Undiagnosed

It's been eight months and the doctors still don't know what's wrong with me.

I'm not trying to complain here, but I can't take this much longer. I feel like no one takes me seriously because I'm young and, by all accounts, healthy.

Except I'm not.

I don't have Crohn's, celiac, anemia, diabetes, pancreatitis, IBS, or ulcers. They've checked my gallbladder, pancreas, digestion, blood, stool, urine, and my entire intestinal system. Still nothing.

But I can't leave the house, for fear of being sick somewhere. I can't go to a restaurant because I might get sick before the meal is over. I don't go to the movies because why pay $10 for something I probably won't make it through? I don't see my friends anymore because I just don't have the energy.

Working a normal job exhausts me to the point of laying on the couch every second I am home. This time a year ago, you couldn't keep me home for anything. I always wanted to be out, doing something, going somewhere, seeing someone. Now I spend all day counting down until I can go home and lay down with my heating pad. Even fun events are spent watching the clock, mentally mapping a route to the nearest bathroom, finding the closest receptacle if I have to throw up.

I'm not looking for attention; I would rather feel normal than have attention. I'm not looking for sympathy, because there are plenty of people who have it worse than me. I just want answers. I want to know why I'm 26 and I can't eat or sleep or act like a normal 26 year old. I want my old life back.

There have to be other people like me. Other people who the doctors write off. I wait a month to see a specialist, only to be told they can't find anything and then I wait a month for the next specialist. I just can't be the only one.