Unexplained bone pain, hair loss, low nutritional levels

[lauren9748]

Please help! I am a 27 year old female and starting in October I began noticing that my hair was thinning & that my knees ached.  I have never had achey knees in my life.  I also starting having migrating joint pain in my fingers, sometimes my wrists, my feet, etc. After a ton of tests, nothing really came back besides low iron & b vitamin levels. Which to me, means there is absorption problem. I eat tons of organic veggies & grassfed meat every single day. I also supplement with eating liver once a week, fermented cod liver oil, a lot of bone broth, and mineral rich herbal infusions like nettle.  

After going on an iron supplement for the month of November, my newest results in December were the my iron is even lower. HOW is this possible? Unfortunately,  my doctor doesn't seem to think anything is wrong and that it is in my head.. which is quite possibly the most frustrating thing to say to someone who is feeling sick & exhausted.  I then pleaded to get a full thyroid panel (everything is fine), an endoscopy from the gastroenterologist (everything was clear), and got checked by a rheumatogolist (who frankly just looked at my hands and knees and said "no swelling... i think you are fine."

My doctor then said that I should layoff on the disease detection since my health insurance said I was looking like I was abusing the system... !!!

My herbalist on the otherhand thinks I may have  a lyme co-infection and I have been being treated with herbs for that.

However the past months or so my pain feels more intense. Every day different fingers hurt... sometimes my wrist, and ALWAYS my knees. It literally feels like I have less cartilage in  them... I can also feel my knee caps buzzing... I guess my biggest question (please try to reassure me and not scare me)... is could this be bone cancer? I know that is a crazy fetch... but when I search joint and bone pain.. arthritis and bone cancer come up.  And I just really do feel like I have arthritis.  

My herbalist says that if the herbs are killing whatever infection I have, there will be die off, which creates a temporary worsening of symptoms.  Does anyone have any other suggestions? I am feeling so lost and abandoned by the Western medical world.  My only fear is that if I just keep "not going" to the doctor even though I feel like crap, am I just ignoring something serious?  It doesn't feel really practical getting a new doctor, since I just have crappy insurance and this is the best doctor I have ever had (prior to him dismissing my illness..)  

[margypops]

May I suggest you read the answer I have given on the post which is below this one

[LowCortisol]

Ok, clearly you have things going on and have had the misfortune of dealing with inept doctors. I am sorry.

What you need is guidance by one good physician.

I was in a similar situation to this when I had varying symptoms and fools for doctors, everyone saying something different OR saying it was in my mind. It happens often.

Finally I decided I need to  find a good endocrinologist and I did. He ran a host of tests and arrived at a sound diagnosis.

You are in MA I see. May I suggest you contact a great hospital in Boston, MGH and book to see an endocrinologist there.

Take with you all the test results you have.
Write a history of what symptoms you are suffering, how long you have been suffering them, when in the day you suffer from them and how painful they are. Also write a list of what meds, herb and suppplements you took.

Stop with any alternative "medications". They may be useful in the future but you need to be able to honestly present all your symptoms  to say the endocrinologist without masking some by your recent experimentation with alternative solutions

[lauren9748]

Thanks!! I take MSM everyday in my water! :)

[silverfox67]

     First, I am proud of you!  Good for you taking supplements like vitamins, and trying to help yourself.  Organic is great, too.
     Have you tried MSM?  Not chondroitin... just MSM.  It helps with pain and helps your hair folicles.   It also comes as an ointment or cream which can be applied topically- if you prefer.
MSM is also known to rebuild cartilage!  2,000 mg. a day to start, then after a week, go down to 1,000 mg. a day.  
After a month, you could probably do with 500 mg. a day since you are so small.

    I hope this information was helpful.  Wishing you the best