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An Answer... sort of

My last post was a rather emotional one. Sorry for that.

After seeing the rheumatologist, much weight has been lifted.

The appointment was annoying though. It was for 10:20 and I didn't get to see her until nearly an hour after that. They overbooked. Then, when I finally see her she is going through the results in a painfully slow way. She mentioned that my white blood cells are low. So I'm freaking out in my head, wondering where she's going with this.

Low white blood cells happen with Cancer, but also with autoimmune disorders. It's not Cancer!

As she went through them, she said it's not Lupus either. It's also not Rheumatoid Arthritis.

It's probably Sjogren's Syndrome. Why probably? I've had problems with my salivary glands since I was 14 years old and dryness in other areas. Chronic dryness in the mouth that causes a high frequency of cavities. Now my eyes are often dry, but not gritty.

Anyway, it causes joint pain also.

Back to the probably. It's hard to diagnose this one. Blood tests are often not helpful. A conclusive test involves a tongue biopsy, which is extremely painful and often causes permanent nerve damage.

She wants me to go back to the ear, nose, and throat specialist for some reason, even though I'll still need to be her patient.

So I get one drug for now, which is the same drug I would've got if it had been RA. It doesn't take affect for 3 months.

She said I can continue with the anti-inflammatory I currently have or get medicinal marijuana for pain treatment.

I walked out of the appointment in a giddy state...

There will be challenges, I'm sure. Finding products I'm not allergic to like lip balms, for example.

Ciao,
R~
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