MORE TESTS

I feel for you, I've been dealing with the same thing, test after test and nothing.  The nurse will say it so cheerfully too, you're NORMAL like yay, isn't that good?  And all you want to do is scream because every day you are constantly dealing with your problems and you know that you are far from normal.

Another problem I have, is I try to hide the fact that I'm having tests because people then expect well, if it said nothing, then wow you are fine and you must be better then. 

((((hugs)))

When asked how your test went, I would say, "Well that test showed up clear for cancer (or whatever), but they're going to have to do some more to figure out where my pain is coming from." You should always emphasize that they just haven't been able to find the source of your problem, like you have some strange, unknown disease. Because really, you have. They don't know why the intestines refuse to function properly in some people. That doesn't mean that the problem doesn't exist, it's just they haven't found the source of the problem nor the cure. Too many people in this day and age think that medicine knows everything and can fix everything, but science is still trying to figure out how the body works. Take the brain, for instance--we know almost nothing about how it works and can do very little to fix it. You can always tell the uneducated that they think there's a problem in your brain with sending signals to your intestines to function and they don't know how to make it send the right signals and make the intestines quit signaling the brain that they are in pain and distress. And you know, that's probably pretty accurate. And most people accept that science doens't know much about brain function yet.

Maybe we should adopt a colored ribbon and try to raise awareness for this debilitating disease that has no cure. I don't think brown has been adopted yet and it seems appropriate!

Ryleigh, have you taken your husband with you to your tests and doctor's appointments? Sometimes outsiders have to hear it straight from a medical professional that yes, there is indeed something wrong with you, even if they don't know what. You can also ask your doctor to have a sit-down meeting with the two of you for him to explain directly to your husband that no, you're not a hypochondriac--that you have something wrong with you--but it's medicine's fault that they can't fix you, not yours. And then outline a program for organizing your life--children, chores, job--around your pain and making sure your husband understands the responsibilities he has to take on because you can't. I mean, if you had cancer, he wouldn't be whining that you were hiding behind your pain/cancer, would he? Maybe you need to remind him that just because you aren't dying doesn't mean that you aren't seriously sick.