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Tina's Story

Over the last 8 years I've suffered from many symptoms that I couldn't explain. Pain in the ovarian region, several types of headaches, blurred vision with some of the headaches, dizziness, memory loss, excessive hair growth, outrageous weight gain for little reason. It all started after my last child. I was 22 and decided to get a cut, tied, the works.

Slowly but surely the symptoms continued to worsen. I've been to so many doctors and none could put it together for me. I've had 4 menstrual cycles in the last 2 years and those only came after my last visit to the Cleveland Clinic when I was given birth control for the hormones I'm lacking.

All my doctors tell me I shouldn't be feeling any pain and one doctor thinks Its psychosomatic. Truth is, I wake up hurting, headaches, complete muscle aches, and it just keeps getting worse. I was told that I have PCOS, that my immune system is at an all time low, I have no immunities to Hepatitis (even though I don't have it), and... I feel hopeless and lost. I don't know what's all wrong with me. I don't know what my next move is.

For the last 3 years I've seen countless doctors and just now are they finding a few things. PCOS, something like endometriosis (can't spell the other). I get 3 different types of headaches and one of them never leaves. The other 2 come and go on a daily basis. I'm going back to the Cleveland Clinic for a spinal tap, and a tilt table test on Aug 18th. I show so many of the symptoms I'm finding on this site that it scares me to death. My rude doctor says "lose weight or you'll never get better". Heck, I eat healthier now than I ever have and the weight keeps coming from nowhere. I'm losing my short term memory at unpredictable times, I have anxiety attacks often (they gave me Xanax 1mg 3 times a day) and Vioxx for the pain (which doesn't seem to help a bit.

I'm 30 years old and don't know what to do next. The doctors don't seem to communicate and share results, even after I insist. I've just got a new family doctor to assist me with case management. You know, it's a little sad that I'd rather live with the memory loss and the headaches instead of the constant face waxing and weight gain.

I'm big boned and 5 ft. 10in., when I weighed 175 I looked just right and now I'm ballooning at an uncontrollable rate. I'm at 240ish. If anyone has gone through this or has suggestions, I'm all ears. I just don't get this... and the doctors in my area are a bunch of uncaring people that as soon as I leave the office they file my records away until my next visit. I'm so frustrated to hear "and what are you here for today" when I've told them over and over and over.

I'm scared to tell them that this is causing depression because the one doctor (neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic) thinks I am making up symptoms and my local neurologist believes something is very wrong but doesn't know what. That's why he sent me to the Cleveland Clinic. It sucks to feel pain everyday, tired constantly, headaches all day, and my family suffers. I'm just lost...