browser life

Actually, it went better than I expected. This rheumatologist didn't challenge the findings of Mayo or my Denver docs, so that was a huge relief as I didn't have to spend the entire appointment proving my case.

She did not like that I was on Imuran. She didn't think I was sick enough to warrant that, but since it is helping, she's willing to leave me on it for the time being. She did warn, though, that I will have to do monthly blood work to monitor my liver, which I agreed to.

She was pretty blunt about the fact that if I'm still this sick after 11 years and a ton of treatments, there's very little chance of me reversing current damage or improving my fibromyalgia symptoms significantly. I know some patients would be upset by that, but I appreciated the honesty because I know it's true, and I'd rather hear that than be fed that nonsense about exercise being a cure for me (if that were true, I would have been cured in 1997).

That being said, we agreed the goal in my case was to prevent further deterioration, which is something much more realistic. I assured her that, despite my poor tolerance for exercise, I would continue my program of aquacise three days a week and a home glider machine three days a week, and she was impressed by this.

She was pretty puzzled by the edema in my left foot, a condition I've had consistently for five years. When it gets bad, everything from the knees down on both sides swells up.

She inspected one of my fingernails really closely, which no one's ever done before (tho other docs have noted they look unhealthy). I think she was checking to see if I had damage from my Raynaud's??

We talked about maybe doing an MRI on my low back at some point as the pain there is growing steadily worse. First she wants to dig up my old x-rays to see for herself how much degeneration I have in the discs (I already know there is some).

I was careful not to push too much on the disability support issue as it is something that scares a lot of docs off. I did let her know that I've been unable to work for over three and a half years and that my Denver rheumy had been the one to handle my disability paperwork in the past. I do plan on my next visit to ask her if she will take over that task.

The best part is that I am going to be allowed to stay on my current treatment regimen and that she will let me get check-ups every four months (the rheumatologists here are very overburdened and see a lot of their patients once a year only). I need to keep the visits relatively frequent to make sure my documentation is current should Social Security or my long-term disability insurance company want to look at it.

I'm sure I will be more excited about the outcome once I've had some sleep (crashing on the couch after the appointment for two hours doesn't count, heh heh). For now, I'm mainly just relieved it's over.