Doctors couldn't help. They turned to a shadow system of DIY medical tests.

[Warpy]

10. I went through six weeks of outpatient tests at Mass. General

for weird problems that were turning life threatening. Finally, they bit the bullet and ordered an expensive handful of tests for autoimmune disease, which finally turned up the problem, although treatments 50 years ago were almost worse than the disease and didn't work all that well.

You've never lived until you've been the subject of a full auditorium of docs, med students and Great Men (TM) all firing questions at you.

Sometimes it'll take docs forfuckingever to diagnose a problem properly.

Studies of intestinal flora are just beginning. For instance, people in the eastern US tend to have a sparse collection of intestinal flora while people in the west have a much wider variety of bugs. People who move back and forth tend to adjust their intestinal flora within a few weeks and nobody knows how or why. It's fascinating, but too little is known to base many adult treatments on lactobacillus, the main probiotic used. Fermented foods are likely better options, since most contain a wider variety of bugs.