Rheumy Rant

From my blog at http://twisty-tree.blogspot.com.au/

As you could have guessed, i'm having a rough time right now. All this stress has thrown me into a flare, especially in my right shoulder/elbow/wrist. I had a rheumatology appointment today, when I came home I ended up sleeping for 4 hours! And i'm still tired!

Speaking of my rheumatologist, he was once more pleasant but dismissive. Basically no inflammation in the joints = not his field. And fibro is just misinterpreted pain signals o.O. Really? Because I totally couldn't tell between the brain fog, fatigue, GI problems and horrible pain i'm experience. Must be something else right? Because tai chi will totally fix all that.

I'm not putting down tai chi, I actually haven't tried it, but I have done other gentle exercises and while they help with loosening things up and relaxing they don't help with all the other problems! Plus, quite a bit of the pain I feel seems more tendon related. There would be inflammation in the tendons, yeah? But that once more isn't joints. Apparently medicine doesn't work very well for inflamed tendons. How about some pain killers maybe!?!

Not to mention he is continuously comparing my pain to his own osteoarthritis and back pain. It's alright to make a comparison to try and explain that you have empathy, but he seems more like he's saying "yeah, everyone has pain, look at my pain! I'm in pain too! But I can still run and lift weights and you should too". I really just don't understand how comparing pain that is quite normal for a 50-something year old to an autoimmune disease in a 23 year old is meant to be helpful...

I just feel like i'm running into a brick wall as far as rheumatologists go. My first one was also very dismissive and told me to get off antidepressants and just be happy o.O. This one is dismissive and doesn't seem to be interested in actually treating me beyond methotrexate and making sure my blood tests are within normal range.

On a lighter note, I did actually get a nice nap in today. I was falling asleep on the bus, so my body must just really be trying to recover from all this stress. Hopefully this weekend will be a nice quiet one.

Also some good news to end with! My husband's job is now offering flexible hours and as he goes in early anyway, he'll now be able to come home earlier :). This will help a lot with Milo and i'm sure be nicer for him <3 maybe we can go back to our afternoon walks together.

Many drs. call Fibromyalgia to any symptoms of fatigue, tiredness, pain, etc. These symptoms are inclusive in many conditions. When I went to Mayo Clinic the Rheumy that saw me gave me a pamphlet with the symptoms with his diagnosis. Yikes! That was me. Lack of quality sleep causes the body to release certain substances that keep the nervous system functioning properly. I know that I have a flare when anything that touches my skin hurts as if the touch was a knife stab. It sometimes feels like your skin was charbroiled and you had no skin left. Yes, I have trouble sleeping. Luckily, there are meds that help. Knowing when to rest and when to exercise is half the battle.

PsA also has the symptoms of tiredness, fatigue, pain, etc. I can identify one and the other by my joints, skin and muscle pains. A lawyer once told me that one should continue switching drs. until one of them comes up with the right diagnosis. I did. "I know there is something wrong with you, I just don't know what", I heard many drs. say. Not anymore.

Keep searching, never dismay.

Stress? I take B-Complex, shower in oil so all my troubles slide away, and take two pills of "I don't care".

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