Thank you for visiting hopeMD!
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A personal message to you from:
Don Bailey, MD, Doctor and Fibromyalgia Patient
Dear Friend,
I want you to know that we are here for you. As a doctor and a patient I understand how frustrating it can be wandering through the maze of medical information, or often “mis-information”, that is out there.
Our mission is to help you sort through all that information so that you can
- understand what may actually be affecting your health (avoiding “misdiagnosis”) and
- understanding your options for getting well again.
Too often doctors do not have the time to fully explain what they believe is going on with their patients. Even more troubling is the fact that sometimes doctors are simply wrong.
Many diseases have similar presentations or symptoms-and certain illnesses are often overlooked - the “invisible illnesses” of multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, Lyme's disease, Gulf War Syndrome, arthritis, auto-immune diseases, heart disease, autism, migraines, chronic back pain, cancer, endometriosis, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety and depression. The list goes on.
Add to this the dismal “prognosis” (that means “your chance of getting better”) too often given by physicians and you can end up feeling confused and, much worse...
...without hope.
In fact, there are a whole host of illnesses that are not well understood by modern medicine. Ask me what causes these conditions and I will answer the way most physicians will, or should... “I do not know”
Please don’t get me wrong-there are many excellent and caring physicians who have dedicated themselves to understanding and treating these illnesses. Progress is being made in many or most of the “invisible illnesses” and other chronic conditions.
Yet there is no magic pill and there is not likely to be one. Instead, many of us have looked to alternative approaches to these conditions.
When I developed fibromyalgia over 20 years ago there was no such diagnosis. I went to my colleagues and was told either that “nothing is wrong” or that it “may be early lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.”
Talk about having your hopes dashed!
For awhile I fell into depression and despair. I couldn’t conceive of going on with so much pain and fatigue.
But I set out on a search for answers and gradually I got well again.
I know that even today fibromyalgia sufferers and those with “invisible” illnesses often go through this same process and many are searching for answers.
My hope is that hopeMD can help in that search. Together we can make sure our doctors are on the right path, that alternative therapies are considered, and that we have a team that supports us in our quest!
Let’s get well again!
To Your Health,
Don Bailey, M.D.
Doctor and Fibromyalgia Patient