Hi gruvingal,

I am glad you finally have a diagnosis. Sometimes that alone is a help. There is no way of treating something if you don't know what it is that needs treatment. Just treating symptoms is often used but not always the best course of action.

I think about undiagnosed illness and only treating symptoms like having a lawn with weeds. You spray the yard with weed killer but the weeds persist. Unless you "identify" the weeds and use the "appropriate" weed killer, you are wasting your money.

My point is, getting a diagnosis is a big step and a big help in finding the proper course of treatment. I am sorry to learn that the appropriate treatment is contradictory to the medications you take for other conditions. What a bad situation for you.

I did not know what ET was until I read some of the posts on your tread. I do hope the functional capacity test will help you in getting assistance.

While I do not have ET, I can relate to the rest of your post.

Oh, how so many of us can relate to your statements of how your life had been impacted by illness. Many of your statements are the exact same words many of us would say.

I won't even let family members in my home any more since I can no longer keep up with the everyday housekeeping chores. I almost never leave my home except for doctor appts. and the once a month grocery trip. More often is more than I can handle.

I am so sorry you are in this dilemma. I hope you can find some way to treat your multiple conditions that will not interfere with the meds for another condition.

Wishing you better days.

Reading posts by members on NT help me with the depression that comes with chronic illness and pain. When I read a post like yours and many others, I realize how much more could be wrong with me, how much I am NOT dealing with, how much better I am than so many others here, and I am so happy that my life is not so bad when compared to so many here. It snaps me right out of my depression and makes me so thankful for the life I now live. That is not to say that I don't still have many times when I mourn the loss of the life I once had verses the one I am learning to live with now, it just puts my current life into better perspective.

Let us help and be a shoulder for you. Even if some of us are not afflicted with the same illnesses you have, there are still many things we can relate to just by having the same frustrations. It now takes me a week to do what I previously did in just a few minutes. Many things are just not possible at all.

I wish I had some wisdom to impart that would help you in your situation but all I can offer is good wishes for you to have better days. I am glad that you finally have a diagnosis. Knowing what is behind your symptoms is important in many ways.