Bonnie, although your ultimate diagnosis may not parallel my circumstances, your story piqued my curiosity. W/O boring you or others with details, my short version is simply that I have been chronically ill for over 5 years with overlapping symptoms that have yet to be understood. I suffered a rare heart event 2.5 years ago from which my recovery should have been reasonably easy and complete. It was anything but that! Not a doctor, and there have been many, can find a cause for my unbearable, constant chest pain, SOB, unrelenting nausea and nighttime awakenings with chaotic heart rate and intensified chest pain that generally radiates down both arms and legs. Cardiology sends me to GI doctor and he sends me right back to Cardio! So my question is this......since I am at my wits end and cannot get a diagnosis even after many, many diagnostics and trips to every conceivable specialist, I am willing to pursue 'investigation' elsewhere in the country. Whether Mayo, Mass General or Hopkins but how does one get the ball rolling if you don't have a referral or even a grasp of which department to explore?
Any direction would be immensely appreciated as I'm getting nowhere and in a downward spiral with very quickly progressing symptoms.
Thank you so, so much!