I think Dr. House may have solved my medical mystery!

DavezWife · February 2011

So I've said for a long time that I need to be on House or those shows where they solve medical cases that make no sense. Now that we pretty much know it's auto-immune issues causing the majority of my pregnancy losses (still have crappy ovulation, I think that's just a double wammy, unrelated to eachother)... but WHY do I have this? the thing is... autoimmune issues are highly hereditary. Even eczema is typically seen in other family members.

Not in my family. I'm the only one.

Another big thought was WHY didn't I deal with this as a kid? Never had issues until my mid-20's, then all these super odd medical oddities kept happening, that no one can explain. WHAT HAPPENED in my MID-20's to trigger this? WHAT?

Yeh, I just saw a House episode last night where Candace Bergin had Metallosis, from a hip replacement she got a while back. (the metals freak the body tissues out, and sometimes travel to other parts of the body and settle in the tissue) ALL kinds of odd things were going on with her, most auto-immune related. Then it clicked...

It's the rods in my back !! I have 3 titanium alloy rods (and lots of nuts and bolts) fused to my spine in 1997 for severe scoliosis. I was 25 years old. My body is SUPER sensitive to earings, jewelry, acu needles, etc. when it never was as a kid. I'm willing to bet that it's gotten quite pissed off that those rods are in there, and that's the core of the auto-immune things. (that and I keep agrivating the hornet's nest by cycling/getting pregnant/all the hormones.)

I'm not sure what to DO with this hypothesis, I might put a call into the immunologist I saw, and even my D.O. that did the surgery. The rods can be removed - they took a bone graft from my hip and made a "paste" that eventually fused around the spine to hold it solid. But I imagine after all these years things are going to be all fused together, and chipping rods and bolts out of my spine is NOT something I care to go thru at my age. I think the steroid treatment will work for pregnancy, if I do it in the way my new doc suggests.

Grasping at straws? Sure. It's what I do. But to have a NAME or something to put to all this... to give me something to BLAME besides myself.... well... that would be nice.

LucyPevensie · February 2011

I think this sounds incredibly plausible actually. A very smart hypothesis.

oct11bride03 · February 2011

I'm no doctor but that certainly sounds plausible.

artygirl · February 2011

I agree with LucyP, that does sound quite plausible. That's pretty cool that Dr. House was able to solve your mystery!

marcuej · February 2011

LucyPevensie:
I think this sounds incredibly plausible actually. A very smart hypothesis.

I agree! I'd at least toss the idea out to my doc. I'm totally a proponent of being your own advocate.

MrsKolasa · February 2011

Good work, Dr. House Yes

I think it's worth mentioning.

GuitaristsGirl · February 2011

I love it! (I mean, not the fact that you're dealing with this, but the theory

)

jds0521 · February 2011

This is exactly why I watch those type of shows & Mystery dx. I think it's def worth a shot to look into further...I say make an appointment to see a Dr. you think would be qualified to hanlde this & see what s/he thinks.

xtencornfield · February 2011

It sounds more than plausible to me if you can attribute several issues that arose around the same time that you had the rods placed.

DavezWife · February 2011

xtencornfield:
It sounds more than plausible to me if you can attribute several issues that arose around the same time that you had the rods placed.

all my odd bug bite reactions, rashes, allergies like "hayfever", and skin stuff ALL started after the rods. I also gained a lot of weight when I never had an issue prior, and have fatigue and muscle issues all the time, which I've always just chalked up to be "tired" or "worn out."

While I'm sure some of this is wishful thinking, I really do think I'm onto something. Of course, the only course of treatment for this would be steroids and/or removal of the rods.