DX-

VO-5,

No doubt the symtoms your mother suffers, and the resulting question marks from lack of answers, only make her feel worse.

We can't give you research results on this board, but we can make recommendations about how to find some.

The doctors have already provided you with some prelim diagnoses, so use them as keywords and check them out in your favorite search engine.

Also, because she has such a variety of symtoms, you may want to do what we've recommended on this board a few times. Here are the instructions:

Create a spreadsheet for yourself and begin looking for cross-references. Maybe you begin by listing all your mother's symptoms down one side of the piece of paper. Then start with one possible diagnosis (diagnoses would go across the top of the paper) and go down through the list of symptoms using checks and Xs or plusses and minuses or anything else you like that line up with that diagnosis. Then try another possible diagnosis (or a variation on the first one) and do the same thing. Eventually you should be able to weed out the impossibilities which would narrow your list down, at least.

You can also research just the symptoms. And group them -- all the eye problems together, all the gastro symptoms together, etc. Each symptom would suggest a variety of diagnoses -- and they should correlate with what your findings are with each diagnosis.

The other thing to do, if possible, is to get ahold of your mother's test records and cross reference your spreadsheet with the findings in the records. You can pick up terminology and phraseology that will give you even more details to look up.

Once you've developed your spreadsheet(s) you can take it to your mother's next doctor's appointment. Even if you can't find a correlation, the doctor may be able to -- or it may even open up a whole new avenue of thought.

Our best to you and your Mom both. She's lucky to have you advocating for her.