I used to think I was good at tests ;-)

I went in today for some blood tests again. In conversations with people I've been calling this "Round 2," though in reality this is the 11th series of blood tests I have taken since all this started. I call it Round 2 because this is the beginning of the second phase of investigation since switching to my new doctor, whose strategy is one I can really appreciate--make a list of possible causes, order them from most to least likely, then start at the top and work our way down until we are confident we have the answer.

Round 1 entailed some of the most interesting theories yet and, amazingly enough, succeeded in giving us two more things to add to my current list of ailments. We tested my histamine, copper, and methelation levels (if you don't know what those are, don't feel bad. I still barely understand them!)--all of which are generally affected by genetics as well as external circumstances. It turns out I have two genetic disfunctions: high histamine and over-methelation. Oddly, over-methelation is almost always coupled with low histamine instead of high; I guess even in the category of rare genetic diseases I am still determined to be anomalous. According to my doctor, these two issues could, if coupled with some certain other factors such as habits, allergies, etc., might be able to account for most, if not all, of my symptoms. However, as encouraging as it is to have something definitive to say, the truth is my experiences are much better explained by another theory, which may be there in addition. Enter Round 2.

This time around we are testing for the presence of a "biotoxin"--anything in my body from a latent virus to a fungal infection to a parasite that could be preventing me from healing the way I should be after the 4 years of treatments I've done. Given the fact that my troubles all seemed to start with the mysterious "mono-like virus" in Jan 07, it seems highly probable that this virus (possibly in combination with other things as well) is at the heart of it. This series of tests may be the most rigorous and involved series yet. Today I got tested for several "markers" that should indicate whether my body is combating any type of biotoxin and confirm if there is, in fact, something there. If that comes back positive, we will embark on narrowing down what type of biotoxin it is so we can begin treating it. I should get the results back from today's tests in about two weeks, so here goes the fun sitting and waiting part. ha. It does feel odd to be hoping to find out I have some latent infection that won't go away, but as I'm sure many of you can understand sometimes it's just better to have a clear answer, and one that makes sense. Here's hoping!