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    All My Test Results are Normal: A Smart Guide to Testing for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    All My Test Results are Normal: A Smart Guide to Testing for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    All My Test Results are Normal: A Smart Guide to Testing for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    Ebook62 pages55 minutes

    All My Test Results are Normal: A Smart Guide to Testing for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

    By Dr. Courtney Craig

    2.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Do you feel terrible but your doctor says that all your tests are normal? Could if be that your doctor isn't ordering the right tests?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateOct 21, 2014
    ISBN9781483539638
    All My Test Results are Normal: A Smart Guide to Testing for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

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      All My Test Results are Normal - Dr. Courtney Craig

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      Introduction

      I remember the excitement of the follow-up doctor’s visit. Each time you enter convincing yourself that this will be the day that your lab testing reveals some new information. This is the doctor who had the good sense to order a test that others missed. In these results some mystery will be uncovered. Best of all we might discover that our CFS diagnosis was wrong in the first place. Perhaps these new lab results will show that we have a common, accepted illness with treatment options. We may go so far as to wish for some other disease.

      These are the thoughts that run through our heads every time we await the results of new lab testing. In desperation we wish for a concrete diagnosis of some other condition—life threatening or not. Nine times out of ten however these thoughts are delusions. All of your lab results are normal, the doctors say. What follows is the deflated feeling of deep dissatisfaction. We may tell ourselves that the doctor just didn’t order the right tests. We may put the blame on our bodies and those faulty cells that didn’t show up on the day of the blood draw—much like the way our cars never make the same ominous noise when it comes time to take them to the mechanic. In the end we get the dreaded sense that nothing is organically wrong with us and it’s all in our heads.

      Excessive lab testing is one of the leading expenses in healthcare for CFS despite the lack of a definitive diagnostic marker. Our doctors want just as badly to find the missing puzzle piece that explains our symptoms—no matter how elusive. Unfortunately this leads to unnecessary and redundant testing. Tests are sometimes ordered with such frequency insurance companies no longer reimburse. Or tests are ordered with questionable medical necessity further accruing excessive out of pocket expense for the patient. Tests with little clinical value can lead to patient confusion and unfounded fears as we constantly seek to understand what a diagnosis of CFS means for our lives.

      When assessing a complex illness like CFS, laboratory evaluations may be informative but are seldom definitive. Because of this, qualitative testing should be used to identify the nature of the illness, other potential concomitant illnesses, and to quantify the severity of the condition. It is also important for both the clinician and the patient to appreciate that, in general, laboratory testing is inherently imperfect.¹ The sensitivity and specificity of an individual test should be considered to determine the likelihood of false positives or false

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