just_cyd | (no subject)

i've left my Dr appt. knowing almost nothing more than i did when i went in *sigh*

while the general test for lupus came back positive (that's what started this whole mess back in april), the more specific/accurate test came back negative. The test for rhuematoid arthritis (RA) was also negative. the test for Sjogren's disease came back mildly positive. so Dr E can't say "yes, you have Lupus", but he did say "yes, you have some sort of connective tissue disease". He's starting me on two different drugs to treat me as if i had either RA or lupus, and see what happens. the drugs are both slow-acting, so it could be months before i see any results. the sound effects sound like fun, too (not!)

but the fun doesn't stop there! looks like i'll be getting to have an endoscopy done sometime here soon. This whole "having trouble swallowing" and "food gets stuck" thing is apparently Not Good. and i totally forgot to ask the doc about getting help with sleeping (i don't sleep for shit these days), so i'll just take that one into my own hands, and try either melatonin or valarian. benadryl dries me out too much, and makes me too groggy.

wait! it gets better!! i had the horror of having to get on the scale, only for the nurse to have to move the bottom-slidey-thing over a notch *cringe*, and the doc said i must lose weight... he wants me down 4-8 lbs by my 2-month follow-up. being overweight is NOT helping my joints. (i tried! i joined TOPS and gained 10 lbs!!)

so my day's off to a fabulous start. gotta leave work in about an hour to let the mutts out, eat lunch, and meet M for my EMG. I see this turning into a "get NOTHING accomplished" sort of day.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Any thoughts about fibromyalgia or MS from the doc?

I'm sorry you didn't get a more definitive answer. That's so frustrating, I'm frustrated FOR you!

Good luckw ith the hand test this afternoon...

He did mention fibromyalgia, but explained that it's actually the muscles surrounding the joints that cause the problems, but that he didn't think that was the case here.

No one has metioned MS. That's scary stuff ... i'm almost afraid to mention it to my doc!

Hugs, dear. Doctors suck, don't they? Especially when they don't *fix* things, or at least tell you what's wrong!! Highly frustrating. I thought medicine was supposed to be a science! ;)

What were you doing when you lost all that weight a while back? Could you try that again? Wish I was closer, we'd go walking every morning or something, eh?

What were you doing when you lost all that weight a while back? Could you try that again?

i was exercising 3-5 times a week, both weights and cardio, and i was eating lots of fruits and veggies and not too much junk.

i could do that all again (she says as she shoves microwave popcorn in her mouth), but i'm always so tired... the last thing i want to do at the end of the day is take a walk, and i don't sleep well, so it's tough to drag my butt outta bed in the AM.

I know you don't need me to tell you this, but once you get back in the swing of exercising, the energy will start to come back ... (she says, having paid for a 3 month gym membership she's used once and it's almost expired ....)