My Diagnosis Story

Sari Mitchell: My Diagnosis Story
HEALTHJOURNEYS
Sari Mitchell Fibromyalgia

Hi everybody, My name is Sari and I am a 53 year old, disabled woman, who has been fighting the biggest war ever, just trying to have some quality of life. NOTHING will ever be the same for me however, in all that I have been through, and that is a lot, I have never given up. I might lose it and go totally insane for a...

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What symptoms led up to your diagnosis?

It took almost 8 grueling years of being in pain all the time, for doctors to figure out that I had Fibromyalgia. I first started having back pain in 1999. I went to many doctors and each one had a different theory on what was wrong with me but could never really make a clear diagnosis because, every single one of the MRI's, x-rays, tests and so on, showed nothing wrong with me. I then began having stomach pain and again, I had every test imaginable and still, nothing showed to be wrong with me. It seems like my pain took on a mind of it's own and began appearing all over my body. I started to notice that the pain was located in very specific places like the neck, both front and back, the stomach, the wrists and elbows, the back of course, the knees and my ankles. I pretty much could name all the places that later became the 18 points of referral to suggest Fibromyalgia. I basically told the doctors what I had, I just didn't know that there was a name for it. What was even more frustrating was that even most of the doctors I saw, either didn't know what it was, or didn't believe in it. When I first started showing signs of it, they started naming it the Whining woman's syndrome and stating is was fake. What really pissed me off the most was that some doctors told me it was psychological, and that I need to go see a good shrink. I was dealing with this illness and all the horrible pain that accompanies it and I was dealing with the doctors who were not only putting me down, but were causing me to get sicker because of the stress they caused me. I now believe more than ever, that my Fibro, started as a result of severe stress and trauma that I had while in an abusive marriage. So now, was the part that was incredibally hard for me, along with everyone else I'm sure and that was pain medication. This is what took me over the edge emotionally, physically and psychologically and that was because I hurt so bad that I was about to do anything it took, to get medication for the pain. I was denied pain medication by one doctor and I went to see another to get help with the pain and now, I was labelled a shopper because I went to many pain doctors. I was told I was a drug addict because of how desperate I was for medication however, it was a very, very need to help with this horrible pain and not a way to get drugs to get high. I went through a few years of going in and out of the emergency room and praying that the ER doctor would give me a prescription for pain medication to at least carry me for a few more days until I could land an actual pain doctor that believed me. This was so bad and probably, the worst pain a person could ever have to deal with before passing out from the pain. I spent a few years in bed crying, and praying to get help. I must be real honest right now so you will understand how desperate I was, and tell you that my need for medication, for the right reason, pain, even landed me in jail for I was in such a desperate state of being that I did something imaginable , to get help for the pain. What I did was, my dad had died which caused me to have a very bad meltdown. We were as close as 2 people could ever be and I ended up in the Psych ward at the local hospital. While there, they stopped all my medication and the psychiatrist on staff, gave me what he thought I should have and that meant NO PAIN MEDICATION. He said I was an addict and now would be as good time as ever for me to "Get clean" as he put it because of course, no real illness was ever given for my need for the pain medications. I must also tell you that I voluntarily went into the Psych ward and was promised that all my medication, including my pain, would be given. So now, when they did not give me my pain medication, or anything else, I began to withdraw in bad way and the pain was deadly to me but, when you put yourself into a Psych ward, even if it's voluntarily, you can not leave for 72 hours mandatory. I freaked out and wanted out to go home and get my meds but they wouldn't let me. I began to get really sick and on the day they let me out, I went to the Pharmacy to get the medication that I usually take and they declined my pain meds so I did a horrible thing and I said that I was there to pick up my dad's pain meds. Well, I didn't know that when you pass away, your info is given to the medical data base at Walgreens or CVS or any pharmacy you use. I was told my dad's medication was being filled and I couldn't even breathe while waiting for some relief to come however, they were just stalling me until the police showed up to arrest me. Now I was really screwed because I sat in a dirty, horrible, jail cell with prostitutes and criminals and that was the last place I should ever have been. I was a very successful entertainer for children, a recording artist that worked with Disney and Sesame street and more, and this is what my life had turned into. A 3 time felon for they arrested me for fraud, theft of my dad's medication and possession because they gave me the prescription and I was holding my dads pain meds when I left the store, so that they said was possession as well. This destroyed me in every way imaginable. I was turned into a horrible criminal and all because I had an illness that was very painful, yet nobody could prove that I really needed pain medication. I was told I was a liar and a no good thief and I was pushed to the lowest place you could ever get to before committing suicide, and that was a thought of mine many times. So now, after all this, I finally met a doctor that told me there was a name for what I had and that it was real. It's then, that I started to pick myself up however, now, I became very ill both physically and mentally too. I was broken and I wasn't sure if I could be fixed. That is what happened to me to lead up to my diagnosis.

What tests did your doctor do, and what was this experience like?

Every test imaginable from MRI'S to cat scans, X-rays, bone density, and many more. I basically went to every doctor related to each part of my body that hurt, so I was seeing up to 10 doctors every few weeks and it was burning me out and worse than that, I wasn't getting any help at all for the pain or even getting a firm diagnosis of anything. I then started having severe bowel problems and stomach pain, I couldn't eat anything without blowing up and that turned out to be Irritable bowel syndrome which some doctors, didn't believe in,  or know it existed. Again I battled an imaginary illness and I was worn out. It was the worst experience a person could ever imagine. I am so very proud of myself though because I never gave up. I did in fact lose everything from my job to my friends and family members too who thought that I was faking all this so I wouldn't have to work and collect disability. I swear that was the last thing I ever wanted for I loved my life and work. I also began having all these weird problem which at the time, I didn't know was all part of Fibro.

Upon learning about your diagnosis- what happened next?

When I finally was told that there was a name for what I had and it was real, I was so screwed up that I didn't care about anything anymore. I was given the name of what a few doctors swore I had and yet other doctors didn't even believe in it. I knew that the ONLY thing that was holding me back from living some kind of a quality life and that was the pain. This had to be dealt with in order for me to even try to get better. My bones were brittle, I was worn out , beat up snd let down so many times by doctors, that I can't even count. The one thing that I knew I needed to get help for before I could do anything and that was pain management. I had to get that under control or I was useless. So off I went to start seeing pain specialists. I met so many that thought I was a drug addict because I didn't have proof of any real illness or condition that would cause pain. I STARTED TO WISH THAT I HAD SOMETHING, any kind of sickness that was real, SO THEY COULD AT LEAST FIX IT. It's pretty bad when you wish you were sick or had a illness, just to get help. This went on for a few years the searching for the right Doctor, who would get my pain under control. I remember going to a university here in Miami, Florida and being told that I was a morbidly obese drug addict and he recommends that I be put in an in patient drug program. He was one of those doctors that said that fibro doesn't exist and it was all made up in my head. I was so lucky that he let me leave that day without having me court ordered to a drug program. WHY I asked myself, why couldn't I get help. So after seeing probably 12 different pain doctors, I met one that helped me to live again. My quality of life was basically destroyed now but, at least my pain was somewhat managed. I also began trying to educate myself about Fibro but the problem with that was everybody had totally different opinions. Through the years, I have been getting sick with many different illnesses and syndromes and I am only now finding out that they ALL are a part of what they call F-I-B-R-O-M-Y-A-L-G-I-A. Good luck everybody and G-D Bless. xo