I finally got in to see my new rheumy. He wasn't as warm as I had hoped which would have been fine with me had I gotten some answers. Unfortunately, I was left with what I am almost left with. After two hours (only actually saw him about 20 minutes), I was told that my symptoms didn't coincide with any diagnosis he could think of. He asked about medical history and of course that thyroid disease came up. After that..... :rolleyes:

He did do a phyisical exam and for whatever reason, I wasn't feelilng really any pain so I didn't want to lie. Well, he actually made me hurt. :eek:

He did write some orders for lots of bloodwork including an ANA. He said to call him in two weeks for the results.

I am so frustrated. I told my husband that if my labs come back normal that I will be going my ambo the next time I go to the hospital about these symptoms. I think that unless I am near death, no one will take me seriously.


Blessed

Dear Blessed4Life,

I just read your post and I am sorry to hear things did not go so well with your new doctor :( I know how it feels to be frustrated with doctors lord knows I had my share of them just going through the motions and not doing a darn thing and then telling me its one thing and later turns out to be lupus, and everyone telling me that it wasn't, so I did tons of research on this site and other sites reading anything I could find on lupus and hemolyic anemia.

Lets hope your bloodwork gives you some answers, hang in there and keep us posted on your results. Good luck Marilyn

I am so very sorry that you had to go through that, to look for help, to look for answers from the powers that be, and all they can do is send us back to the lab. It took me years to find my GP, and my rheumy who really listened and took in all my history. Stay strong, and God bless ya, our prayers are with ya!

Dear Blessed, I think any rheumie worth his/her salt will do his/her own labs and wait for results. And our hopes were that we'd have answers PDQ, so we don't feel satisfied with the consult.

Somewhere I read a great article by Dr. Hughes, the eminent British rheumatologist, in which he more or less said that any dufus [my word, not his :D ] could Dx lupus in the presence of very high anti-ds-DNA, severe kidney malfunction, and a non-stop malar rash. Lesser versions of the disease take more work and more "art". This is good in one way for many of us (we aren't so life-threateningly sick) but bad in another (we are so tired of seeking answers).

I've had drs. who were remote on the first visit, then after they "read' you a bit, they became warmer. I hope that's what you find here.

Anyway, hang in there! Looking forward to more updates, Vee

Thank you all! I am very blessed to have all of you. Its like those you know love you, don't always understand. It is good to have you all who can relate. My husband went with me to the appt and although he knows that i have suffered a long time, even he asked (retorically) "Do you think it's in your head?" Though he was trying to make me laugh, it just made me question myself :eek:

I will get the lab work done and keep you posted. :wave:

Blessed

Hiya Blessed,

I can only agree with what has already been said. The other thing is only you know in your own heart that things are not right with you, and nobody can tell you otherwise. They aren't in your body, they don't feel your pain and fatigue and general horrid yukkiness. You must fight to get answers. Don't give up. I know this is hard sometimes but in the end it will be worth it.

Take care.

goldenwings :angel:

Thanks Goldenwings!

You are right! I know that somehting is wrong..even if no one else does! :wave:

Blessed

I just have to say ditto to what golden says, we know when something is wrong and even if a doc can't diagnose immediatly the least they can do is try to treat our symptoms to give us some relief while our journey continues to find the cause.

Dear Blessed4life,

I know exactly how you feel. I kept telling my Dr. that something was wrong for almost 5 years and they always dismissed it as part of the Hashi's and menopause. I hated it. Can't tell you how much.

I also had the same experience you had in that when I went for a visit the pain and discomfort did not seem as bad as it did everyday. My current Dr. said she hears that from many people and she believes that it is from the adrenalin produced from the mild anxiety of going to the Dr. The rush can block out many aches and pains temporarily. I had never thought of that one and I'll bet you didn't either. It is true though, I always feel a little anxious when going to a Dr.

I wish I had some words of wisdom for you but all I can do is reitterate what everyone else has already said. Did this Rheumy at least say call if there are more symptoms? I hope so. Hang in there.

May God Bless and Keep Us All
Patience 50 :wave:

Patience,

I think the adrenalin adrenalin may be right. I was calm and cool until the doctor came in. Since he was new to me, I was very nervous. When he stretched out his hand to shake mine, it appeared to be humungous! :eek:

Anyway, while waiting in the waiting room, I was in all kinds of pain. I even had to slowly increasing pain in right heel. My knees were aching as well as my right hip. I even had a mild limp. Then he came in.....the pain went out the window! :confused:

Once he started stretching my limbs, I felt like I had been beat up and he made me feel like my pain was muscular because of him and not because of my symptoms. I had to hold back the tears because I didn't want him to see how disappointed I was.

I felt like a hypercondriac and I figured crying because I was told "can't find anything wrong" would have confirmed my pass to skip Go and go directly to the loony-bin! :eek:

Well Blessed, there is still room in the looney bin. You have much company. I tell great jokes sometimes too , when I can get the punch lines straight.

Goldenwings, so happy to see you back posting on a reg basis. Wonderful to know you are recovered.

May God Bless and Keep Us All
Patience 50 :wave:

My Dearest Patience,

Thank you so much. If I waited until I got well I think it would be as much use as trying to braid fog. I am adapting my bodily bits to suit my requirements he he !! I have changed the position of my pc, desk and so on, so I can rest my arms on my desk, I have a larger screen and everything seems to be ok with the set up at the moment. Also, I can flop down and be lazy if I need to he he. I have been building up to posting a lot more. My brain was going to mush, I did so miss speaking to everyone. It is so good to be back.

How are you doing? Are you still doing your baking?

Take care.

goldenwings :angel:

Hello Goldenwings,

Yes, I am well overall. My hands remain a mystery but even they have not been swelling much the past week. My cookies have sold out for the past 7 weekends and I am happy about that. I am looking into a winter market also.

I am a bit sad that one of my best craft shops is closing. The owner is claiming bankruptcy. She said if everything sold as well as my angels and cookies she would have it made but they don't and she just has reached the end of financial limit. She is such a sweet heart and I feel so badly for her having to close her dream, especially just before the holidays. Oh well, one door is closing so we will have to look for another to open.

God is still good and it appears I am holding steady with this disease so there is much to be thankful for. The only real dark spot on the horizon just now is that our military son may deployed to Iraq again close to the holidays. Nothing to do about it, it will be the way it will be. I do so wish people would stop killing in the name of God or Allah or Mohammed or whatever else people call him.

May God Bless and Keep Us All
Patience 50 :wave:

Patience,

Your faith is such an inspiration and truly a blessing. May God continue to bless and keep you and your family. Faith of a mustard seed is all it takes! I keep reminding myself of that, but thanks for leveraging my faith through yours. :wave:

Blessed

Hello Patience,

Just to say that I will keep your son in my heart.

goldenwings :angel:

Patience I don't know who is braver, your son for going to Iraq or you for keeping your faith while he is gone. I don't know if I could hold up well in the same circumstances, you inspire me to try to be a better person. Thank your son for us will you!

Glojer

Oh my, you all flatter me. The truth is I rely on my faith because I know how weak I am on my own. I am not unusual at all. Many mother's, father's, wives, children, and other family and friends have waited for their loved ones to come home from war for centuries.

Truth be told, this is all much harder on DH than me. He was in a war. He knows the lonliness and fear. I can only guess and I'm sure I don't come close.

We must all pray for our troops, not their mom's. Our service men and women are so deserving of everything we can do. Several of my friends and neighbors are working up packages to send over for the holidays. It can take up to 8 weeks for them to receive packages in some places. If any of you know of a unit or a support group, call and offer a package. If the soldiers aren't near a big base camp on a reg basis they really appreciate the occasional treat. Pretzels and chips are usually a big hit. So is flavored gatorade. Oreo cookies, tasty cakes, twizzlers, tootsie rolls, beef jerky, anything that doesn't melt. Just don't send too much. They will all share with the whole unit but they can never keep more than they can carry in the field unless they are at a big base. Over seas phone cards are always a hit too. The latest in CD's or a new movie. Often if they are near a base they have laptops that can play DVD movies. A movie or fresh music is a big deal to someone who is missing home.

I just pray so hard for all our young people who are deployed no matter where. It is so hard to be away from those you love and who love and ground you. We all have each other. They have the other's in their unit and they develope a family like relationship but they still miss home and all the little things we take for granted. Ok, I'll stop now. I'm getting preachy. Hope you all have a good night.

May God Bless and Keep Us All
Patience 50 :wave:

Dear blessed,

My thoughts are with you. Don't despair. I really believe everything you are going through. I have cried so much this last eight months i think i could fill a swimmingpool! but we are in this together and that is something ok. lots of hugs. XX

Patience my thoughts go out to you and your son x :)

It is nice to hear that the troops appreciate the pkg's from home. A local radio station gave out a list of names and all the protocol to send pkgs. last holiday. We sent to 3 different soldiers. The hardest part was gathering the big tin cans to send the things in, but we so enjoyed picking things out to send and we did send phone cards it was such a nice feeling to think of those soldiers able to call home. What they are dealing with kind of makes my aches and pains of lupus small in comparison!!