Margaret is twenty-eight years old, married for five years and hoping to start a family soon. Her health was "average" until 1992 when her story, starts:

I began to have very bad headaches that increased from monthly to weekly to almost daily. So I started seeing a primary care physician who was trained in family practice and internal medicine. He diagnosed me as having "migraines," then "allergy problems," then "postnasal drip," then "stress headaches" and "depression headaches." It was one diagnosis after another.

I was put on every kind of drug-from Prozac to muscle relaxants to painkillers. I was on every new nose spray and allergy or sinus medication that came out. For about a year I gave myself injections of Imitrex. I would be going through the day and-all of a sudden-a headache would hit out of nowhere with no warning-like a freight train. That was the end of any activity. I couldn't concentrate or think. I couldn't go on with my life. The only thing I could so was to go to bed in a quiet, dark room. The headaches were seriously affecting my job in retail sales. I had to take time off because I could not concentrate with the pain. Once I was taken to an emergency room because I'd dropped to the floor, crying with pain that was unbearingly severe.

Since 1992, I've seen many professionals including three primary care doctors, four ear, nose and throat specialists (ENT's), an allergist, a massage therapist and a chiropractor. I had two CAT scans and two MRI'S. All this was taking over my life. I was spending so much time going back and forth to doctors, paying them to tell me I was pretty much crazy, trying to keep on top of all the bills and battling the insurance companies. All the while, because no one knew what was wrong with me, they kept saying "There's nothing wrong with you," or "You're depressed," or "It's because you got married," or "It's because you're buying a house," etc., etc.

The last two years had been especially difficult. I was seeing two of the primary care doctors and three of the ENT'S. I'd tell them that I was taking six Excedrin per day, everyday, plus all the other medicines. None of them seemed to think that was a problem. The third ENT wanted to do sinus surgery. Mercifully, the fourth ENT referred me to Dr. Tesh Patel instead.

We've been trying to start our family for the last year and a half and I'd decided I was going to figure out the cause of my headaches and get healthy first. My husband was accompanying me to all doctor visits because no one seemed to be listening to me. By now, we both were suspicious, critical and questioning because of the way I'd been treated. But the clear difference with Dr. Patel was that he really listened and didn't just prescribe medications. Instead, he tried to get to the bottom of my problem and promised he'd do whatever it took to help me.

It's been only three weeks after I began treatment and I'm 100% better-there is just a little remaining neck strain still to be worked out. Incredible after six years of agony! I was on six medications before. I'm blessed to have found Dr. Tesh Patel!