April 19th - One of my better days/Dr. Appt w/Dr. C
Wednesday, April 19th - Got to work at 8:45am (slow down on the hwy).
Pain Level ~ Highest level = 4
Where? Hip and leg joints
Update about Dr. C visit: Well three steps forward, two step back is still one step at a time right? Dr. Cwas very compassionate and understanding. She's referred me to the new Rheumatologist in town. She lightly pressue a couple of joints and was surprised that I said it hurt. She said that she'd say Arthritis or Fibromyalgia, but since that's not her speciality she really can't say for sure. She also indicated that while she could do the bloodwork, she rather let the Rheumatologist do what she needs instead. I can live with that. HOWEVER, the earliest appointment I could get with Dr. T is JULY 12th!! Grrrrr...sometimes living here sucks. Anyway, in the meantime, Dr. Chester has Rx'd Celebrex to see if that will get a handle on the joint pain. At least it won't be a rollercoast of pain/no pain all day. Dr. C is humoring me about my theory of Hypothyroidism. She ordered a full Thyroid Panel. She said joints alone, she say no, but with a few other symptoms I discribed, she's willing to take a look. At least if it's not, we can rule it out. If it is, then we can fix it (withOUT narcotics). We talked about finding what's wrong will make finding a better treatment plan easier--not easy, just easier than without. Dr. C said even if Dr. T comes back with a Dx that we don't like at least we'll have a course of action to take that will hopefully bring relief. I told her that I could accept this being a life-long condition, but I couldn't live with my current level of pain and the restrictions on my life that it's doing. I told her that this time of the year I'm getting better not worse when it's just weather related. That leads me to believe that something really isn't right and Combunox/Ibuprofen was not the temporary bandaid that we were hoping it would be. Dr. C did acknowledge that if the Pain Specialist isn't helping anymore, than she sees no reason to continue seeing him. Whew!! She really wants me to see Dr. Tan even if the Celebrex works. I promised her I would (hell, I don't want to live on Celebrex either, but right now it's the lesser of the evils). I feel wonderful to be validated by her listening, understanding and willingness to find answers. Some days you wonder if it's just in your head (as you all well know) so it's great when you are treated with such care and compassion. K went along. His question was if all my medications could be part of the problem. Dr. Chester said she'd be inclined to say no, but it really could be an option to rule out if the Rheumatologist deems it neccessary. She really wouldn't want to pull me off the hormones, at least, unless there was a clear need to do so and I don't want to either. So now we just wait and see if the Celebrex helps and wait to see Dr. T in July
Update about Dr. C visit: Well three steps forward, two step back is still one step at a time right? Dr. Cwas very compassionate and understanding. She's referred me to the new Rheumatologist in town. She lightly pressue a couple of joints and was surprised that I said it hurt. She said that she'd say Arthritis or Fibromyalgia, but since that's not her speciality she really can't say for sure. She also indicated that while she could do the bloodwork, she rather let the Rheumatologist do what she needs instead. I can live with that. HOWEVER, the earliest appointment I could get with Dr. T is JULY 12th!! Grrrrr...sometimes living here sucks. Anyway, in the meantime, Dr. Chester has Rx'd Celebrex to see if that will get a handle on the joint pain. At least it won't be a rollercoast of pain/no pain all day. Dr. C is humoring me about my theory of Hypothyroidism. She ordered a full Thyroid Panel. She said joints alone, she say no, but with a few other symptoms I discribed, she's willing to take a look. At least if it's not, we can rule it out. If it is, then we can fix it (withOUT narcotics). We talked about finding what's wrong will make finding a better treatment plan easier--not easy, just easier than without. Dr. C said even if Dr. T comes back with a Dx that we don't like at least we'll have a course of action to take that will hopefully bring relief. I told her that I could accept this being a life-long condition, but I couldn't live with my current level of pain and the restrictions on my life that it's doing. I told her that this time of the year I'm getting better not worse when it's just weather related. That leads me to believe that something really isn't right and Combunox/Ibuprofen was not the temporary bandaid that we were hoping it would be. Dr. C did acknowledge that if the Pain Specialist isn't helping anymore, than she sees no reason to continue seeing him. Whew!! She really wants me to see Dr. Tan even if the Celebrex works. I promised her I would (hell, I don't want to live on Celebrex either, but right now it's the lesser of the evils). I feel wonderful to be validated by her listening, understanding and willingness to find answers. Some days you wonder if it's just in your head (as you all well know) so it's great when you are treated with such care and compassion. K went along. His question was if all my medications could be part of the problem. Dr. Chester said she'd be inclined to say no, but it really could be an option to rule out if the Rheumatologist deems it neccessary. She really wouldn't want to pull me off the hormones, at least, unless there was a clear need to do so and I don't want to either. So now we just wait and see if the Celebrex helps and wait to see Dr. T in July
posted by Rhonda at 4/19/2006 02:31:00 PM
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