So...tell me this.. is this just a typical neuro answer that they can't find whats wrong? If its all in my head, how do they explain... elevated wbc, low grade fevers, elevated csf protein level, band #41 on western blot?..etc..
Just curious if others of you have been diagnosed with that same thing or simply told its all in your head...
posted
Anyone with multiple, vague symptoms can be put in the "somatization" pot. Especially females. Ohte terms are "MUPS", for "medically unexplained symptoms," a diagnosis which results in psychiatric referral (or child protection services involvement, in the case of a child)
The positive 41 band is certainly not enough to "prove" Lyme for mainstream MD's (spirochetes in gums can cause this, in fact). I don't know what "cfs" is. Generally, the idea is that psychological problems are being expressed physically. The physical issues are considered real, but not from physiological cause. Kind of like the old Freudian conversion hysteria.
As painful as this may be, it is useful in the end to know that an MD is interpreting your medical issues this way, so that you can be more careful in choosing your next one.
On behalf of thousands and thousands of female patients, we should all get angry about this kind of thing: not only because it is insulting and sexist, but because it prevents adequate and timely treatment for medical problems that are real, but hard to diagnose.
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posted
csf = cerebral spinal fluid. I had an elevated protein level in my cerebral spinal fluid, (found during a spinal tap for severe headache) which typically indicates past meningitis/encephalitis, inflammatory response, or fighting an infection...
Yeah, I find it all too insulting when the dr can't find the cure, the next comment is typically that its all in your head, anxiety, pysch related...vs there being an underlying cause thats creating the pysch issues.
Posts: 514 | From . | Registered: Apr 2008
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sixgoofykids
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11141
posted
I got a Somatization Disorder diagnosis AFTER my WB showed 8 positive IgG bands!
Somatization Disorder = I have no clue but can't tell the patient that
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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adamm
Unregistered
posted
We are ALL told it's all in our heads. Don't take it as a diagnosis--
lou4656
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10300
posted
Wimenin -- Welcome to the wacky world of Lyme Disease.
I, too, received a "possible severe somatization disorder" diagnosis from a neuropsychologist. It is an absolute insult. The doctor's recommendation was to carry a day planner to better organize myself
If you do a search, there is a thread regarding somatization written about a year ago.
After I finished treatment for Lyme Disease, I wrote a letter to the neuropsychologist telling her about my Lyme diagnosis and sent her a pamphlet from ILADS.
All I can say is that if I ever had somatization disorder, it has been cured with long term antibiotics.
-------------------- LouLou Posts: 1276 | From maryland | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
I got a referral to a psychiatrist after I had reached the end of the road with my specialists with no answers.
Within 10 minutes the psychiatrist was able to tell I didn't have a psychiatric condition underlying my physical symptoms.
He said he thought I had CFS, a condition that is not well understood.
-------------------- I was diagnosed with and treated for late stage Lyme in 1991 with 6 weeks of doxycycline. Initially felt better, but then developed health problems that last until today. Posts: 83 | From New Jersey | Registered: May 2008
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posted
Today I received my report from a neuro specialist at Stanford.
I was referred to him by my neurologist who could not explain my symtpoms.
The neuro at Stanford basically said in his report that all of my symptoms together did not make sense, and he suggested I see a psychologist for "possible somataform disorder."
The doctor kept telling me how stressed I was. I am????
My mom was told she had anxiety and menopause by several different docs, despite having a huge bullseye on her stomach.
If they can't explain it, it must be made up. Posts: 146 | From California | Registered: May 2008
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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Wimenin,
I would not return to those other doctors. FIRE them.
I would not pay for another appointment with doctors who are so ignorant. Once you have that label they will NEVER change their minds. And, too bad, as that label will follow you.
Perhaps your new LLMD will have some suggestions for the other doctors you might consider to hire as your GP (PCP), etc.
Maybe with the referral from an LLMD, a new PCP could start with a clean slate and do his own assessments - in addition to labs and other tests from the past that you should carry in any new file.
Good luck.
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[ 09. July 2008, 07:28 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
As a therapist, I frankly don't really believe somatization disorder exists. I mean, headaches and stomachaches from stress, yes, but not creating an entire illness.
Most people who get referred to me by their doctors with this diagnosis immediately raise the Lyme Flag for me.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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heiwalove
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6467
posted
i received the same diagnosis and was even psych institutionalized for five months because of it, AFTER receiving a flamingly positive igenex western blot.
welcome to the world of lyme, as another poster said.
Hubby had unexplained tremors -- must be anxiety/depression -- and G.I. symptoms -- nausea/vomiting/chronic gastritis.
Don't let any doc convince you that your symptoms are not real.
After 3 psych admits and no medical diagnosis the first couple of years hubby ended up getting a neuropsych analysis to prove to disbility and social security that he did not have psych issues.
He had a really good day on the day of the testing and the psychiatrist who was not Lyme literate concluded that his symptoms were caused by a physical illness and that he did not have a conversion disorder or pseudoseizures.
If it was necessary to prove a physical cause for your symptoms then I would seriously consider a neuropsych evaluation by Dr F at Columbia which includes a SPECT scan.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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