Life with a Flare

First some exciting news, I get to wean myself off crutches! Basicly my PT has decided I can make my own decision, so right now I do not use them at all in the house and bring them with me when I go out, tomorrow I will have a day with a lot of walking but then I plan on definitely being down to one or none all the time. Heat then Ice and Stim @ PT (my favorite parts) Thursday I went to the rheumatologist. She thinks I had gastritis (which is the inflammation of the stomach) caused by long term NSAID use, which is what caused the horrible stomach pains. Currently NSAIDs still seem lie the best treatment option since we finally had found one that works. She decided to switch me from Prilosec to Prevacid for the side affects and restart the Voltaren, so today was the I took Voltaren with Prevacid for the first time and hopefully I will not get gastritis again. My rheumy thinks the two things that are my biggest problem right now are my crutches and how lax my joints are. She ...

That is the question I am currently grappling with. (No I have not forgotten that I am 4 weeks post op but since I won't have an exciting update on that until tomorrow I decided not to bore you) Today I had a rheumatologist appointment. It was pretty routine. My left elbow hurt during the exam and that was not expected but has never hurt before or after so I am going to try not to worry about that. She commented on how much better my ROM was in my operated hip then my un-operated one. My last set of Lyme tests came back negative, so we have finally ruled out Lyme after the one false positive. Since my most problematic of my joints currently are my shoulders and my knees, which could just be acting up from the hip surgery as well the crutches, she wanted to wait to re-evaluate when I have been off crutches for a little while to see if they calm down. On to the Relafen thing. I told her about the fun side affects I had from Naproxen and she said I could go back on Relafe...

With just over two weeks to go until my hip surgery I am getting nervous. This feeling has really surprised me, this is the 3rd surgery I will have had. Ok so for the first I was only three so I did not exactly know what was going on, but last year when I had knee surgery I did. Before the knee surgery there was not a definite plan, the doctor would go in and see what was happening, and hopefully fix it. Well that kind of happened but not totally. Without a plan I should have been nervous before that surgery but wasn't. So I don't know why I am sitting here over a year later, weeks before hip surgery, one where I know exactly what is going to happen nervous? Maybe it is because nothing was going right for so long? Maybe it is because my hip will be dislocated? Maybe it is the possibility of missing three weeks of school? (Hopefully I will only miss one week) What scares me the most is if it doesn't help, what will be next? Or what if the biopsy comes back positive for...

Everything today went pretty well, I am still in shock. My doctor's appointments never ever go well, like EVER. First when my OS came in it sounded like he wasn't going to decide on hip surgery yet, but the appointment ended with me scheduling my right hip scope! I was even offered tomorrow when scheduling surgery, since apparently someone just cancelled, but with midterms next week that was not happening. I was hoping too schedule it with my four day weekend in February but no such luck, but ended up with February 4th, which is earlier than I expected. Not happy to learn that I would miss one to three weeks of school was hoping for a week tops, oh well. Things That Will Happen During Surgery Excess bone (FAI) will be shaved away Labrum will be repaired A biopsy of the joint lining (to check signs for RA and Lyme) So the Rheumatologist told the OS that she didn't think that there was enough proof at this point for a rheumatology problem, and the OS think...

Yesterday was full of good things! About time! First I got my braces off! And then I found out both of the Lyme test in the second set came back negative! I just need to get one last set in 8 weeks and I am in the clear for Lyme! Not sure if I ever explained that the official name for the inflammation in my eye is uveitis, do yourself a favorite and do not google it, the results aren't good. The good news is that according to the specialist I saw for it yesterday I don't have uveitis. It either means the first eye doctor made a mistake or the NSAIDs I started taking helped, hopefully the former but either way I will take it! Also if it is the former than an auto-immune disease is less likely. The eye doctor also said that I have enough joint involvement I probably won't have a problem with uveitis again, because apparently it tends to be a problem in kids with fewer joint problems. (Never thought having so many bad joints would be a good thing) Unfortunately...

Yesterday the Rheumatologist called my mom. My blood-work showed no markers for RA, but it did have signs of Lyme Disease. The problem is Lyme doesn't fit with most of my symptoms. So the current theory is I have Lyme and something else. I feel like I am back in the middle of a house episode, maybe I changed the name of this blog prematurely. Looks like I am going to be sent for more blood test to further investigate Lyme, and who knows what else. Of course I can not get these done until after I get a script for them at my Rheumy appointment on Thursday, and since I need to have a blood test to check my liver function since I will be reaching the two week mark on the prescription anti-inflammatories before the appointment, it looks as if I get to have my blood taken twice this week. How did I get so lucky. I feel like the test results have created more questions then they answered...frustrating. I would really like to curl up in a ball under my covers and hi...