Health Update # 3: A Shake-up

Today I saw a doctor who is a Physiatrist, or a Rehabilitation Physician. I like this doctor because she also has a through knowledge of Eastern medicine and has done acupuncture on me before when I could not find any relief for my Costochondritis.

The appointment was difficult because she disagreed with a lot of my treatments and even my diagnoses! It made me feel like everything I was doing was wrong. She felt that I should be tested for some rarer muscle diseases for my calf pain and she gave me the name of a Physical Therapist who is supposed to specialize in treating people with Fibromyalgia, although she did not think that this was the cause of my pain.

She felt that I was depressed (I mean, come on, who wouldn’t be with my life?) and wanted me to see a psychiatrist for better depression management. She thought that I was taking an absolutely wrong medicine for my Fibromyalgia and that I should not be on any narcotics, which right now are the only things that are giving me any relief!

Basically she questioned everything my doctors are doing for me. It was quite shocking and upsetting. I felt like my whole world was rocked.

She is going to speak with my Rheumatologist about better treatment for my Fibro and more blood work for the muscular diseases. I am going to find out which psychiatrists take my insurance and call this guy for PT.

I trust her, but this was just so jarring. My life is in such a state of flux and now to add entirely new tests, medicines and therapies to the mix….ahhhhhhh!

We are trying to move, I am applying for disability and must await the outcome, and at the end of September I lose my COBRA and if my disability is not approved, I must go on NJ Family Care, which pretty much means changing all of my doctors and not necessarily being able to even keep on the same drugs. Not to mention our finances. If I wasn’t depressed, you would have to call me insane!

As I said, I do trust her and am going to follow her advice for as long as I am able to. Perhaps I will get some improvement in the remaining months I have. Big sigh.

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About mamasick

Emily Cullen is a pen-name. I suffer from chronic illnesses and diseases which include Bipolar Disorder, Asthma, Diabetes and Fibromyalgia. I had battled Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis but there is no longer evidence of me having these diseases and my Rheumatologist has declared them to be "burnt out" of my system. I am separated from my husband, “Grant”. Our son, “Tyler” was born in September of 2006 and suffers from tics and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and is delayed in fine and gross motor skills. In my blog I seek to let sick moms know that they are not the only ones going through this, and to educate people about what can happens when one becomes catastrophically ill. I also strive to break down stereotypes of what a “Welfare Mom” is like. Anything that I have gone through due to being sick, is written on the pages of Mama Sick.

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