@davidrossgarrett I am not sure what you are talking about here. I talked about issues as examples in the context or if it was my own experience or that of someone else that I knew. It sounds like this has been a stressful situation for you, and that you want a diagnosis and a plan of care. I did not try to make a connection of your symptoms to any medical problem; I just wanted to let you know what symptoms could be connected to a particular medical problem as general information. The same or similar symptoms can indicate different problems and it all has to be figured out by a physician. In my earlier post to you, I was giving examples of health problems and how they can be missed. My goal is to teach patients how to advocate for themselves with their health providers. I am not a medical professional, but what I have learned from advocating for myself and my elderly parents is the experience that I try to pass along so someone else can learn from it in case it may benefit them. If it doesn't benefit your situation, that is fine. Medicine is complex and you need a good detective to figure out where your symptoms are coming from if they could have more than one cause. I have had success in figuring out things my doctors have missed, but I also made mistakes because I assumed I knew what I was doing. No one here on Connect can diagnose your symptoms, but we can offer what we have learned from our own or our family's experiences with health care.

May I recommend that we should not try to diagnose ourselves unless we have the medical training to do that? Life comes with no guarantees, and we have to do the best we can, and ask for help when we need it and everything is a choice that we either make or not. The things you mention are red flags to me that need further attention in my mind. You don't have to agree with me. What I often do is help try to explain something in language that is easier to understand. As a patient, please understand that doctors are under a lot of stress to get things right. I am not making excuses for doctors who don't listen, but they are human, and if a stressful conflict arises at an appointment, it will direct their attention away from trying to solve the problem. I go to appointments prepared with questions, respectful, and in the spirit of hope that there will be an answer and advice I can benefit from. I am grateful for the good doctors I have in my life, and some have changed my life and I make sure they know how much I appreciate their contribution. I give them credit, but also I recognize that what I brought as a patient is part of the success of the appointment. I do understand that employers can be difficult when asking for time off, but there is a Family and Medical leave Act that applies to scheduled time off from work for medical issues and a doctor will need to sign forms for this. You can contact your human resources person if this is something that you need. The choices are yours and if you need a different medical opinion, there are other doctors out there. I have moved on when I didn't get answers and found a doctor who was able to help me. I hope that you can do that too. If you believe that your health is in serious danger, as you suggested, I hope you will seek qualified help. Thanks for reaching out.