarized as to not lose the interest of it's readers*