Foot Update
Last week I had an appointment with a rheumatologist, who said something akin to, “wow, that’s weird, I don’t know.” So she took a ton of blood tests. Great, because my insurance is High Deductible Insurance, which means I pay the first $5k out of pocket, before insurance kicks in. Probably I’ll hit the $5K mark just in time for the end of the year, and then it resets. Grumble grumble single payer grumble grumble.
Anyway, tests needed to be taken, and taken they were. Since I last discussed the issue, the pain and swelling has gotten much worse in my feet, with one of them intermittently puffing up like a sausage. Gross. The pain isn’t horrid, it mostly itches when it’s swollen. Also, my hands are now hurting like crazy, to the point where I sometimes can’t sleep well. Mostly my sleep has not been affected, but the hands sometimes give me a bit too much grief. I can’t wear my rings, and one of my fingers won’t straighten out completely, because the knuckle is too swollen. Yuck.
So I went to my doctor two weeks ago, and she took a few tests (not too many, because I requested not too many due to insurance), and they all came back negative.
My friend and her husband came over with their kids to use our pool, and he (he is a physician) suggested that instead of seeing a podiatrist (I had an appointment at the time, but have since cancelled it), I should see a rheumatologist. So I did.
Today was the follow-up visit, where we discuss my test results and a solution. I had a dream last night that my tests came back as inconclusive, which was a little upsetting, because I do want to know what’s going on. Guess what? Tests were inconclusive. What they said was that I have Inflammatory Arthritis. What they did NOT say is what caused it. So now I get to start on a 3 week course of low dose prednisone. I’ve read a lot of crappy side effects of prednisone, so I was hoping not to go there. But since it’s only 3 weeks, hopefully it will just relieve my symptoms and I’ll be better, and I won’t have to deal with weakened bones (osteoporosis runs in my family…my Grandma broke her hip at age 40) , weakened immune system, TOO much weight gain (most people gain some on the drug), a fatty deposit hump on the back of my neck, glaucoma, blah blah blah. It’s a serious drug. Anyway, I get to take that for 3 weeks, plus another anti-malarial drug which works to help my immune system stop from doing this to me in the first place.
I’ve been taking shots of raw apple cider vinegar and raw honey, but not so much the epsom salt baths. I’ll try one tonight and see if that helps at all. I told my doctor I was doing the vinegar/honey thing, and she said, “I’ve heard of that…how’s it working?” Sadly, I couldn’t really say, because at the same time I’m taking the shot, I’m also taking Aleve in double doses. So I don’t know. But it’s an anti-inflammatory combo, which works well for Nance, so I figure it certainly can’t hurt. Thanks for the suggestion, Nance!
So that’s where it’s at. I’m not feeling well, and am looking forward to feeling better. I was sure hoping this would turn out to be a virus that would resolve itself and just go away. Perhaps it would, but the pain and discomfort is getting to be too much, so it’s drugs for me. Sigh. I hate going on drugs. I really do. Oh well.
11 Comments
simon
Really sorry to hear this. Hope they can tell you something “conclusive” soon.
J
Simon, I’m thinking that there probably won’t be more tests to figure out what’s wrong. My thought is that they will just treat the symptoms, and the diagnosis of Inflammatory Arthritis is all I’m likely to get.
Nance
Oh, dear. All of this sounds just terrible. I hope your body settles down and soon. Certainly something is going on, but what? You must be exhausted from wracking your brain and answering people’s well-meaning questions. I hope something works soon, or that you get some answers from something. If you’ve recently been getting all of the rain I’ve been hearing about on the news, the added damp or weather transition can be extra aggravating. Here’s hoping things stop troubling you.
J
Nance, the rain has been well south of here, in the desert I think. Down closer to the Mexican border. We haven’t seen a drop. Which is perhaps good for arthritis, so I guess that’s something. I am exhausted by the whole thing. It’s funny, because once I take my pills, my anti-inflammatory add ons (the vinegar and honey, Omega 3 oil, Vitamin D3), the majority of the pain dulls. But just having that bit of it ALL DAMN DAY is wearing me out. I understand more how some people with chronic conditions get grumpy or irritable or depressed. Blech.
The good news is that the horrific prednisone is supposed to give me relief within a couple of days. Just took my first dose this morning. Here’s hoping.
Rain Trueax
Scary– as the body can be. Have you tried going totally off gluten? Gluten can do some strange things for those of us sensitive to it. Tests don’t really work unless it’s as far as celiac and for a lot of us, it is causing real physical grief that is proven by going off and it can take 6 months to see it work– although it was much sooner than that for me. I also have a dairy sensitivity that does odd things. Fortunately there are a lot of gluten substitutes now; so it’s not quite the sacrifice that it once was
J
Rain, no, I haven’t tried going without gluten or dairy or anything else. I’ve considered it, but 6 months before even knowing if it helped seems like a lot to me. 🙁 I love gluten. Gluten is my favorite food group, followed closely by dairy.
Rain Trueax
i knew within a few weeks but my dil said that to get rid of all the effects takes 6 months
Ally Bean
Bummer. When I saw the title of this post I was hoping that your foot issues were all resolved.
I’ve never heard of the probs your experiencing, but can only imagine that it must be frustrating. Especially now the hands part.
Keep us up-to-date about what happens next. I worry, you know.
J
Ally, I’ll let you know if the new drugs work. I sure hope so. If not, I’ll have to start cutting out certain foods and trying that, as Rain suggested. Ted’s uncle was suffering from horrible arthritis, and was told he’d be in a wheelchair within a decade. He is a scientist, and so took a scientific approach to it. He started cutting out food groups, and seeing if anything helped. Lo and behold, for him it was red meat. Cut out the red meat, and arthritis went away. Interesting, huh? I do try to eat a mostly ‘clean’ diet, and go for a lot of fruits and vegetables to make it as anti-inflammatory as possible. But I haven’t yet gotten to the point of cutting out entire food groups. I’ll tell you, if they could take a test and just tell me, “Your trigger is x”, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’m just not crazy about the idea of going without for weeks at a time, and not knowing whether it will help or not. Especially since I don’t know if I could stand to wait that long for relief from the pain and discomfort I’ve been in, and taking the drugs at the same time as cutting out food groups seems like bad science.
Donna
I went thru the same sort of stuff you did a year or so ago. Even down to the high deductible. Many many tests: xrays, mri, blood, etc. All inconclusive, my diagnosis: arthritis and “you’re not young any more you know”. Add premenopausal and I’m just a mess. Have you had your hormone levels checked? Hormones screw up EVERYTHING. I opted out of the drugs, my pain sounds more tolerable than yours, and I have been eating a bit differently. Try to figure out your main inflammatory food triggers and lighten up on them. That helps! Good luck!!!
Gina
Oh ack, that is so hard. I am sorry you are experiencing pain and discomfort. I know some people with RA, and I know that it can make them very miserable, so I hope that you can stick with the “simpler” although just as annoying type.
Prednisone is indeed a double-edged sword, is it not? I’ve had to take it before as well, but only for a very short period of time.
I hope you are feeling better soon! Long term health problems can be so demoralizing, I know. Treat yourself to some little things to try and lift your spirits! I’ll be thinking of you and sending positive thoughts in a northerly direction!