[butterfly_warrior]

Scarlet, I'm about to freak you out even more... I was diagnosed with CFS back in 2001. My CFS was the after-effects of Barmah Forest Virus, which is very similar to Ross River Fever. Eventually my energy levels and brain function improved, but the joint pain part of it never went away. A change of GP, further testing and I got given the label of "serum-negative rheumatoid arthritis". When we started TTC my initial blood tests showed hormone levels that were only slightly out from normal, but they got MUCH worse in time. Scary to see just how similar our medical history actually is - I thought I was the only one!

Funnily enough, I was saying to DH last night that I was choosing to believe that Dr S will find nothing, because I just can't be unlucky enough to have had CFS, to have the arthritis thing, to have the PCOS *and* to have some other problem thrown in there as well... I think you'd know what I mean by that. I guess I can't rule out the possibility, though. Perhaps in time, with further research, someone will figure out all the details of what we both have (not going to assume it's the same!) and know exactly how to fix it... For now, I think Dr S is our best hope. I booked my next appointment with him - 19th of this month.

Scarlet, I'm also going to say that I initially had thought to go see Dr S before we started IVF, but was eventually talked out of it by the fact that my rheumy, GP and regular FS all said I had nothing to worry about at all in relation to the arthritis... It was the best information I had to go on at the time, but I do wish I had done it before hand, and not waited until after my miscarriage before I saw Dr S.

BW