Doctor's appt on Monday

I have an appt with a holistic family doctor (an MD) on Monday. She used to be a conventional doctor and even an ER doctor and then got into holistic medicine. I am hoping she can help me solve the MCS mystery or help with some of my other symptoms.

I spent way way too long tonight trying to edit and redo my symptom list that I had used for the last dr's appt I had, which was with a conventional dr in June. There wasn't anything to change, really, just a couple new things to add, but I got all obsessive about the way things were worded and tried to make it perfect and also started "daydreaming" (wrong word, daydreaming implies something pleasant) about things it brought up, plus had to send to a friend to convert to a Word document, so yeah it took a long time. About 90 minutes. When all I really did was add two paragraphs, lol. I hope it helps, whatever.

I will put the first section on here but leaving off all the others. See, I do have an ability to write about things in a non emotional way. I just don't use it often :) Ha, ha. I was trying to be all clinical and third person.

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When patient walks into most buildings, especially those with carpet, wood floors with certain kinds of finishes, new paint, new carpet, any recent construction with chemicals used in the process, or harsh cleaning chemicals recently used, patient experiences the following symptoms:

A feeling of blacking out; eyes stinging; nose stinging; whole body stinging; loss of consciousness of all else; nothing but awareness of whole body pain and loss of any neurological or cognitive function. This happens in highly varying degrees depending on the substance exposed to; some can tolerate for a few minutes and are OK with fresh air after, others (majority) cannot tolerate at all. Symptoms start within seconds of exposure.

The following also cause these symptoms to a lesser, but still very impairing, degree: perfumes, colognes, most scented personal care products including and especially antibacterial soap, and most other things with a chemical and/or scented base to them. Immediate effects are stinging eyes, nose, head, emotional irritability, and loss of ability to focus or think.

Long term, lasting, secondary effects that last once patient has been removed from offending substances: Shortness of breath, chest tightness, head pressure, fatigue, varying amounts of brain fog.

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Whee! Ain't that a barrel of laughs? I might take it off later if it gets too depressing to look at. The history is even more fun, not. Apparently I forgot to put New Hampshire on it . I was only there a week, but it still counts. I must have been brain dead when I made it...haha.

Okay, what the hell, I'll put the history too. This is comedy night at Chocolate, Music and Hope! Just a barrel of laughs. I should really stop thinking about this and go to bed. time to sleep. I really need to not think about this too much. See, that's the dang problem with seeking medical treatment, you need to think about your problems! Sounds funny, but I'm serious. Thinking is highly detrimenal to your health. I seriously might remove this because every time I look at it I get depressed and start thinking about everything that has happened. So read it while you can!


February 2006: first occurred in patient's final year of college. Subject had to leave college by April because of them.

April 2006-2007 was relatively stable as far as these symptoms were concerned. No significant problems. Patient lived in relatively scent free home at her father's and subsequently with a friend for a few months.

April 2007: Attempted to move into apartment of own. The attempt failed due to reaction to glue used to glue down a new laminate floor in the apartment.

June-July 2007: Tried another apartment (in Portland, Maine). A sweet, chlorinated smell was present; was significantly cognitively impaired while in apartment; had trouble thinking, focusing, holding a pen to write, talking on phone, doing anything much but sleeping. Spent most time outside and was fine there. Left and returned to parents' home in August.

September 2007: Moved to various relatives to avoid parents' painting house. Last one had new carpet. Significant brain fog and cog. impairment.

October 2007: Found third apartment in Portland. Whereas before my problems in apartments had been limited to cognitive impairment and usually cleared out as soon as exposed to fresh air, woke up after the first night in this apartment, which I knew I reacted to when I visited but thought would be tolerable, with a brain fog that did not go away all day outside or any other day. Felt dizzy, out of it, a million miles away. After a week, developed a chest tightness and/or shortness of breath that reminded me of, but apparently wasn't, experience of lung collapse at age 13. Never went away. Left after three weeks.

End of October and beginning of November 2007:
Began to notice trouble going into stores, which I hadn't had a problem with before then. Borders, where I had spent almost every night for three months for pleasure, became intolerable. Starbucks started bothering me. Going to a grocery store made me feel like I couldn't breathe for days after. One by one, in the three weeks, I lived in this apartment, I completely lost the ability to go into just about any store or building, which has only increased in the subsequent months.
Starting experiencing problems noted above just about anywhere I went, with few exceptions.
Note that my favorite thing in the world to do is to go into shops and especially experience the (to me) freedom of grocery shopping, so an explanation of sudden onset anxiety is unlikely, especially when compared with the timing of moving into third apartment which impaired me in a number of other ways.

November-December 2007: Visit to mom in Montana. Symptoms stayed more or less same; maybe worsening slightly.

January-March 2008: Back to Dad's in Maine. Sensitivity and reactivity increased after use of pet shampoo containing form of pesticide in the house. Among other things, sensitivity to wood smoke developed, seemingly out of nowhere.

April 2008: Tried to live in Vermont. Symptoms same.

May 2008: Returned to Montana. Some (one significant) new sensitivites developed in course of last two months; but mostly same.

November 2008: Moved sight unseen to Liberty, New York to live in an apt built for MCS people. Glad to have a place to live but tired of moving. Symptoms the same.

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Kate is going to bed.