It's now absolutely official. My appointment with a new RA Doc confirmed I do have Fibro/CFIDs. It is good to have a firm diagnosis. Evidently I have a fairly advanced level. It had been shouting for sometime but only this year got loud enough to be heard over my bad ankle.Now to jump through a few hoops at the insurance company to get the med least likely to have weight gain as a side effect *shudder*. I hope to be starting the new med sometime next week. If it is effective, it should make some difference in pain level by the end of the month or early next month. So IF it works, I should be feeling better anywhere from 3-5 weeks from now. If not, we'll shoot for a happy June. The doc says as long as I listen when my body says to take it easy, I should still be able to work out at the center. Probably not until the new med kicks in though.
I did get some good news. At my sleep study for retitration they found that I am healthier than a few years ago at least as far as the apnea is concerned. I only need the setting at 10 instead of 14. I guess those chair exercises and deep breathing exercises have made a difference! That and finding a mask that fits.
Despite the high pain levels I have right now, I got a better night's sleep than I can remember. About 5 hours at the clinic and 3 more at home. I've been getting from 3-6 hours of broken sleep a night.
I am sure there will be a few hoops to jump through to acquire the new mask with insurance, but it is always good to have a quest, don't you think?
The writing is going well. I grab a cup of coffee and do my writing thing as soon as possible while my mind is fresh. I have only missed one day this week. That was yesterday, because of the doctor appointment and sleep study.
4 comments:
I'm glad you got a firm dx. It's better knowing something than wonderful.
Your lovely photo is like a promise of better things to come.
A diagnosis is a relief. Definitely. That surprises the healthy, but for the chronic, it's true.
Official diagnosisesesesseses (diagnosi?) are definitely an improvement over "Gee, let's test for this and this and this and this and....." ...and still not know what is wrong.
NOW if the new meds work....
I was diagnosed 25 years ago with FMS...and it doesn't really progress. It just seems that way cus the meds stop working. I have had to change mine a couple of times for pain and such because the body is just too used to them.
It is a good thing to finally put a name and dx to what you have. It won't make the pain any different..but it helps validate what you have is NOT in your head.
Go to Amazon.com and check out the 2 books by Dr. Devin Starlynl. She is a doc who used to practice until she was dx with FMS...and wrote these 2 books. I gave them to a best friend of mine with FMS and she was stunned at all the things the body suffers from it. ALL systems are affected.
Glad to hear your apnea is better. I sleep with an O2 concentrator at night and I don't get more than 4 hours of unbroken sleep all these years....Best wished to you for the future....
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