Illustration of frog in hot water by Jan Hurst. Most people have heard the analogy of the frog in the hot water. If you put a frog in boiling water it jumps out. But if you put a frog in room temperature water and slowly bring it up to boiling it stays in. That’s what… Read More
As I switched to my third rheumatologist (“Dr. C”) last month, I stopped taking the prednisone that the second one (“Dr. B”) had prescribed for me. Why would I stop taking it when I know that it’s going to cause my symptoms to worsen? Because I don’t want to cover things up. Prednisone is not… Read More
Along the pathway to diagnosis, I have been riding on a medications carousel. When I was first diagnosed, everyone said “It’s not like it used to be – there’s so many more medications available now than ever before…it’s much easier to treat than it used to be.” That gave me hope and helped keep my… Read More
I’ve been posting a lot about lately about dealing with doctors – time to switch it up a little! 🙂 In the summer of 2012 my husband, kids and I went on a vacation to Florida. After visiting with my grandpa and aunt for a night, we went to Cocoa Beach for a day and… Read More
I went to the neurologist today for an EMG (electromyography) and NCS (nerve conduction study). The purpose of these procedures was to test for, and document, neuropathy (that I wrote about previously). The nurse conducted the NCS first. They stick various sensors on to you and zap you in places with electricity to measure how… Read More
Autoimmune disease are very poorly understood. Most information seems to indicate that they are the result of a very complex interaction between genetics and environment. Perhaps some are predisposed to them based on genetics and they’re “kick started” by an environmental factor – perhaps a virus or cold that gets the immune system going but… Read More
My “thing” has always been that I’m smart. I was never really athletic. I danced, but once college was over, other than the occasional taking classes for recreation, I stopped dancing and performing. I’m mildly creative, but not in a way that is as much a part of “who I am” like my “smarts.” I’m… Read More
I wrote previously about my musical diagnoses and the toll that took on my emotional health and ability to accept a diagnosis. To sum it up briefly, I went from a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) for 2 years to a diagnosis of Sjogren’s Syndrom with possible RA and Lupus overlap for the last 6-7… Read More
I’ve been writing about the physical aspects of autoimmune disease lately. So I feel like it’s time to write about other types of struggles – just to switch it up. And as you read this, please remember that my point of writing this is not to continually whine about what’s going on with me –… Read More
My post from yesterday talked about my scariest symptom – the one that has me truly concerned more than I’ve ever been over any health issue in my entire life. So today I thought I’d lighten it up slightly – talk about something that’s not as severe as that…and if I step back and look… Read More