The doctor-the Odyssey, the wife begins some 20 years before doctors can finally help. As a 25-Year-old she appears to be in 1994 in a hospital in England, because she sees in both eyes flashes. Weighs at this time the woman is 140 pounds, “Obesity”, make a note of the Doctors. In addition, she smokes.
On examination, the eyes seem to be healthy, as physician to the Dimos report Merinopoulos from the University Hospital in Norfolk, in the “Oxford Medical Case Reports”. A spot moves through your field of vision, this disappears with time. Because the woman suffers from in addition to the vision problems under a possible migraine, transferred the Doctors in the neurology.
About once a month, you have a bad headache, told the 25-Year-old. In the time you react sensitive to light. In General, the complaints disappear within 24 hours. Apart from that, the woman phases in which it looks blurry, as well as loss of sensation in her left lower jaw, left Arm and left leg describes.
The neurologist examining the patient, but can discover nothing Morbid. Briefly, you consider whether or not the woman suffers from Multiple sclerosis, but the diagnosis doesn’t fit right. You discard you again. Instead, you diagnose a complex Form of migraine, and dismissed your patient’s home.
Four years after the beginning of The nervous spider
Four years later, the woman seeks for the second Time, the help in neurology. On both sides of your body it tingles at times, accompanied by the feeling of losing Balance. Add to this the again vision problems. Again, the neurologist Tests start, again without result. And again a lapse of four years, to complaints the next Time you to the hospital drive. This Time begins a year-long, close series of doctor and hospital visit.
Eight years after the beginning: Perhaps it is rheumatism?
Trigger the eyes are, once again, the Interior is lit on both sides. The Doctors take the 33-Year-old blood and send it to the lab, a value stands out: antibodies that indicate an autoimmune disease. A clue, finally. The eye doctors refer the woman to continue the rheumatology.
While many people associate inflammation of rheumatism, especially joint. In fact, the term encompasses a large group of diseases associated with chronic inflammation. Often the immune system structures and attacked in their own body.
As rheumatism can also affect the brain, let the Doctors do the MRI pictures. On the pictures-like Bodies are sick, the penetration in the white brain mass. Can’t explain to the doctor the problems but. Instead, they begin to monitor the body of the woman on a regular basis.
The brain of the woman in 2002, eight years after the start of the complaints
Eight to ten years after the beginning of: time theories
In the following two years, the complaints focus mainly on the eyes, inflammation, pus, and water retention. The Doctors prescribe prednisolone. The active ingredient suppresses the immune system, it will repel used, among other things, to the body after transplants from rejecting the new Organ.
In Parallel with the medical profession about what could explain the problems in debate. Two things they think is likely:
- Inflamed blood vessels or
- a degradation of the myelin sheaths that cover our nerves.
A precise disease but don’t have the medical professionals in the view. Would you like to examine the nervous water of the woman. For that you need to penetrate with a syringe up in the middle of the spine. This is due to the extreme Excess weight of the patient is not possible.
Instead, the woman receives two medium intravenously, used in severe rheumatic diseases and the immune system down rules. But the complaints are getting worse.
Eleven years after the beginning: a Mini-stroke
Eleven years after the beginning of treatment, after sensation disorders, eye problems and migraines, and the symptoms of a Tia, a Mini stroke peaks. This is triggered by blood circulation disorders in the brain, in contrast to the right stroke, the complaints disappear within 24 hours.
The brain of the woman in 2005, eleven years after the start of the complaints
Again, the Doctors push your patient into a MRI tube. The changes in the brain are grown, affect gray matter and brain stem. The physicians diagnose vessels a “Small Vessel Disease”, a disease of the smallest blood. The woman should take beta-blockers, Aspirin and statins, but your medical file is filled more. Several times there is no retinal bleeding and inflammation Inside the eyes.
16 years after the beginning of: Three Suspects
A further MRI image caused Physicians to reconsider the diagnosis once again. The brain looks worrying, the tissue shrinks, in the case of a woman in early 40. The Doctors, a Team of rheumatologists, neurologists and eye specialists, the medical record, research study.
At the end of three diagnoses remain: A hereditary disease which leads in the middle adult age to circulatory disorders of the brain, a Gene-analysis, but not confirmed. An extremely rare, inflammatory disease of the smallest blood vessels, which affects the inner ear. Everything there is in the case of the woman healthy. And Behcet’s disease.
In the rare, rheumatic disease, the immune system tiny blood attacked vessels in the mucous membranes, eyes and skin. Initially, it often comes to canker sores; small, painful Spots in the mouth and on the genitals. Also typical is the inflammation of the eyes, with a severe course of the disease, the Affected, blindness can. Some patients are also suffering from disorders of the nervous system, in others the stomach is affected-intestinal tract. So far, it is unclear how the disease arises.
When the Doctors ask their patient, the woman tells in fact of little sores in the mouth and in the genital area, under which she suffered as a Teenager. Because they did not consider the issues important, she had reported to the Doctors, never. With the other complaints of the skin, however, is a coherent image, the diagnostic criteria votes. Thus, the Suffering of the woman finally gets a name. Behcet’s Disease.
19 years after the first complaints: Finally, help
The diagnosis enables the physician to treat their patient in 2013 for the first Time in a targeted manner. You prescribe your Infliximab, a monoclonal antibody that binds to a specific signalling substance of the immune system. In addition, you will receive a second agent that suppresses the immune system. This Time, the treatment brings about the desired success.
In the following years, the woman has inflammation, no other eyes the state of your brain stabilizes. At your last doctor’s visit, she also reported to work they started again full-time.
