unknown illness for two years

[ngibson0008]

I am married to a great guy. He has been experienceing alot in the past two years and have had surgeries and procedures and tests all done over and over again. Hes been told by a few dr.s he has a unique case (which is not good) the dr.s told him..... he has severe back pain for two years the rest of his body in the past 6 months said has been severe pain all over has nausious vomiting diahrea numbness in his legs and tingling no energy sleeps all day except when he has to work. has no energy. dr.s have looked into cancer and infections and decided he doesnt have those its some unknown disease that no one can pin pointand get fixed. he has been mis diagnosed alot and no one seems to be taken an interest in trying to figure this out once and for all there is no reason at all for someone to go through any of this at all. why would dr.s let a paitient suffer this much and this bad for this long?

[paperclip46]

Keep on investigating as you have been doing. Educate yourself as much as possible as you know what your husband is going through more than anyone else.

In the end you will get him to the right doctor and the right treatment. Don't give up!

Even try a dietitian?

[ngibson0008]

Hello all I am the wife again.... he has been like this for two years now there was a bone biopsy done of the spine about a year and two months ago he was then sent to an infectiuos disease dr who said it was a bone infection for a year he stayed bad the whole time never got better one bit then two to three months ago he seen a second opinion dr for infectious disease dr agian and he said from the tests and ct scans and mris and blood work from a yr and a half ago are all the same still he went on eighteen weeks of antibiotics for the bone infection he supposedly had that this new dr said he seriously doubt he ever had.... geees guys antibiotics for no reason can only do more harm then good im not a dr and even i know that... now the new dr says he thinks its between two diseases which is crohns and whipples diseases. tell me this isnt crazy now for three days he hasnt been able to get out of bed! and has had to call into work since he is constantly sick at his stomach and diareah badly and in sooo much pain even his meds arent helping now whats your advice?

[paperclip46]

The problem with a GP is that many illnesses present with similar symptoms.  The procedure they then follow is to give the most common diagnosis(You have a cold) and the medication for that.  If that does not work then they go to the next level of diagnosis (You have an infection of the larynx) but if the meds from that do not work then they will send you to a Specialist. The problem starts when a patient goes to several different doctors and the procedure and known facts gets muddled.
The other problem is that many backaches are better diagnosed by a Physiotherapist who studied for as many years as a Doctor but on the back and muscles.  

What could be worrying your husband could be a spine or back muscle problem. and another problem unrelated to the back, couple those with depression and you have a very muddled scenario.

Sometimes, the investigation is done better by a very wily wife...  Good luck!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Since he has nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, please consult a gastroenterologist. A number of times a gastroenterologist is able to diagnose these conditions by clinical examination and detailed medical history. At other times a few tests are conducted. Blood tests to rule out anemia, stool test to look for white blood cells, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy etc are used to diagnose ulcerative colitis. Braium meal and follow through, endoscopy etc are done to rule out GERD, Crohn’s disease etc. Irritable bowel syndrome is diagnosed by elimination of other causes. Gluten is a complex protein present in four main grains---wheat, rye, barley and oats. If you have gluten intolerance, then you probably have celiac disease or Non Celiac gluten sensitivity. There are blood tests called celiac test to detect gluten intolerance. Crohn’s disease is a difficult entity to diagnose. Along with gut symptoms skin disorders and arthritis too are commonly seen with Crohn’s. An upper GI series using barium dye is done to see the condition of small intestines. The degree of involvement of the large and small intestine may vary from person to person.  A biopsy is the most confirmatory. An elevated ESR, low protein, minerals and iron in blood are the other findings in Crohn’s which may or may not be present. A recent advancement in Crohn’s diagnosis is video capsule endoscopy.
Other than that it could be that the nausea vomiting diarrhea is due to medications he is taking. Extreme fatigue could be due to low testosterone in males, anemia, diabetes, hypothyroidism, or due to kidney or liver problems. Another possibility is sleep disturbances (like sleep apnea, imbalance of rapid eye and non rapid eye movement sleep etc.). Other possibilities are chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, low Vit B12, low iron, low calcium, sodium and potassium. Hyperthyroidism too causes increased sweating and tiredness.   Postviral fatigue syndrome is another possibility. Persisting EBV infection or mono can also be the cause. A comprehensive investigation is required keeping all the points in mind. Do discuss this with your doctor. Take care!