My posts kind of fizzled after January. Here’s what happened with my health, the brief version. I’m sure I’ll forget to include things, but this is the gist.

In January, I started feeling really, very, inexplicably, unable-to-get-up-in-the-morning exhausted. At first I thought I was coming down with an illness, like the flu, but it just did not ever go away.

I referenced my running becoming difficult in this post. January was, in fact, the last month I was able to run at all. Shortly thereafter, I started developing extreme dizziness and several other symptoms, and I stopped running because I was afraid exertion was doing serious harm to my health.

I went to my doctor and over the course of several visits had her check my thyroid and anything else she could think of, along with a few tests I suggested. I have had Hashimoto’s disease (an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid) since I was 18, and it seemed like a likely culprit, but my thyroid labs looked okay. I got referrals to an endocrinologist (for Hashimoto’s) and a rheumatologist (as a result of one of my tests), and then my doctor ran out of ideas.

In February, I got a new doctor, who was more experienced. By the end of February, I had over 40 symptoms. I saw two specialists to check on specific issues while I waited for my other appointments.

In April, I finally saw the rheumatologist, who diagnosed me with another autoimmune disease*. I began taking medication for that. Somehow, I still wasn’t completely convinced I found the root of my problem.

In May, I saw the endocrinologist, who ran a bunch of endocrine tests and couldn’t find anything wrong there, but she did change my thyroid medication to see if that would help. Also, the rheumatologist gave me another medication, which should have made me feel better, but actually made me feel a lot worse. Unfortunately, I stayed on this medication for nearly three months. (More than half of which was tapering off.)

In June, I saw another specialist who ran some more tests. I wasn’t feeling any better by the end of the month, so I got serious about cleaning up my diet (after being “just” gluten-free for four months) and started following the autoimmune paleo diet to see if that would help. A lot of people think it’s a crazy diet, but when you feel terrible, you’ll try anything. I did see some small improvements over the next few months, but I knew I needed to improve a lot more.

In July, I saw another specialist to check out a specific issue.

In August, I saw a naturopathic doctor, who met with me for a very long time. She ran a bunch of labs my other doctors hadn’t, and suggested a number of supplements. I also had another round of visits with almost all of my doctors. More medications prescribed.

In September, I returned to the naturopathic doctor. One of my labs indicated I may be headed toward an additional diagnosis*. Something that was not really even on my radar. Something that makes me question: “Could I possibly have BOTH the rheumatologist’s diagnosis AND this diagnosis?”

This month I started medication to begin treating the new possible diagnosis, and next week I will have additional testing done to try to get a more definitive answer on that diagnosis. The medication is definitely making me feel worse, but that is typical. I also went to another specialist to check out something specific, and I am scheduled to follow up with the ND if my test results are back in time. If those results are positive, I will seek another rheumatology opinion.

So that’s pretty much where I’m at right now. I’m still following the autoimmune paleo diet for the most part. I have added back some foods at the recommendation of my ND. I am currently treating Hashimoto’s, the other autoimmune disease, and the potential new diagnosis. I know this post lacked a lot of details, but that’s because, at this point, I prefer to keep all of the speculation between my doctors and me. Being open about my health issues is difficult for me, so this was a start.

* Please bear with me, as I have a hard time revealing what these diagnoses are publicly when I still have questions about them. I’m sure more will come out in due time.

Okay, that’s all for today. No cute quotes this time!