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that sometimes a person needs to talk to herself if she wants to have an intelligent conversation. So true.

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But I know how fortunate I am that all my blood work came back normal and to know that I really am healthy.

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Well, I wouldn't feel that way. I wouldn't want something bad or chronic or serious, of course, but if I felt sick all the time, I'd want something in my blood work to be way out of line. I was always so glad when I felt awful to go to my endocrinologist and have her say, "Yup, we need to up your Synthroid again." That was me trying to be positive. It sounds so canned, doesn't it? I spent a good amount of energy swearing up a storm after the visit and decided to balance it out with something positive. Really, I would love it if a doctor said, "It's so simple and easy to take care of! I know exactly what's wrong with you!" And it would be nice if he/she added an "A-HA!" at the beginning just for fun.

This may be a dumb question, but as far as your rheumatologist needing your symptoms to be active in order to make a diagnosis, could you just call your rheumatologist on a bad day and say, "Hey, I'm having a terrible day. Can I come over right now?" That's a good question. When I was waiting to get my bloodwork done my fingers started to swell. I considered running back to the rheumy's office to show him...I'm going to ask my doctor about that. Or maybe I should do something before I go in that usually causes a flare-up - like scrubbing the tub or something.

I'm sorry you still don't have a diagnosis, Maria. Let us know how the tests come out. Thanks, Sand. It'll be a few weeks before the results for those newer tests get back, but I'll be sure to update.

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