Answers
Who do I see after I have been to every specialty?
After several specialists, the next step is often not another specialist. It can be a physician who looks at the whole picture with you, alongside the doctors you already see.
What each specialist has given you
Each specialist looked closely at one area and answered the question that brought you to them. Those answers are real, and they remain part of your picture.
What is often still missing
Nobody was asked to lay the pieces side by side: results from different years, symptoms that seem unrelated, what was happening in your life at the time, and the opinions you were given. That is a different task from examining one part of the body.
What a whole-picture physician does
She gathers your history and results, reads them together and in context, and sets priorities with you, so you leave knowing what deserves attention first. She then stays involved, and adjusts the direction as things change.
Your own doctors stay in the picture
The doctors who diagnose and treat you remain essential. Keep seeing them, and keep any prescribed treatment unless the doctor who prescribed it changes it.
My concern is not with the diagnosis itself, and I'm not trying to dismiss or challenge a legitimate medical diagnosis.
Dr. Heba Haddara, physician. This page is general information. It does not replace advice from the doctor who treats you.
Source: World Health Organization, Framework on integrated people-centred health services (2016).