Medical Update

It's been a few weeks since I updated any medical information online so I thought I'd put some thoughts together.

I saw a new Doc at One Medical in SF and had a great experience. He listened to me and I feel like we're on the same page more or less. 

He did a physical exam, ordered blood work, and prescribed a tricyclic anti-depressant that is also an antihistamine for me to try for the hives. 

The blood work was all negative. I was screened for Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and other auto-immune disorders. Weirdly, I was wishing for a positive result. I was wishing I could be diagnosed with something that could be validated by tests, something that people recognize, something that isn't so easily dismissed. So it does seem more and more like I really do have ME/CFS. Not really surprised. Once I have insurance I'm going to see about a brain MRI to check for lesions. 

So the anti-depressant/anti-histamine was a bomb. I did what the Doc asked and made it a whopping two weeks before asking to be off of it. I didn't feel like myself, emotions were numb, lack of concentration, staring off into space, arrhythmia, and other physiological side effects all combined to make it a poor experience. But it's all ok. I had to try it. 

So today I saw my Doc again. I agreed to try prednisone again. I have mixed feelings, but it simply can't be as bad as an anti-depressant. What he's prescribed is a 16 day course starting with a high dose and decreasing every four days. It's designed to not only decrease my symptoms but to suppress my immune response enough so it stops overreacting to everything. I'm hoping the short course of treatment means I won't have too much trouble with side effects. (Which are a nightmare, and get worse with every treatment of prednisone) So I'll start the prednisone treatment tomorrow and we'll see how it goes. 

I've also agreed to see an allergist/immunologist once I have insurance. I've described the NEAT allergy treatment I've received from my Doc in AZ, an NMD, and even though my MD wasn't familiar with it he didn't dismiss it out of hand. He still wants me to consult with an immunologist to see about possible other conditions that could be presenting as urticaria. We both agreed that a dermatologist isn't going to help. He did ask a lot of questions about my activity levels, work hours, etc. I just said, yea, it's really hard most days. It's really hard to keep it up, to keep going. Last time I did say that I feel like I'm borderline for disability and he nodded. 

We agreed that first the symptoms needs
to be addressed, then the cause of the recent flare-up, then chronic care. I like him, my new Doc. It feels like we're building a good relationship. I even joked that if we don't figure out the hives this time around its bound to happen again so we'll have another chance. ;-) 

So that's the update, I guess. 

I'm cautiously optimistic and always hopeful of some resolution. If I don't believe it exists then I certainly won't find it. Thanks for following along at home. ;-)