Who else out here is suffering from something that baffles doctors? I have had a cough, chest pain and massively swollen glands in my neck and round my jaw for 8 months. I don't have glandular fever, it hasn't really responded to antibitoics, or massive increases in my asthma medicine. Today I had a chest x-ray, which seems clear, a test to see if its lots of tiny pulmonary embolisms (its not) and blood tests which showed I don't appear to have an infection (so they don't think I have TB). Plus my blood tests don't indicate elevated levels of anything that might indicate cancer. So whilst all the doctors I've seen agree that coughing so much with massively swollen glands is generally a sign of very bad things, I appear not to be suffering from any of them. I'm ill, but no one knows what with. Any other medical mysteries out there? I think I should nominate myself for the storyline of an episode of House. Then all the medical scriptwriters could diagnose me and someone slimmer and more photogenic could play me.

Have you ever seen the show "Medical Mysteries" on tv? It's great! I thought this was what the thread was about at first.

Anyway, I hope they figure out what you've got.

not really sth that baffles the doctors but I've had a weird vulval/vaginal rash for months, very painful, and they've done tests and it's not an std or yeast infection. they just can't find the cause.
they give me creams but nothing works....

Thats got to be really annoying! I hate it when it seems like your body is screwing you over just for a laugh.

cant it be bronchitis? cause that's not an infection, but more like an allergy?

Unlikely because anything allergy wise would have been nuked by the obscene amount of asthma inhalers I've been taking- the steroids dampen down allergic inflammation.

there's a jonathan miller joke, but i guess no one knows who he is so pffft

yeah. it's really terrible. I tried all kinds o diferent laundry detergents but I don't think that's the problem. I use all perfume-free body soaps and what not and only wash there with water but to no avail.
And it's really not fun having the doctor look at your area with a huge bright light on it so she can see every detail....
when she first saw it she was like "whooooaaa. that must hurt!" and it does!
but now it's better. It really changes. Around the time I'm about to get my period it usually gets really bad...

I'm still trying to find a cure. If anyone has had a similar experience: PM me!!!

Yeah, its bad enough showing a doc your privates once, let alone multiple times.

have you tried using all natural soaps? (which I consider distinct from perfume free soaps though there may be some overlap).
& have you tried different fabrics? I mean, I have always heard that cotton is best but maybe your body doesn't like it? (or you're not wearing cotton, in which case you should?) Also, you don't need to answer this but I'm assuming you are not shaving or doing other things to get rid of the hair? If not, try that?

Insomnia: maybe it's not something in the air, but perhaps it's a food allergy? Lots of people are allergic to dairy and/or wheat and don't realize it? I don't really think that's it, but it's worth a try if nothing else works.

wow you're honest!

I'm not a very allergic person, but it could be worth a try. It can't be dairy, cause I've had periods of not eating dairy with this cough but it could be wheat... It would be just my lucky, my immune system can't be bothered to respond to the hundreds of germs I fall ill with, but decides it would like to react against a harmless food substance.

i've had an ongoing stomach problem for about 6 years. they've checked me for ulcers, colitis, ibs, and all these other wierd things. then i got referred to a dietition, and that didn't help. i've gotten allergy tests and all kinds of shit. they want to put me on antidepressants for it, to see if it helps, but i'm not sure i'm comfortable going on drugs for a mental issue, when it seems to be a physical issue. they say it's caused by "underlying stress", but i'm pretty good at stress managment and such. i think i got a messed up tummy.

what did the dietician suggest?

lol. well. I'm not embarrassed about it. It's not like I have a disease from dirty sex partners or sth. haha. People are always nagging to me about all their diseased and pains and I usually don't tend to share my problems with others (I'm always the listener and the one who solves problems of others) but then I get fed up with their nagging and self-centeredness and I'll start talking about my rash problem. it always shuts them up.

They think it's some form of eczema at this point. For those of you who ever had eczema: imagine it down there! I used to have eczema on my knees and elbows as a child and that was terrible enough. now this...

haha. yea. but it's ok cos I used to get brazilians.. but the first time I went to the doc with my rash thing I also had hemmorhoid kind of thing (not really. just some weird thing in that area as well. hahahahaa.) so the doc had to look at my ass as well and put her finger up there!!
I have the most embarrassing health issues....

Yeah I'd be a bit annoyed if I was put on antidepressants just because doctors didn't know what was wrong. I was told I had "stress" stomach problems, despite the fact i was on a 2 month summer holiday at the time. Turns out I had a bleeding stomach ulcer.

My biggest fear is that they will decide its just uncontrollable asthma (I have the shittest type of asthma called brittle asthma) and they will just give up on it. Which means I'll just have to put up with coughing 50/60 times a day for the rest of time.