DISCOVERY HEALTH CHANNEL PRESENTS: MYSTERY DIAGNOS

[ar1281a]

""Mystery Diagnosis" focuses on people who have been living for years with an illness or condition that has been either undiagnosed or diagnosed incorrectly. Living in a constant state of pain, discomfort or fear most times there sanity was questioned by doctors and loved ones. Then one day they met a doctor who had the "ah-ha!" moment and correctly diagnosed the patient. We're not looking to bash the medical community in any way, we're not looking to hold a forum for patients with grudges against their initial doctor, rather we want to focus on a disease that was so tricky that it stumped the medical community."

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"Every year, millions of Americans fall prey to real-life medical mysteries -- ailments that go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years. Their lives are thrown into turmoil -- sometimes their sanity is called into question -- as medical professionals struggle to understand their baffling conditions.

DISCOVERY HEALTH CHANNEL PRESENTS: MYSTERY DIAGNOSIS

MYSTERY DIAGNOSIS tells their stories. In each episode, we are confronted with three very different medical mysteries. The stories are told in intimate interviews with the patients themselves, their families, friends, and doctors.

In episode one:

? An infant born with a rare disorder that no one could understand. Every few months, she would gain more than 10 pounds in a few days and experience excessive hair growth, acne break outs and severe pain throughout her body. A few weeks later she would be completely back to normal. Her mother knew something was wrong, but the experts thought she was the one who was sick. After being misdiagnosed and stumping doctors all over the Pacific Northwest, the family finally received the answers they were looking for, and Samantha got treated.

? For this active college student, the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis was devastating. It would mean a life full of debilitating pain. And the medications he was taking didn't seem to be working on his arthritis, but the side effects were wreaking havoc on his body. One final, excruciating flare-up sent him into emergency surgery and his long time girlfriend to the internet to do some research of her own. They confronted the doctors with her findings and discovered that his future was brighter than he had ever imagined.

? A forty-one year old nurse, had three episodes of internal bleeding before anyone would take her seriously. Even her husband and mother thought she was crazy. Not one of the long list of physicians she visited could find anything that would explain her seemingly unrelated symptoms. With persistence and courage, she followed her instincts until she found an answer to the question she had been asking for years: ?What?s wrong with me?? - and she was able to find the experts who could help her.

In each personal story, the patients, doctors and everyone else involved discover the importance of being vigilant. They learn that medicine is more of an art than a science, and that the journey to diagnosis can be a twisted path full of many surprises.

Criteria for possible inclusion, and contact information:

Did you spend years searching for a diagnosis before finding one? Did you see doctor after doctor, desperately looking for an answer to the question "what is wrong with me?" If so, your story may be of interest for the new DISCOVERY HEALTH CHANNEL series ?Mystery Diagnosis.? You must:

? have spent months or years searching for a correct diagnosis

? seen multiple doctors, gotten multiple diagnoses

? have ultimately reached a diagnosis that both you and your physician are satisfied with

The eventual diagnosis doesn't have to be rare or complicated, but the ?journey? to solving the mystery should be tricky.

[Dizzy Dame]

Good stuff. I think all of us who are interested/able should apply to the show, that way the producers may pick one of us

I can't apply since even though I have my diagnosis, I'm actually sicker than when I started presenting sympotms. My story probably isn't "uplifting" enough to get on the show, but I'm sure someone here has a "tv friendly" story.

[taylortotmom]

Just caught the show Mystery Diagnosis by chance. The second case featured a lady who began blacking out inexplicably in her late teens. Her sxs included all over excruciating body pain, fainting, shortness of breath. Her sxs waxed and waned and she felt her best during her two pregnancies. She was dismissed by the medical community and her once supportive husband began disassociating from the constant illness. Their thirteen year marriage ended up dissolving. She was told it was stress, or it was attributed to insignificant things like not eating well that particular day. Finally after over twenty years of not knowing what was wrong she got her diagnosis. Want to guess? Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome- what a shocker. I knew where this was going the first time I heard about the fainting. Fortunately, my husband watched this with me and I think he could see himself in her husband somewhat (prior to my diagnosis). I felt myself chocking up before the program ended because her story while "rare and mysterious" to the general public is all too familiar to us.

Carmen

[DancingLight]

Wow! Carmen....you are so right about what you said...rare, but all too familiar to us!

I'm like Lauren...I have the best medical care I've had since I got sick 7 years ago and greta docs, but I keep getting sicker! So, they might not want my story!

The show sounds neat, but we don't get that channel... We have basic cable, and let me tell you is it BASIC! My mom and I don't watch much TV, so we can't decide whether to splurge for more channels or not!

Emily

[Sophia3]

I am not familiar with this show but another one on a cable channel. I have a feeling somebody is about to get some exposure on that network. But until I know for sure and the show has the film in the can, I ain't talking. Too much can happen to change the status with a producer to air or not air a show that's on the shelf ready to go.

If ONLY some celebrity on TV would FAINT during a live awards show !!! And I still remember when President Bush "choked and fainted" while eating a pretzel. Only one article question what that real story was about...but if you remember, Bush senior once vomited and then fainted on the lap of an Asian dignitary at a dinner. Though these incidents MAY BE EMBARRASSING, they both were examples of at least temp ANS problems.

My sleep doc had a few shows interview him for odd illnesses (sleep terrors, narcolepsy, etc). Some shows were positive and some were controversial. While ANY exposure is better than none, getting across the seriousness of the illness is CRUCIAL as the fact that many pts are walking around not being dx or written off as anxiety ridden females.

He had a WONDERFUL, positive story on Narcolepsy, but by the time CBS spliced his story with others, it was VERY disappointiing.

Remember when MS was called hysterical paralysis? Most victims were female. But we now know that is a serious illness.

I am glad to see MVP Syndrome get some airtime as I know somebody who tried to get some tv to sponsor a show on that illness since many are familiar with MVP itself. I wish I knew that person by their real name instead of a board name even though I have not visited that board for years.

Many a marriage has broken up over invisible chronic illnesses and I left my own years ago because of this. Back then my dx was CFS and EVERYBODY claims to be tired. But how many can ever pronounce Dysautonomia? A six syllable word! LOL

[dizzygirl]

HMMMM.. Iactually seen that show on discovery.. though I cant remember what was wrong with the baby though... but I remeber that the women .. and the man...

I had never even heard of the word dysautonomia before I seen DR. Grubb in 2003... though I found out 5- months prior that i had something called POTS.. but had never heard of that either!! and even though i got the dx.. nobody explained it to me.. just handed me pills.. needless to say I have gotten much sicker since 2003..

I really hope that in time DYsautonomia gets the attention that it needs.. (hopefully sooner the later..).. and I think that once dysautonomis becomes a more know condition.. that we will start to see that alot more people have it..

just my 2 cents worth..