Another doctor's visit, another set of questions

Image: Roy Blumenthal @Flikr

(Originally written 10/24/2014)

If you have a chronic illness like fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, do you ever leave a doctor’s office wondering if it’s all in your head? I’ve been battling what has been diagnosed as chronic sinusitus and an earache for months. Today I finally consulted an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat doctor) only to be told that I have no signs of chronic sinus infection and no fluid on the ear. But I definitely have unexplained hearing loss in one ear. This leaves me with far more questions than it answers and wondering once again what the heck is wrong with me.

---

Why do I seem to get so many weird symptoms that don’t add up to any clear diagnosis?

The good news is that this doctor did not tell me it was all just a symptom of stress. When I thanked him for this he said, “I think doctors say that when they don’t know what the diagnosis is.” Amen to that, good doctor.

Still, this visit led to another test with yet more inconclusive results. I waver between feeling crazy, feeling angry, and just laughing. What the hell am I supposed to do?

Does this scenario sound familiar? How do you cope with the uncertainty of your illness and how do you make sense of seemingly random symptoms and diagnosis? I’d love to hear about it.