Dear Crabby: Everything's Falling Apart: Is It Me?

DEAR CRABBY: I think I’m going crazy.

Not a good kind of crazy, or even a fun sort of crazy. The crazy that makes me question my sanity. Because it involves multiple doctors in different specialties looking at me strangely and suggesting the same thing: “You need to work on your anxiety.”

I AM anxious.

But I’m also tired - really tired. The sort of exhaustion that only gets worse the more I sleep. And every part of my body aches. I’ve tried stretching, using a heating pad, soaking in Epsom salts, even creeping up on my ibuprofen and acetaminophen dosing. Nothing has any effect. I’m not even sure WHAT hurts. And that annoys the doctors I’m referred to.

How could I NOT know what’s causing me pain?

They run tests, of course, but everything keeps turning up normal.

Blood work: Normal.

CT scans: Normal.

MRI scans: Normal.

I even agreed to a colonoscopy, thinking my abdominal pain might be a malfunction in that region. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I’m afraid my medical records have a stamp of “hypochondriac” on them!

But it’s a struggle to get out of bed in the morning. Even taking a shower requires so much energy and effort. Sometimes, I wonder if it’s worth bothering. Even the weight of a sweatshirt on my arm feels like a dumbbell digging into my skin. I keep checking for bruises that don’t exist. And I can’t remember the last time I slept through the night. I’m drinking so much caffeine to get through the day.

Yesterday, my GI doctor told me I need to consider seeing a psychologist for these issues.

Is he right? Is all of this in my head? --INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE

DEAR INSANE: There’s no easy way to cushion this: It is in your head - but not the way your physician suggests.

Welcome to the wonderful world of invisible illness, where your body turns against you, followed closely by the medical profession.

You can continue throwing money away on testing - all of which will cheerfully return normal results.

Or you can take a deep breath, STOP visiting the wrong specialists, and resign yourself to a long road of frustration and incomplete answers.

Yes, the joys of this diagnosis keep coming.

The physician you’re looking for operates in the neurology or rheumatoid arthritis fields. Different parts of the brain from the psychological recommendation you received.

And the testing they require doesn’t involve time spent in a claustrophobic machine or a donation to the phlebitis vampires. All you need to do is answer questions (because you’ve already undergone rigorous screening for a laundry list of possible diagnoses).

The appropriate medical professional won’t lift an eyebrow and question your sanity - or pain. When you drop the encyclopedic tome of your medical record on their desk, they know they’re dealing with someone genuinely suffering. And they understand the frustration you’ve endured up to that point.

Fibromyalgia, in particular, is insidious. Inhabiting the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), fibro impacts EVERY part of the body. If there’s a nerve, fibro can produce pain there. Patients like you often spend YEARS chasing pain from one physician to the next. And when nothing shows up on scans or labs, they find themselves guided toward psychology for the answer.

The answer IS in their heads. But no psychologist will pluck it out.

You’re NOT crazy. But the hoops you’ve jumped through ARE. It’s time to find the appropriate specialist.

And prepare yourself for a diagnosis without a cure, firm treatments, or even a helpful test to demonstrate its existence.

(Because you didn’t think you were crazy enough already)