Complex Cases: What Are They? And Does It Apply to You?
Hey gang! I treat lots of complex cases in my office, it’s one of the most common things I see as a doctor. But I’m not sure if everyone is aware what complex cases are.
What is a Complex Case?
In the simplest terms? It means you (or someone you know) has a complicated health problem/ or health history. Maybe there is a big thing that has been diagnosed i.e. an autoimmune condition, muscle/nerve diseases, osteoporosis or other bone conditions, fertility challenges, or any other chronic health condition, or you could have a combination of multiple chronic health conditions.
Another Type of Complex Case
If you’ve had ongoing health problems your whole life that come and go… they could be varied, or it could be that the same type of symptoms or conditions continue to arise. This is another type of complex case.
Finding the Source…
I love treating complex cases and working with those patients. Why? Because I’ve always been a person that likes puzzles, learning more information, expanding what I know and the tools that I have available to treat patients. Another reason I love treating these cases is often these patients have been to many doctors, and have had health struggles their whole life or for a long period of time, and they haven’t had much relief. Of course I don’t love that they’ve been struggling. What gives me joy is being able to help them understand why they’ve been feeling the way that they do, and what steps we can take to improve their health and to help them feel better (sometimes for the first time in a long time). That is powerful stuff!
An Example of a Complex Case… Me
I’ll try to give a short synopsis of what’s been a long, varied health history. A few of the big elements that have affected my health are the following:
Major GI issues: This is related to many different elements including the following:
Getting a large worm parasite in Mexico at age 13 - and not finding out about it for 10 years, at which point it was in my heart and brain and lungs quite extensively
Not being able to process/eat chicken - chicken! Who would guess that one? That took me many years to figure out
Having a severe concussion followed by a traumatic brain injury (TBI): this one affected MANY things including:
GI issues - ever heard of the brain/gut connection?
Fertility Challenges: it caused my hormones to be super high (estrogen and progesterone), my brain was trying to protect itself, but that also meant we couldn’t get pregnant
Primary Hypoparathyroidism leading to Osteoporosis at 32!!
This one I’ve only found out about in the past year, we aren’t positive that the cause was my TBI however, it’s not genetic (I got a test), and from researching studies, it seems this may be the cause of the primary hypoparathyroidism.
The parathyroid glands are responsible for creating parathyroid hormone which balances the calcium between your blood and your bones.
I have very low parathyroid hormone, which means my blood steals calcium from my bones, which is what gave me Osteoporosis.
Low parathyroid hormone also makes it very difficult to get pregnant and to keep a pregnancy to term. It’s also a risk that the baby may have low birth weight, and that it’s bones may not have enough calcium and/or that it will steal more calcium from my bones making my osteoporosis worse.
This makes my current pregnancy high risk (my past one was too, I just didn’t know it). And requires lots of lab monitoring to see how my parathyroid hormone is doing as well as my calcium, phosphate and vitamin D levels.
This hypoparathyroidism/osteoporosis also was the cause of me breaking my hand last pregnancy at 8 months pregnant
and it caused my severe ankle fracture and foot displacement 6 months later.
That’s enough problems for now, huh?
So you can see, that is an example of a complex case. I have many different health challenges, that when you put them all together, means my health and treatment isn’t as straightforward as some other people’s may be.
What’s the Good News?
The good news is these complex cases are my specialty! For both people and animal patients. As you can see I have personal experience with my own complex case, and have navigated those health challenges throughout my life. This has taught me a tremendous amount about how to help other patients with complex cases. Because I am relentless about finding out ways to help complex health challenges. Just because something is difficult or complicated (health wise) doesn’t mean that it has to be the end all/be all. It doesn’t mean that you have to always feel terrible, or that there’s no way to help you. It doesn’t mean that it needs to run your life. It doesn’t mean that you will only have limitations. In fact, I want to open you up for greater health, well-being, and vibrancy in your life.
Did I always feel this way about my own health?
NO! In fact, it’s a constant struggle. As health challenges and bad news came up, I felt like, “Really?!” “Why is all of this happening to me, I could deal with some of this, but this is too much!” There have been tears and frustration and feeling down. However, after those initial (and sometimes recurring) feelings bubbling up, I start to think “Ok, how can I improve this or heal this?” And I come up with lots of answers!
My midwives group, my endocrinologist, and my maternal fetal medicine doctor told me that they’ve never had a patient with primary hypoparathyroidism that is pregnant - EVER! When I asked my endocrinologist why, she said often people aren’t diagnosed with these conditions until they are older, or they aren’t able to get pregnant/keep a pregnancy. And here I am on pregnancy #2, totally naturally (with lots of alternative health care to support and help me) but I haven’t ever had to do IVF or any medical interventions. And the 2nd time we tried to get pregnant, it happened in one month! Which I believe is due to how I have improved my reproductive health over time and also to finding out about my hypoparathryoidism and taking the correct supplements to support that. But that’s like a miracle right there if you think about it - at least in my eyes. Not only was I able to get pregnant once, but now twice, and who knows what the future holds?
This time around I’m making sure to protect my bones and to make sure that little baby has great bones too. P.S our first baby also is very healthy, I drank endless milk last pregnancy (because I felt so drawn to it - not knowing why at the time) and I think she also got some of the calcium from my bones. Which is ok - I have lots of years to work on bone re-building, that’s the good news about finding out you have osteoporosis when you’re young!
If You Or Someone You Know Has A Complex Case
If you’re reading this and thinking, “hmm I may have a complex case.” Or your mother, or brother or friend etc does. I would love to do a free phone consult and have you tell me about your health and I can give you some options and ideas for how I can help you! I’ve treated lots of unique things over the past 9 years, and I’m always up for a challenge or tackling something new!
Complex Cases May Be Subtle
These may not always be something that jumps out at you. Mine started off with smaller challenges that I didn’t necessarily know were related. My early symptoms were candida infections on and off for years. Lots of nausea/puking that would come and go. Sensitivity to certain foods and beverages. Low energy. Fatigue. Trouble sleeping. Very painful periods with tons of intense PMS symptoms. Not necessarily anything that would jump out as a huge red flag. But all those smaller symptoms matter too - it’s your body trying to tell you something!
Peace and good health to all of you friends - let me know if I can help you!
