Rhuem. Appointment and General Doctor

Yesterday I saw my Rhuematologist and my all-around doctor. I saw my general doctor first, and asked her about getting a drug I need before I go on the chemo drug. She wanted to run more bloodwork before she gives it to me, and she was unsure if she wants me to take it in a shot or a pill. Today she called to say the first round of my bloodwork has come back and looks normal, but after staying up all night researching all of my problems she thinks that with the Reynolds Syndrome I have a higher risk of blood clots, so she wants me to do the shot. Not sure what all that entails yet....

She prescribed Zertec for my allergies that showed up in my MRI. I'm supposed to run to the doctor if I ever start feeling my face get tight and stuffy, or my nose is really runny, or something. I guess that it's not bad as long as I'm feeling okay, but it could get serious...?

While I was vacationing in CA, my really ugly toenail cracked. What, you don't know about my super nasty toenail? See, I've had Reynolds Syndrome for around five years, and about a year ago my right big toenail started going yellow and gross because of it. Look, I took a picture!


Beautiful, yes? I really admire my depth of field.

Anyway, I asked my doctor what I was supposed to do about the cracked nail, because it was split right across the middle. (You can see the crack if you look carefully at the picture.) She was cautious and cutting it, because she didn't want to if the skin underneath wasn't done healing. But as she looked at it, she did end up cutting it off except for the far right side, which is still attached to my toe. So now my toe is even uglier. Except now I have to wear a band aid all the time, so no one has to look at it. (Note: You can get your siblings to do almost anything if you threaten to touch them with your rotten looking toe.)

I also asked her about the two remaining sets of immunization shots I have left, which I can't really take with my Rhuem. drugs after I go on those. She thought that I could go down and get the last ones, so I went down later. But they wouldn't let me take them. Today my doctor called with the bloodwork results, and she said that they were feeding us a load of nonsense so she's going down to make them let me get my last set tomorrow.

This first appointment was really fast, because I had an appointment with my Rhuematologist right after it.

Last time I saw my Rhuematologist, he gave me Prednisone for a short-term fix to try and slow down the rapid increase of damage I was having. It ended up being the perfect timing, considering on the second day I was on it we drove to CA for 28 hours straight. This drive would have been torturous, but the Prednisone worked like I charm and on the dawn of our overnight drive I found I could make a fist with my right hand for the first time in months. It was also extremely nice to not be inflamed while I was playing with my three year old niece (who was not very gentle with my hands).

I told him about all of that. I relayed everything from my spinal surgeon appointment and my appointment with my all-around doctor. We decided that I would wait to go on Methotrexate until my other doctor had approved my other prescription, but I could go ahead and start Humira. I got a fun little box of goodies (namely: a DVD and practice pen).

I asked my Rhuematologist about running. When my other Rhuematologist diagnosed me [incorrectly] with Fibromyalgia, he said I shouldn't run or do something that stresses my joints (like dancing). With moving off to school and such soon, I wanted to know what would best work for me as I try to take advantage of the classes and such they offer. He said that I can run, and that he'd encourage me to exercise however I can, because exercise normally helps in the long run even if it's a little painful. So now Mom is trying to convince me to run a 5K with her... Which I'll probably try to attempt.

Anyway, I have the Humira to start taking. It's a shot, sort of like a diabetic's blood checking tool. You hold it up to your stomach and it shoots out, injects the stuff, and shoots back in the tube. It doesn't look absolutely awful, at least. I'm supposed to do it once every two weeks. I'm going to try and do it on Mondays. I'm also going to attempt to do a dietary thing before I start, just to rule out food allergies once and for all...

I think that's it. I have an appointment with my neurologist on June 3rd and with my Rhuematologist and all-around in late June.