i saw two specialists this week: a doctor of infectious disease (and doesn't that just sound like a fun thing to devote your life to?) on tuesday, and a rheumatologist on thursday. after my appointment on thursday, i stopped by a quest diagnostic to have my labs taken care of. eight vials of blood later - yes, i said eight - i headed home to get ready for the ptsa's christmas party. needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot of "getting ready" to be had. i sat on the couch for 45 minutes trying not to fall asleep and then dragged my carcass to the tavern. (free food is a great incentive...)
the point of the labs is to rule out any other serious conditions. the infectious disease guy said that it's definitely an auto-immune problem and was glad i was seeing the rheumatologist. the rheumatologist (who i really like and instinctively trust - a key thing for me) said that he doesn't think it's lupus, and that if the other labs come back negative then it's probably fibromyalgia and we'll treat accordingly. of course i would have the disease that has unknown origins and is incurable because of that whole we-don't-know-what-causes-it thing. luckily, the symptoms are treatable, and hopefully the pain and fatigue will soon be down to a manageable level.
by the way... thanks for the concern and well-wishes. i really appreciate it. and i really am sorry for sometimes not getting back to you right away. it sucks not having the energy to go out with friends or leave the house or grade papers (well, i never seem to have energy for that...). i was supposed to go to a christmas dinner tonight and slept right through it. i didn't even hear my alarm go off. so irritating. but i'm not going to complain. i'm thanking.
and if i don't get back on here before christmas, have a happy and safe holiday! :o)
