As posted online elsewhere...

I saw Dr Davies, my rheumatologist, yesterday afternoon. The
appointment went well, but I'm still left feeling frustrated. She's a
very thorough and very good doctor, I just want answers NOW.

I have an elevated Sed Rate, which means that I do have a significant
amount of inflammation floating around in my bloodstream. I've also
tested positive for HLA-B27, which means that I carry the gene marker
for Spondylitis, which only ~5% of undiagnosed caucasians have. The CT
scan came back normal... so I don't have any damage to my spine or
hips. This leaves my doctor and myself very confused, because I fit the
profile for Spondylitis perfectly, yet the inflammation isn't doing
damage. She's holding off on the diagnosis for a few more tests.

While examining me, she noticed that I flinched on the majority of the
trigger spots for Fibromyalgia. While she assumes that there is
something more going on, she will treat the FMS because it can
alleviate some of the pain and help narrow down the search for the true
source of the excruciating pain I have. FMS can be summed up as
widespread pain and tenderness in the muscles and soft tissue, as well
as sleep problems & fatigue. It does not cause inflammation and is not
a destructive condition. She prescribed a medication to take a night,
which also causes drowsiness. Maybe it will help me sleep and kill two
birds with one stone?

Another source of concern is that my thyroid is being suppressed from
too much Synthroid, so she is lowering that dosage. An overly
suppressed thyroid can cause joint & muscle pain.

And yet another concern is that my GI system is way screwed up. I have
had IBS symptoms for awhile, but it hasn't been high on my list of
concerns because I've been trying to get everything else figured out.
Apparently IBS can cause arthritis-like pain, so she's sending me to a
GI doc to get that figured out.

I see Dr Davies again in three weeks for her to test my thyroid and sed
rate again. If my thyroid returns to normal and my sed rate continues
to be elevated she will prescribe MTX or another medication to treat
Spondylitis. Before I see her again I need to see the GI doc and get
that figured out.

All in all, it was a good appointment. I am tired of waiting for
answers and want to know what's going on NOW.

-Ashley

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~~AC.