CNN iReport

Dear Dr. Gupta,

My wife Durga Dalal Carlson and I lived in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat last year.  We went there because her medical condition became so painful and debilitating she required 24 hour help.  My wife comes from an affluent business family in India.  We had to move there so that Durga  could get domestic help that we cannot afford in the US and after I was laid off from work as a Plant Manager with a GM contract in Michigan, we lost all of our medical insurance, home, possessions and the like (Durga was in ICU 4 times in just the last 4 years alone - which caused us to loose everything), we would probably return to India but now the one pain medication she needs (Head Pain Management Doctor at Mayo has prescribed these pain medications) cannot be found in India, or so all the doctors there told us.  We just saw your report on Hospitals in India over the weekend and were surprised, because our experience with Hospitals in India was quite different.  As one example my wife had a biopsy of her sural nerve done at the SAL Hospital (one of many) in an operating room that had rust on the equipment, dust in the air, dirty sheets on the operating table and the neurologist had so much difficulty finding the nerve he called in a senior neurologist to assist (the biopsy was so poor she had to have it done again at Mayo).  Afterwards the doctor so badly cut her leg that it reopened and was infected - I had to leave her in the hospital and go to the corner pharmacy to get suchers, plaster for the cast, etc..., and it left her with a terrible scar.  The neurologist (her primary care doctor) said that he felt only Dr. Peter J. Dyke at Mayo clinic could help.  We went to Mayo clinic and had over a weeks worth of testing done and my wife was told to take Steroids for 9 months and "lets wait and see" treatment regiment.  Durga has swollen up like a blimp, is in a great deal of pain everyday of her life...this condition began a little over four years now, i.e. trying to isolate her problem and come up with a solution.  Everyday I have anxiety about whether these "specialist" really know what they are doing and if the treatment is worse than her disease.  It has been four months now and her pain is still so bad she is also taking Lyrica, morphine and oxycodone along with the Steroids...she had a bone Dexa scan done a few weeks ago and it is already showing signs that her bones are getting worse.

Durga also has a severe case of PMDD (severe PMS).  Why isn't there more research done on this too?  Durga has been suffering terribly from her PMS symptoms for over eight years now and again no one seems to have an answer except maybe trying a hormone treatment with many bad side effects.  Since you are a neurologist I thought you might have an opinion about the treatment of peripheral neuropathy and who to go see for help....my wife is suffering in every facet of her life every day and has wondered on many occasions if it wouldn't be better to just end it all.  My wife is the most wonderful person I have ever know....I trust her with my life (and she is the only one I can say that about).  Please help with your suggestions.  MY wife is only 47 years old, a very high IQ, very talented and we have a 16 year old daughter and we feel that these Prednisone treatments are more like Placebo than an effective treatment.

Also, why is it impossible to get medications like Oxycodone in India?  My wife had to go to the Cancer hospital in Ahmedabad just to get morphine and was told Proxyvon was the only pain medications she could get, which coincidently led to her very serious bout with pneumonia last January where she wound up in ICU for two weeks.  We would probably return to India if she was able to get the oxycodone there to help control her pain.

Any suggestions or opinions that might save my wife's life will be greatly appreciated....we would love to share our experiences with the doctors and hospitals in Gujarat with you anytime.  I can assure you it was very different than what we saw on the news cast.  Please help, we are at the ends of our rope, this disease has taken everything from us literally and figuratively and we don't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

The attached picture is of my Wife Durga "Gigi" and our daughter Ruju...I am holding the camera and am a native born American of Norwegian ancestory, taken last year at this time.  Now my wife can hardly get out of bed and has gained over 40 Lbs from the medications she is taking.

Most sincerely and respectfully,

Leonard and Durga "Gigi" Dalal Carlson