Well, let's just say I wish I could drop-kick something. A doctor, maybe?  I'm just kidding! I'm not a violent person, really, but I am frustrated right now.
On the bright side, we went over my bloodwork - everything was normal, so normal in fact that I was smack dab in the middle of all the various ranges. Only one test came up a little on the high side, and that was the TIBC (total iron-binding capacity). He said this woudn't affect my health, and it's probably due to the BC pill I'm on. He asked if I was on a iron supplement and I said, "Nope. I don't even eat red meat!" (So, there you go, you can get all the nutrients you need on this diet!  )
He went through my symptoms asked me if anyone in my family has RA. My father and maternal grandmother have RA, possibly an aunt, so that increases my risk but doesn't mean I'll get it. Today was a good day for me, so I didn't have a lot of pain or swelling; only my toes hurt and he said he could feel swelling in those joints. Because I didn't have any swelling or inflammation anywhere else today he couldn't make a diagnosis. This is where it gets frustrating - if I had come in a few weeks ago, when I was having the noticeable swelling he might have been able to see what's wrong. But for some reason, today my body was fine. (That was this morning, now I'm getting the swelling and stiffness again.)
I told him that I didn't know what to do anymore, because obviously and according to the tests I'm healthy. I'm really happy about that, but it's frustrating to be missing so much work, so much life, because of those days I do experience symptoms. I told him that because no one can find anything wrong, I'm wondering if there's something wrong with me. I know I have anxiety issues but they don't really seem to affect the stiffness, pain, and swelling one way or another. He was very kind and said that just because he couldn't find the signs or markers of a problem that didn't mean my symptoms were merely in my head.
He said it just meant he couldn't find anything wrong with my joints and that was a good thing because it meant my body isn't doing damage to itself. He said that sometimes you can only make a diagnosis when an autoimmune disorder is active and right now, today, if it is an autoimmune problem, it was inactive.
He sent me for more bloodwork to check for other autoimmune disorders (one for Lupus, a new test that can check for RA in its early stages but can also give you a false positive). I was too upset to write down the names of those tests, but I have an appointment to see him again in three weeks. Next week I see my PCP to go over the lab work again and do a med check.
Thanks for all your support everyone! I'm feeling kind of down right now, you know, frustrated and confused. But I know how fortunate I am that all my blood work came back normal and to know that I really am healthy.
Edited by Maria! Maria! (02/28/06 04:43 PM)
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Back from the rheumatologist - AARGH?!
