Thanks rumpled. I wrote down all of the tests you recommended and will show it to the dr next time I go. If he doesn't agree to order them I will make an appt with an endocrinologist. I also have been having intense unusual headaches (migraines) lately. The pain starts at the base of my head and sometimes radiates to the left side of my face. Kinda scary. I hope I don't have to wait years for an answer to these problems.

I hope so, too. Try cooling your head for relief, that sometimes helps. I hope they do most if not all of the tests - and the UFCs, well it should be more than one if it is suspicious. Good luck. Being in limbo bites.

Dear Blondie,

It could be that you have a set of vector-bourne diseases, usually collectively called Lyme Borreliosis. There are two reference labs in the USA which seem the best for testing. Here are some recommended tests:

Borrelia
Western Blot IgG, IgM
PCR

Babesia Microti (east of Mississipi)
Babesia ducanii (mostly west coast, but showing up in many areas including Europe)

You might want to check on LymeNet or this site for Lyme Disease. You have many of the symptoms. The Hypothalumus, Pituitary, Adrenal axis is often working poorly to badly in people with these infections. Many either gain or lose a lot of fluid weight, sometimes quite quickly.

Don't expect an infectious disease or rheumatologist to be happy with you for asking for testing of these infections. The good news is that if you get these labs done by either MDL or Igenex, you will stand your best chance of getting someone to put the right picture together.

Good luck,
Charlie