C
Chris Carlen
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
Frank said:Chronic fatigue is one of the toughest to diagnose. I think
there are over 120 standard tests for your blood alone, and if
nothing is (seriously) wrong with that, you're in muddy waters.
Yes. That is the end conclusion to which I and my doctors reached. At
that point it is a question of what to do about it. I chose to fight it
by exercising, and doing everything as normal as possible. That goes
somewhat against the common knowledge amongst CFS sufferers, who usually
complain of debilitating fatigue after exertion, and few hold full time
jobs. For this reason, the doctor never could decide for certain
whether to diagnose CFGS or fibromyalgia. But it doesn't matter when
there is no treatment. I remain convinced that the only thing one can
do is at the mental and spiritual level, to fight against it.
But the point of all this was that I have decided not to pursue another
degree, since I feel I don't have enough energy to study more than about
1 course per semester, which just isn't enough for any degree program.
That I continue to study slowly on my own and learn new stuff at my job,
is pretty satisfying considering that I could easily take a "minimum
effort" approach, especially in a government lab. But that's not my
character.
Doctors have an obligation to always do what is in the patient's
interest. Sometimes that simply means quitting further diagnoses,
depending on the severeness of the patient's discomfort.
Actually, I was more afraid of having a false diagnosis, given just to
satisfy the need to have an answer. I think sometimes doctors just
diagnose what they are familiar with, like a psychiatrist probably
perceives many cases to be depression that really aren't. Thus, I was
pleased to find a doc toward the end that took a very scientific
approach, even administering treatments for some difficult to diagnose
conditions just to test the hypothesis.
A lot of problems are pretty much untreatable anyways. You once
mentioned you suffered tinnitus - if I'm not mistaken. That's
easy to diagnose - you tell the doctor you hear that tone, he
looks into your ear, sees nothing, and says 'yes, nothing we
can do about it'. Opening your skull for that is not an option.
Mild tinnitus, mostly proportional to fatigue. It's not too much of a
problem unless I get really bad insomnia for a few nights, which follows
taking my work too seriously at times.
Thanks for the comments.
Good day!
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____________________________________
Christopher R. Carlen
Principal Laser/Optical Technologist
Sandia National Laboratories CA USA
[email protected]