PatNJ

As some of you might recall, I was very excited about an upcoming appt with a new rheumatologist, back in May. In have been in seclusion ever since.

My "usual" depression got much worse as a result of the visit. The rheumy was extremely nasty to me. It has been a month, and I still haven't been able to find the words that would best describe the hostile atmosphere in an otherwise innocuous exam room.

The doctor kept reprimanding me for giving her too much detail in responding to her questions and for "interrupting" her to ask questions of my own. At one point she was downright sarcastic, saying, "For the third time, let me try to explain this in a way you might understand it." (I had been trying to impress upon her how much worse I had been feeling lately, but she kept insisting that my pain perception was skewed because of the fibro and that I really wasn't in any worse shape.) I would have walked out on her at that point, except that I desperately needed her to requisition blood work and x-rays for me.

Fast forward to two days ago, when I had my follow-up appt. with The *****. I was immediately suspicious of her because she was smiling at me while we walked from the waiting room into the exam room. Her first words to me (that is, after snapping at me to sit on the table instead of in the chair in the room) were, "Well, the results of your blood work show that you have another autoimmune disorder (me: besides Hashimoto's thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, and vitiligo) that explains your joint pain and other symptoms--other than fibromyalgia."

Oh, I forgot to mention that I got the distinct impression during the first appt. that she doesn't believe that fibro is that serious or debilitating. In other words, she was all too quick to dismiss my complaints of pain and fatigue when she thought it was "only" fibro. But now that she thinks I have something "really" wrong with me, she's taking me seriously. Her innate rudeness still cropped up at times, but overall, the atmosperhere was far less tense.

Anyway, one of the antibody tests (SSA) for Sjogren's Syndrome was positive - 165, Ref. Range 0-99; RA factor was mildly positive - 14.8, Ref. Range 0.0-13.9; and ANA, Direct was positive - 165, Ref. Range 0-99. The Nasty One said that RF can be positive in Sjogren's.

I put the SSA and ANA results in boldface type because I am suspicious of them. How is it possible that two different tests would have the exact same result? Is it just coincidence, or was a mistake made by the lab: Perhaps one of them was 165, and the same result was punched in for the other test; or maybe neither result was 165, and the number came from who-knows-where. I should point out that nine months ago, both tests were conclusively negative (8 and 17, respectively). Could the results have changed so dramatically during such a relatively period of time? Admittedly, my symptoms have gotten much worse during the same period, but still...

I have several symptoms of SS: Dry eyes, dry mouth, joint pain, severe fatigue. But the first two could be chalked up to meds I am taking, and the latter two could easily be attributed to fibro.

I just don't know what to think. The Queen prescribed Mobic for the joint pain; I have been taking Lyrica at night and will start taking it twice a day once/if I can afford it.

Any thoughts?

So, how has everyone been? Have any of you found relief during the hot weather, or does the heat make your symptoms worse? I look forward to getting caught up on your lives!

Love,
Pat