WEBVTT - Case #12: Chris 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:08.280 I drove myself to the emergency room in a sheer 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:11.200 panic because I was worried if I called the ambulance, 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:13.360 you know, they wouldn't get there in time. 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:16.560 He was having chest pains, he fell out of breath, 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:19.160 he was feeling shaky, and that was the first time 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:21.960 I really remember that he couldn't do something that we 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:23.239 used to love doing together. 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:27.720 So there is no medication. Some people can have pretty 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:33.240 mild symptoms and other folks can, you know, unfortunately die. 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:39.120 Frankly, that was incredibly depressing. I'm dying here. Let's figure 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:42.720 something else out, Let's try something else, because I have 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:43.640 no life here. 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.920 How terrifying would it be to fight an unknown enemy, 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:56.280 one you didn't recognize and didn't see coming. What if 0:00:56.320 --> 0:01:00.400 that enemy was coming from within a disease but even 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:06.160 doctors couldn't identify. Nearly half of all Americans suffer from 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:10.920 some chronic illness, and many struggle for an accurate diagnosis. 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:18.679 These are their stories A Lauren Brave Pacheco, and this 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:36.160 is symptomatic. Whether he's kayaking, backpacking, hiking, or just working 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:39.240 out in the garden. Chris Rose feels most at home 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:42.160 while outdoors, where he can breathe fresh air and take 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.600 in the scenery around him. He's also developed a passion 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:48.000 for capturing his adventures with a camera. 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:52.880 I dabble in photography as a hobby, so I've got 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:56.600 a room full of cameras and dark room chemicals and equipment, 0:01:56.800 --> 0:02:01.560 and that's kind of my go to when basically I'm 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:02.120 not working. 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:05.000 So who are your favorite or what are your favorite 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:06.600 subjects to photograph? 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:09.480 I would probably say landscapes. You know, I'm a big 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.520 fan of ann'sle Adams and that kind of photography. 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:17.080 I love black and white photography. So you're also a 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:18.239 big outdoors fan. 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.600 Yes, yes, I do spend a lot of time outdoors. 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:25.519 I also was a backpacker for a while. I kind 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:28.520 of got started in all of that when I was younger. 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:30.880 I got sent off to an outward bound camp for 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.160 a couple of weeks and it's kind of been a 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:34.440 thing of mine ever since. 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:41.160 How would you describe Chris to somebody? Chris is incredibly intelligent. 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:46.320 He knows more about more different topics than anyone I know, 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:49.960 and he is always willing to help people out. It 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.880 can be someone he's met once before, if they need something, 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:55.800 he will jump in and so he's an extremely generous 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:56.520 giving person. 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:00.639 That was Chris's wife, Kim Mentoric. They've been married for 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.960 almost fifteen years and share a blended family of five children. 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:07.040 Chris's battle with a bizarre set of symptoms, it would 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:10.560 eventually go on to rob him of his once active lifestyle, 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:14.960 Kim would remain his rock through it all. So what 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:18.840 is it about Kim that attracted you to her? And 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:21.079 why do you guys make such a good team. 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:28.080 Well, obviously she's beautiful, but she also, I feel like, 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:31.560 compliments me in that she has some strengths that happen 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:35.840 to be weaknesses for me. Right, she is definitely the 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:40.200 most organized person I've ever met in my life. She's 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:44.240 really good with speaking and presentations and basically being able 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.600 to take things distill it down to the pure essence. 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:47.960 Right. 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:51.080 She just really has a gift for that kind of thing. 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.920 This is both Chris and Kim's second marriage. Back in 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:59.800 the mid two thousands, Chris had gone through a very 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:02.920 difficult divorce, which brought a lot of anxiety and depression 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:06.040 with it. Again, he turned to his love of nature 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:09.280 as a way to escape, both mentally and physically. But 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.320 little did he know there was no amount of hiking 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.480 or gardening that could stop a mystery illness from changing 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:23.120 his life forever. How long ago do you first remember 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:26.400 experiencing unexplainable symptoms? 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:30.960 Around two thousand and seven, early in the year I'd 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.360 made the decision that I was going to move back 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:37.800 to North Carolina. This was after I got divorced, and 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:42.039 I had this kind of weird thing happen right before 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:47.080 I move where I had this sudden bout of massive 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:50.160 chest pain and went to the emergency room at the 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:51.880 hospital I actually worked at. 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:54.880 Oh my gosh, well take me to that moment. What 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:58.599 were you doing, What did it feel like? Did you 0:04:58.800 --> 0:04:59.720 drive yourself? 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.600 Yes? I did. I drove myself to the emergency room 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:07.400 in a sheer panic because I was worried if I 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:10.479 called the ambulance, you know, they wouldn't get there in time. 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:16.279 I had never felt anything like that before. Just intense 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:19.640 chest pain, you know they talk about like the elephant 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:24.119 on your chest and just pain radiating from everywhere. That's 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:26.359 essentially what it felt like. 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:28.159 So you thought you were having a heart attack? 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.520 I did. I actually thought I was dying that day. 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:34.159 I really did, and you know, had them bring my 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.360 kids in everything because I thought I was a goner, right, 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:40.880 and they run a bunch of blood tests, they do 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:42.880 the EKGs and stuff. 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:47.359 Seemingly out of nowhere. Chris was faced with what felt 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:51.440 like a life or death situation. Anxiously awaiting his test results, 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:55.360 Chris was tormented by his thoughts and terrified of what 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.479 would happen next. He relied on his doctors for a 0:05:58.520 --> 0:05:59.400 sense of solace. 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:01.839 They came back and they were like, well, your troponin 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:04.880 tests are negative. We don't think you're having a heart attack. 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:08.599 So basically they just kept me there for a long 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.880 time and watched me, and then they sent me. 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:13.520 Home, shrugging their shoulders. 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:17.680 Shrugging their shoulders. They had no idea, but they did 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.520 say it seems like the way you describe your pain, 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.320 it may be coming from your stomach area. And they're like, 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:28.480 have you been checked for acid reflux? And I was like, no, 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:31.760 not really, but I do remember having a lot of 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:34.880 heartburn prior to this, So they're like, here, try this 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:38.120 broad spectrum antibiotic for my digestive symptoms. 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:42.880 Provided some temporary relief. Chris focused on his cross country 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:46.120 move and found ways to live with the bizarre pains 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:47.000 in his abdomen. 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:49.680 If I had pain, I was basically just kind of 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:52.520 lay down, ignore it takes some thumbs or whatever, and 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:53.920 it'll eventually it'll go away. 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:54.720 You know. 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:57.120 Ultimately you fall asleep and you know, the next morning 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.599 and you're feeling our right again. So you're like, Okay, 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:01.679 well maybe this is just all in my head. 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:01.919 You know. 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:06.120 Well, I mean, look, you can laugh about it now, 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:09.560 but that must have been the antithesis of funny at 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:09.960 the time. 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:14.480 Oh yeah, yeah. I had some people making some jokes 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:17.080 about it, but I didn't think it was particularly funny. 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:19.120 You know, it scared the Jesus out of me. 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:25.680 Did they think that there was some kind of an 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:28.960 anxiety or stress component, Yes. 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:33.200 They did. Indeed, I had another couple of these episodes 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:35.440 not long after moving, where I wound up in the 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:38.760 emergency room and they did tell me, yeah, you probably 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:42.320 have some kind of anxiety disorder. So they were like, yeah, 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.040 maybe we ought to look at you know, giving you 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:47.200 some PRN anxiety medication for this. So they did. They 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:50.320 gave me a prescription for whenever I needed it, and 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:53.360 you know, of course I still kept having these episodes, 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.160 and I was like, all right, well, I guess it's anxiety, 0:07:56.240 --> 0:07:56.440 you know. 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:02.000 Chris downplayed the multiple trips the emergency room and how 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:06.240 scary they really were. He consistently felt excruciating pain in 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:09.560 his stomach and chest, to the point where relief only 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:17.240 came from lying down in isolation. So can you describe 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.520 how the episodes morphed at this point and what did 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:22.400 they feel like in your body and in your mind. 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:26.120 I would get the same thing. I'd be sitting there 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:29.400 in the evenings, you know, and getting ready to go 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:31.400 to bed, and I was all of a sudden sharp 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:35.440 pains and chest pains and stuff, and I would be like, Okay, 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:38.000 I must be having an anxiety attack again, you know. 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:41.719 So I take the tombs for the stomach. Then I 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:45.960 would take medication to treat the panic attacks. Basically that 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:48.520 always knocked me out right, So at that point I'd 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:50.839 just fall asleep. I'd wake up the next morning and 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:54.520 be like, okay, you know. And it was about this 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:58.840 time I started really getting the real GI symptoms in 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:01.920 the sense that I was having to go to the 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:06.160 bathroom during the day, constantly having a real upset stomach, 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:10.760 loose stools, that kind of thing. And I just chopped 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:11.920 it up to the anxiety. 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:17.520 It's been two years since that first trip to the er. 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:21.400 By this point, Chris and Kim are newlyweds and start 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:25.800 to face this mysterious illness together. But even with Kim's support, 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:30.360 Chris begins to struggle with day to day life. So 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:36.080 you had bowel urgency, Oh yeah, yeah, and that has 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:43.240 such a detrimental, debilitating impact on your life and your mind. 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:46.400 I mean, how severe was it And did you find 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:49.280 yourself altering your schedule to accommodate. 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:52.800 Yes, And it was one of those things as time 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:56.360 went on, obviously we moved into the new house. It 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:58.480 wasn't long after we moved in I had some more 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:02.160 of these emergency room episodes, and then the bowel park 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:06.120 got a lot worse. It was getting to the point 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.280 where I have to travel quite a bit for work, 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:11.960 and I have to get in the car sometimes and 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:15.000 drive out to these places and you know, rural areas 0:10:15.160 --> 0:10:18.880 and visit with clients, and not being able to get 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:24.000 to a bathroom in time became a real ordeal, you know. 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:28.320 And I remember very distinctly the time where I felt 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:31.080 like I was just at the end of my rope. 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.920 I was running down Interstate forty going to a client 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.520 down towards Wilmington, you know, and there's a long stretch 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.520 there where there's just nothing, and then all of a sudden, 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:44.760 out of nowhere, I had to go and I literally 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.560 had to peel tracks off the side of the highway, 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:51.320 jump a fence, go hide under some trees, you know, 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:54.560 And I wound up having to leave my underpants in 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:57.199 the woods there, and then I had to go hit 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:00.800 a clothing store and buy a new path underwear and 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:02.960 get cleaned up, you know, so that I could go 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.960 see my client. I mean. And it's crazy to have 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:09.480 to live like that, right, It's it's terrifying, you. 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:14.319 Know, terrifying, it's stressful, it's depressing. And then there is 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:18.200 this element of shame because you don't want to admit 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:22.520 to people that you have this weakness that we don't 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:26.520 talk about often, the reality for some people that when 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:28.400 they say they need to go to the bathroom, it's 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:33.320 almost too late. Yes, and that impact on your daily 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:39.480 life must have been so stressful, so overwhelming. 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:45.160 Yes, it was. It was debilitating, and at this point 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:49.520 I wasn't going places with my family out of fear 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:53.720 of either the pain attacks coming back. I'm terrified to 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:57.560 go without carrying panic medicine with me or being able 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:00.480 to get out of a situation. And then I'm also 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:02.080 terrified I'm not going to be able to get to 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.960 a bathroom in time, right, So you know, I would 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:08.079 avoid going to concerts. I would avoid going to the 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:11.439 amusement park with the family or going on long trips. 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:14.440 I mean I basically kind of became a hermit at home. 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:20.600 So it's one of those things where it's hard to 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.160 have a conversation about that. You don't want to tell 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:25.200 your friends, like I can't come out to dinner with 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.760 you because I don't know if the bathroom is available. 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:31.360 Like it creates both a physical distance because you can't 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:33.800 do things you want, and it also creates that psychological 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.440 difference because you're not comfortable talking about what's going on 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:40.600 with your friends because it's embarrassing. And so I think 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.400 we saw a lot of withdraw both him and us 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:45.520 as a couple. We just couldn't do as much as 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:46.679 we wanted to do together. 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:51.000 I kind of remember my mind that sometimes going to 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:53.480 some dark places, you know, where I was. There was 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:55.480 one point in time where I really did in my 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.560 head just thank God. I wish I would just die 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:01.520 and this would just be over right, you know, because 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:03.640 at the time, I just I didn't feel like I 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:04.680 really had a life. 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:09.760 Chris's symptoms kept getting worse. He returned to the er, 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:12.280 where doctors came up with a new theory about what 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:13.400 was causing his condition. 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:16.560 There was a doctor there and he's like, you know, 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.240 I have a hunch, let me check something. And he 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:24.120 wheels this ultrasound machine into the room. Right, they start 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:28.120 ultrasounding my belly, you know, and he's like, aha, I 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:32.480 think you have a gallbladder problem. You have gallstones. And 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:36.800 I was like, huh, okay. I didn't realize that. So 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.199 for a while there, I'd kind of had hope because 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:42.240 I thought, oh wow, maybe we really have found this problem. Now, 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:45.200 you know, I'm at the point now I'll do anything 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.440 to fix this. I basically decided, okay, let's take the 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:52.600 gallbladder out. And they did say I had gallstones and 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:58.520 it was diseased. But fast forward after the removal and 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:00.920 after a time of trying to get things healed up 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:04.480 in everything, I'm right back to having the same problems again. 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.320 Oh gosh, Chris, you must have I mean, at that point, 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.800 you've undergone major surgery and you're in the same boat. 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:16.320 Yes, I had high hopes that it was going to 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:20.240 result in a significant change, and it was really disheartening 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:24.800 six months after the surgery when very little was improved 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.600 in terms of his health, and so I think to me, 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:30.000 it kind of felt like we had a great hope 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:32.200 there that this was the answer, and then it just 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:33.720 turned out not to have been it. 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:39.760 Though Chris had to bear the physical symptoms alone, the 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:43.720 emotional toll of the insidious symptoms was shared with Kim 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:44.960 and their family. 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:50.320 I was frustrated because it felt like every medical professional 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:55.120 that he went to defaulted to the same change your diet, 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:59.040 loose some weight answer. And it became a running joke 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:01.360 with us, right because he kept saying, I know that's 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:05.080 not it. There's something that's really going on, but he 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:08.200 just wasn't getting any answers, and that was frustrating for me. 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.200 I think at one point I even said, let me 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:13.440 come to your doctor's appointment and I'll be the crazy, 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:17.440 nagging wife and I'll annoy them, because we just felt like. 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.560 He wasn't being heard. There was a lot of time 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.680 where I was freaking out, thinking I was dying and 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:27.600 absolutely losing my mind, and she's kind of the calm person, 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.080 you know, standing at the back side of the room, going, 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.280 you know, I think you're okay. I know you feel 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:34.520 like you're dying, You're probably okay. 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:37.600 The biggest thing that I tried to do was just 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:41.600 to validate his experience. I'm not sure how helpful that 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.720 was when he was really suffering and miserable and sick, 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:47.400 but sometimes I would just say, like, I do believe you. 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:49.120 You need to know that somebody believes you. 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.280 Running out of options, the doctors were willing to try 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:56.320 anything to get Chris answers. 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:00.240 They were like, okay, well, let's set you up for 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:04.520 an endoscopy. Went back into the hospital and they're like, oh, 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:08.040 it looks like you have bile reflux. That's why you're 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:11.360 having all these problems. Again, they put me on some 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:16.680 medication for that, and I still wasn't getting any relief. 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:21.760 Feeling increasingly hopeless, Chris worried his ongoing health issues would 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:24.400 eventually drive even Kim away. 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:28.760 Frankly, sometimes I thought maybe she would leave me, because 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.520 I mean, what I was turning into was kind of 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:36.040 this super depressed, paranoid person that was starting to lose 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:38.560 touch with reality a little bit. I was kind of 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:41.560 hopeless at that point, So Chris. 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:44.120 That must have been so overwhelming. 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:47.680 It was very overwhelming. It was very overwhelming. 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:52.280 It had now been ten years of agony and uncertainty 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.600 for Chris. He'd experienced the trauma of being rushed to 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.000 the er with excruciating chest pain, thinking his life would 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:02.000 be cut short by a heart attack. He had seen 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:05.320 countless doctors and specialists since then, but none of them 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:09.320 could diagnose or treat his mysterious illness. Chris would soon 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:13.120 become so desperate that he takes matters into his own hands. 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.600 I was just so frustrated with the whole situation. I'm like, 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:21.080 I'm dying here. Let's figure something else out, Let's try 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.720 something else, because I have no life here. 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:31.119 We'll be right back with Symptomatic, a Medical Mystery Podcast. 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:44.919 Now back to Symptomatic, a Medical Mystery Podcast. Chris Rose 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:47.960 had been battling an unknown illness for over a decade. 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.199 It all began with severe chest and stomach pain that 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:54.200 felt more like a heart attack, and he was terrified 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:59.040 that his days were numbered. However, as the gastrointestinal symptoms progressed. 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:02.359 Over several years, they began to take over his life. 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:05.920 He was mostly confined to his home, unable to enjoy 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:09.560 the people and activities he loved. With no semblance of 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:20.400 hope on the horizon, Chris plunged into a deep depression. Kim, 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:24.200 was there a time that really felt like rock bottom? 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:28.080 Where you were just worried or terrified and what were 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:29.560 your deepest fears? 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:34.159 My biggest fear was that we would just spend the 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:38.919 next ten years finding out that it wasn't anything. That winter, 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:43.120 he went through some really deep depression. Sometimes he would 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:45.879 sit in the living room with all the lights off 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:52.200 and just stare. I remember him saying, like, my life 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:54.480 is over as far as being able to do what 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:57.639 I want to do. Chris loves taking pictures. He's a 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:00.199 big photographer, and he wanted to go out in the 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:01.800 woods and take nature pictures. 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:03.240 And he couldn't. 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:05.560 Get twenty or thirty feet from the car because he 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:07.160 would be afraid that he was going to get sick 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:08.200 and he wouldn't know what to do. 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:13.560 And frankly, that was incredibly depressing, and I remember thinking 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:17.600 we got to do something different. I'm dying here. Let's 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:20.800 figure something else out, Let's try something else. 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:26.359 It was just after that dire winter when Chris would 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.479 pursue a new doctor to look at his diagnostic journey. 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:34.800 Doctor Sarah McGill, a gastro entrology expert, started hunting for 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:38.960 an explanation, bringing fresh eyes and a new perspective to 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:39.880 Chris's struggle. 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:45.960 I had some ideas, but I remember him giving this 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:50.920 story that is so typical, honestly, among people with irritable 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:53.800 Bell syndrome, Like they're having a lot of abdominal pain, 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:58.040 they're having a lot of diarrhea, having to rush to 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:02.159 the bathroom, having to think about where the bathroom is 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:06.520 going to be now, Irritable Bell syndrome, it's a diagnosis 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:10.280 based on symptoms. It's not a diagnosis based on what's 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:12.959 happening in your body. That can be a whole variety 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:13.919 of different things. 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:18.600 When you met her, what were your first impressions? 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.840 She had a very good bedside manner. She was very 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:28.320 empathetic and incredibly intelligent. I thought, hmm, okay, I think 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:30.879 this is someone I can work with. Right. She just 0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:32.359 felt like a person I could trust. 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:36.600 What was her reaction to hearing your symptoms. 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:40.840 I think initially kind of thought it might just be IBS, 0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:45.679 which is something that runs in my family. And I 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:48.840 really didn't want to hear that because I was like, oh, geez, 0:20:48.880 --> 0:20:51.800 I know, there's nothing they can do about that. It 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:53.720 just means you're going to be this way forever. 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:57.359 So the first thing I believe you ordered was a 0:20:57.400 --> 0:20:59.480 colonoscopy with him, right. 0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:02.919 The two illnesses that I was thinking about that you 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:07.320 can find with a colonoscopy, one is Crohn's disease or 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:12.840 ulterrative colitis, and then there's a disease called microscopic colitis, 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:15.960 which causes a lot of diarrhea, but usually it won't 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:19.040 cause abdominal pain. But that also we can diagnose with 0:21:19.119 --> 0:21:22.960 the colonoscopy. 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:25.919 I mean, everything came back fine, you know, and I 0:21:25.920 --> 0:21:28.840 didn't have any of the other symptoms. And then they 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:34.320 also did test for like Celiac's disease and food allergies 0:21:34.400 --> 0:21:36.600 and stuff, but nothing ever came back. 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:40.960 Remaining hopeful and realistic about the continued search for answers, 0:21:41.400 --> 0:21:43.840 Chris was able to reclaim his love for the outdoors 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:47.119 of nature. One day, after a walk, he noticed a 0:21:47.160 --> 0:21:51.000 tick bite on his leg had developed a bullseye rash. 0:21:51.280 --> 0:21:55.200 He was prescribed doxy cyclin, an antibiotic for possible infection. 0:21:55.840 --> 0:21:59.880 To his surprise, it actually seemed to help his stomach issues. 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:06.080 The temporary relief provided by the tick bite medication immediately 0:22:06.200 --> 0:22:09.720 raised a flag for doctor McGill. She suspected something that 0:22:09.800 --> 0:22:13.240 other doctors had failed to consider, that his love of 0:22:13.280 --> 0:22:17.480 the outdoors may have put him directly into harm's way. 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:20.239 And then, just on a whim, she was kind of like, 0:22:20.640 --> 0:22:23.240 you know, it's probably a long shot. Let me, I 0:22:23.320 --> 0:22:28.160 want to test you for something. And I was like, okay, what. 0:22:29.000 --> 0:22:33.840 I had diagnosed some other people with just gi problems 0:22:34.119 --> 0:22:35.160 with tick bites. 0:22:35.600 --> 0:22:37.480 Yeah, and she's like, I'm going to test you for 0:22:37.600 --> 0:22:40.280 this red meat allergy, this. 0:22:40.359 --> 0:22:44.879 Alphic al syndrome. It's a very inexpensive blood test. 0:22:45.720 --> 0:22:48.320 Oh, that weird thing. I was like, yeah, that's whatever. 0:22:49.000 --> 0:22:51.720 I thought. We didn't really have anything to lose by 0:22:51.800 --> 0:22:52.640 checking for it. 0:22:53.240 --> 0:22:55.080 They took my blood and god, I want to say, 0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:57.840 it was like a day later or whatever she calls it, 0:22:57.960 --> 0:23:03.280 She's like, you're positive. I was like, what shock of 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:04.520 your life kind of thing. 0:23:05.600 --> 0:23:08.760 People have these flashbulb moments where you remember exactly where 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:10.320 you were sitting and what you were wearing and what 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:12.639 you were doing. And I was with my daughter. She 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:16.680 was at a college sporting tournament, and I was sitting 0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:19.800 on the bleachers watching her. And he called me and 0:23:19.920 --> 0:23:23.040 told me about the diagnosis. And I said, you're kidding. 0:23:23.720 --> 0:23:27.360 That's impossible, that doesn't even make sense. I've never even 0:23:27.400 --> 0:23:30.680 heard of this thing. That's fake. You're just making this up. 0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:34.280