OK Went to the Rhuemy for the first time yesterday. What a great Dr. Was worth the wait! He examined me after asking a ton of questions, listening to me and explaining a few things. After all that was done, he sat down with me and told me, that even though I have been doing well for the past few weeks, *I almost have felt normal*, that he does seriously suspect RA and possibly Fibro. He looked at all my previous bloodwork from Feb/March which all came back neg, and said just because the RF and sed rate came back normal, doesn't mean a thing. He did order x-rays on my hands and feet, to check for degeneration. He said he saw signs of the RA in my knucles on my hands and the big toe joints of my feet. He also order the anti-cpp bloodwork, and when I told him I knew what he was talking about, he was shocked, cause he said that many drs. still don't recognize it!
I am glad you got some answers, your abd pain does sound like gall stones. I think you really need to have a serious talk with your kids. Sounds like they are going through the typical me me me teen phase. Maybe your family can help you set them straight. I dread the teen years...I am still trying to raises my husband!Wow. I am so happy you found a doctor that treats you well. There are enough of them out there that don't! I am sorry what is going on with your teenagers though. It is a tough time.... and you have two! Can't be easy. I work with a woman who just lost her husband to a sudden heart attack. Her daughter is 14 and she was giving her a hard time because she wanted to spend the weekends at her boyfriend's place ( he is 21). After fighting with her for weeks, my co-worker has given in and drives her there herself! I was shocked. But, being a single parent to teenagers is a hard thing. It was hard giving my co-worker advice, because I am not in her shoes. And I don't want to judge either. She kept asking us what we thought about the situation though... and she went with the advice of another co-worker (who had two daughters who got pregnant at the age of 14 and 16. This co-worker is taking care of the grandchildren because apparently her daughters found out how hard it is to have children at such a young age and decided they don't like children! Go figure.) Anyway, all this to say that what you are going through is very very tough. I can imagine your stress level, and that isn't good for your RA or Fibro. Vent all you want here. We will listen and be there for you. Hope you are feeling better today. I agree with Crunchy that a serious sit-down talk with your daughters is in order. It might seem that everything that is said is falling on deaf ears but I would say figure out what the top three things are that you want to get across to them, and keep it short and to the point. If one of them says 'Well what can WE do about it?' be ready with a couple of very specific things that that they can take responsibility for immediately. Not things like 'Be supportive' or 'Help me more' but things like 'It would really be great if you could carry the bags in and put all the groceries away when I get home from the store. I am usually pretty sore by the time I pull into the driveway". (If they agree to do that,you have to make sure you plan the shopping for when you know they will be home and then leave them to it. Don't complain if they put things in the wrong places or get into arguments doing it or drop the eggs etc etc - just leave them to it and have a sit down with a cold drink). Another specific you could 'assign' (don't use that word to them!) would be to spend a half an hour going around the house with a bottle of Glass Plus and a roll of Paper Towels and clean any surface that needs it. I hope this isn't coming across as trite. I remember only to well the teenage years. I have two adult sons who really gave us a run for our money to the point where one Mother's Day I completely wigged out. In the years since (15+) I have learned that the more specific you can be about how someone can really help you, the more successful even a vaguely genuine offer will be. Never turn anyone down when they ask, even if all you can think of is 'Feed the cat' or 'take those newspapers out to the recycling bin' - there is ALWAYS something. I hope you are able to reach your girls - they are in the middle of that Me Me Me thing but they are still old enough to have respect for what you are going through. Cynthia Sounds like you have a wonderful doctor...that's good! I hope the other problems work out for you Terinski....you certainly don't need all the stress right now. I remember when I first met Steve. My daughter was about 15 at the time. She had a hard time with it and let it show. The problem was that she was jealous of my relationship with Steve. I think it's fairly normal. The most you can do is let them know that nothing will ever come between the two of you and make sure you have a lot of time with just her. But also to be firm and let her know that you also have a life that involves other people. In my situation, it took a while for my daughter to understand and we had some hard times, but nothing too bad. Today, Lyndsay is very close to Steve and talks about the day that when she gets married, she'd like to have Steve, along with her father, walk her down the aisle. Which is nice since Steve never had children of his own. I really hope things work out for you Terinski...seems like you have a lot on your plate right now. Kelstev, I do have a lot on my plate, but that is nothing unusual for me, it's just the way my life goes!
I wonder if it is easier for kids to deal with mom or dad having RA than it is for the teenagers. Teenagers tend to be a little nuts anyways, I sure hope my kids dont get too crazy. I guess I will find out soon enough!I swear aliens come and take over the kids minds at about age 11 or 12 and don't return the real kids until about 18-20!!
Terri, I'm glad you got a good rheumy and are starting to make sense of all your ailments. Finding out what's wrong is a great relief even if that means RA and fibro. I'm sorry your daughter is giving you such grief. I think her fear of you being sick might have something to do with it. I just had a horendous fight with my 26 year old daughter on Mother's Day. We were all in my car, My husband, her friend, and our dog driving 7 hours back from Hollywood to see my son in a perormance. My daughter was driving my car and insisted on driving 85 miles an hour one hand on the steering wheel, the other fiddling with the radio, drinking coffee, putting on chapstick, etc.I told her to slow down and pay attention. She told me to stop treating her like a teenager. I told her she was acting like one. Anyway, I asked her to pull over and let my husband finish the drive home. Kids act like kids no matter how old they get. We keep having these scenes and I think it has something to do with her feeling vulnerable. Most of the time we're good friends and get along really well but at times it's back to the old teenage routine. Hope things get resolved and the gall stone issue is soon in your past. They thought I had gall stone problems ot diverticulitis and it turned out to be irritable bowel syndrome.
Thanks to all of you, even though I don't post often, reading what you all have to say does help and gives me chuckles from time to time.
I feel for you. When my guys were teens I always said - I didn't know if they were gonna kill me first or me kill them. Thank goodness we all survived. Hopefully you'll get some relief soon.I have a teenager, too, so I feel for you. One day, it's great, and I think, this is EASY, and the next day, life sucks and it's all my fault.
Fiona, things have not been great for the past few months. I can't handle it any more, that's why she is going to go stay with my brother for a few months, maybe longer over the summer. She needs to realize that rules are rules, and I deserve her respect, even if she doesn't think so. I've been her only parent for almost ten years, sooooo she thinks she runs the household. She even went so far as to call me a slut for having a male friend, no romantic involvement.
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