Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Structured Regulations For A Personal Body

I have a moderate rant in regards to the health care system (this may develop into a series of rants over time!).

I have been living the whole medical guinea-pig lifestyle for 11 years.  More blood has been taken from me than I would even know what to do with (not that I should be doing anything with blood other than having it in my body...). My entire body hurts from the tip of my head to the tip of my toe almost ALL of the time.  Obviously, something is not right.  Yet all of my blood test results come back as being on the edge of the normal range, or in the normal range.  

I carried around one of those diabetic glucose kits for 2 years to consistently test my blood sugar.  I am visibly EXTREMELY hypoglycemic to everyone around me, including myself.  I get dizzy and faint or become unable to prepare myself any kind of food and become absolutely impossible to deal with mood-wise.  However, once you get a glass of juice into me, I'm happy as a clam.  Yet, do you think any of my tests ever showed up as being overly low???  Of course not.  

Perhaps I am meant to be a mystery for the rest of time.

As far as I can tell, every single person is different.  As a result, the levels of certain brain chemicals, hormones, and sugar levels within each body would need to be different.  This scale system lead by popular numbers is not good enough.  It throws people like me who fit no categories out to the wolves.  Trust me...the wolf-filled forest is not a nice place to be with no protection!

I don't deserve to suffer because I fall in that 0.01% of the population.  

That is all.

xoxo,
Annie

13 comments:

Lee Lee said...

I have the smae trouble with hypoglycemia. I am always low and have to check my sugar levels al the time, but no one can tell me why .... it's just part f the fun and games!! haha

Anonymous said...

I hate stories like this. When doctors don't care enough to look further than blood tests and the results the outcome is often..."Well, there doesn't seem to anything wrong here" Sheesh!

mo

Dominique said...

I'm afraid I can't help you because I'm pretty much fed up with medicine, pharmaceutical companies, FDA, FTC, and doctors in general.

I don't understand why the test are correct either. I have been told by my naturopathic doctors that the medical tests are not reliable. I know my mom had this incredible illness in her inner ears. She could even be prone without being so dizzy the room spun when she was in the dark and had her eyes closed. It was bad! She was like that for around 2 years. Then she said enough and started seeing our family naturopathic doctor and he had her well in less than a year. Now if she has a flareup she goes to him and she is better. The doctors still have no idea how to help.

It is crazy. If you know how to treat it, maybe that is good enough for now.

:-)

Toni said...

Same problem here Annie. Test after test after test. No answers. So frustrating.

Diana Lee said...

This is totally random & not at all what your post is really about (the frustration), but I have to share what my doctor mentioned to me yesterday. She said there are manufacturers of continuous blood glucose monitors who will come in & set up patients with one for completely free for 5-7 days to give a more accurate, wide ranging picture of their levels over that entire period of time. Might be something to ask your docs about.

I definitely feel you on the frustration. Being a human guinea pig sucks. :(

Anonymous said...

Holy shit, I'm the same way! I mean, my blood sugar crashes all of the time and I get dizzy or get hot flashes or feel sick to my stomach. As soon as I drink a couple of glasses of juice, I feel better. I get some food in me and I'm normal again. So you'd think that it'd show up in my blood work, right? Nope! I've been tested several times, and it always comes back fine. It's the weirdest freaking thing.

I've been a guinea pig for three years. The thought of going any longer just numbs my mind. I refuse to think about that outcome. I want to believe that there are answers out there. I want to believe that there is a diagnosis that fits me and offers a treatment plan (I'm not stupid enough to hope for a cure).

I hope we get some answers soon. *hugs*

Shelli said...

I love your C.S. Lewis quote! In fact, that is the theme of the next book I'm going to write. I just have to finish this one first!

The funny thing is that I lost a lot of faith in the medical community a long time ago. We are so used to going to the doctor for every little thing, expecting the magic pill that makes it all go away. Then I discovered that they actually know a lot less than they pretend to know. I wish more doctors were intellectually curious and would try harder to find out why we are such a mystery.

A'n'G Johnson said...

oh sugar. it sucks. this was me and hypothyroid. made all the difference in the world when a doctor finally acknowledge my normal is not the same as the standard normal in the text books.

Annie said...

I am so glad I'm not the only one.

If they ever do find out what is wrong with me, I'll be surprised if it falls in the norm!

Pamela said...

I can totally relate; I have the same hypoglycemia problems that couldn't be diagnosed until they tested my INSULIN instead of my blood sugar -- too much insulin was causing my sugar to go low. It's a shame that they system is so messed up for the 1% like us (& looking at the comments, there are quite a few of us!)

Offbeat Follies said...

Rant away! I have a congenital heart defect - this ain't gonna be cured or go away anytime soon - and boy oh boy the rejection letters and "you look normal/healthy" misconceptions I get thrown my way...*shakes head*
I feel your pain, in a different but similar way (if that makes any sense)

Annie said...

Rachael, it makes perfect sense! And it is soooooooo nice not to be the only one feeling my pain :)

KD said...

I too have blood sugar issues and every test come backs normal. I also have fibromyalgia and have read on fairly reputable medical websites that blood sugar issues are common w/ ppl. w/ fibromyalgia but it is not true "hypoglycemia."