She was doing everything right. So Kelley Halliburton was not only distressed, but also mystified by the illness that was disrupting her life. Unfortunately for Halliburton, so were her doctors.
Halliburton, 42, a physical therapist in Hillsboro, Ill, ate right and exercised intensely. In early spring 2001, she noticed pain in her lower left abdomen and a case of constipation. Increased fiber gave no relief.
Things worsened as Halliburton began to have chronic nausea and dispersed abdominal pain.
"It felt like I was hit in the stomach with a baseball bat," she said.
Her primary care physician suspected diverticulosis, starting her on a course of antibiotics. But, Halliburton''s symptoms began impacting her life and work.
"I was so nauseated, I was afraid I was going to throw up at work on my patients," she said. "I was exhausted. I'd go to work, come home and that was it."
Exercise fell by the wayside, and Halliburton''s appetite was nonexistent.
A battery of tests revealed no abnormalities. A small bowel follow-through exam showed Halliburton had slow small bowel motility, but still within the normal range. Both her primary care physician and a local gastroenterologist told her they had done as much as they could.
Faced with the possibility of having to go on disability if her condition didn''t improve, Halliburton insisted on seeing a Washington University gastroenterologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, knowing their reputation for treating digestive disorders.
Four months after her illness began, Halliburton saw Deborah Rubin, MD, who specializes in women''s gastroenterology issues.
After performing more tests, Dr. Rubin suspected a virus had triggered an atypical case of irritable bowel syndrome in Halliburton's small intestine. Halliburton started on a medication that reduces pain from the intestines, an approach not considered by other physicians.
After a week using this medication, "it was the best I had felt since this whole thing started," Halliburton said.
Now, nearly three years later, Halliburton''s life is almost back to normal, able to work and exercise, with her weight and vitality returned.
"When I first saw Dr. Rubin, she knew I was upset," Halliburton said. "She assured me that she would do everything she could until she found an answer for me."
"Dr. Rubin has excellent qualities as both a physician and a person. She is very attentive to her patients. She is genuinely concerned and interested in your condition. She is focused and caring and I admire her for these qualities."