Tuesday, September 25, 2007; 11:41 pm by Not Suzi.

Well, I went back to the doctor last Friday for my test results and to review my medication. Everything came back normal except my uric acids were high. So, the diagnosis is gout. What is so strange is that I didn’t have the main symptom (achy big toe) and it is a disease that is usually found in older men, typically of African-American decent. Gout is a form of arthritis that is hereditary (my grandma had it) where your body produces too much uric acid breaking down the purines in food. Alcohol and animal protein seems to aggravate the condition.

I decided I didn’t want any more medications (other than an anti-inflammatory for pain) and I would try to manage it with dietary changes. This means cutting down the amount of meat I consume, especially red meat, and very little alcohol. I hardly drink anyway, maybe a beer or two a month, because I always felt so badly from it. Terrible body aches the next day from just a drink or two. So I guess having gout makes sense if I react this way to alcohol. I always thought it was due to the metabolizing of the alcohol and the insulin release. But, according to the bloodwork, all that is fine.

I get re-evaluated in 3 months and if my uric acid levels have not gone down then I will consider a short-term dose of allopurinol. He did up the intake of my fibromyalgia med (the anti-depressant) to twice a day. So far, I’ve been lucky that I’ve not had any side effects from that. I am still tired off and on throughout the day but I’m not surprised since both my medications can cause drowsiness. I’m slowly getting used to it and it doesn’t bother me quite as much as it did last week. However, one strange side effect I have noticed is that my left pinky finger and part of my ring finger feels kinda numb and tingly. I’m not sure if this is from the medicine or because I’ve spent so much time on the computer due to my classwork, and I now have a nerve impingement in my neck/shoulder that is causing this feeling. I keep hoping it will get better on its own but I plan on getting a deep tissue massage to try to help it along and maybe visit a chiropractor as well. Otherwise, it’s back to my doc who I don’t think can really do much except run more tests.

Because I’ve been eating better these last two weeks I have lost about 10 lbs. I’ve given up sugar and the foods I know I’m sensitive to as well as reduced my simple carb intake. Since it now looks like I’m having to limit my meat as well, I’ve added in a lot more veggies and some complex carbs. Lomee introduced me to Tofutti “cream cheese” and I love it on rye crackers with cucumber slices and dill. It’s my new lunchtime meal. So yummy, and it really does taste like cream cheese.

I need to investigate sources of vegetable protein and increase my intake of that since animal protein is limited to 1-2x’s a week. I’ve looked into eating raw foods but I don’t think I’d like the effort and commitment it would take to maintain that lifestyle. I am reading about eating whole foods and it is much of what I do now and how I enjoy eating anyway. It fits in well with my life and food limitations and is very simple to follow. Not to mention that it is very nutritious as well. Lomee also eats this way much of the time too. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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Saturday, September 15, 2007; 5:52 pm by Not Suzi.

I haven’t been feeling well lately. At first it was general aches and pains but looking back I’ve been experiencing that for a few months now and have just attributed it to stress. Well, this week I started feeling some sinus problems starting and a lot of fatigue. On Friday when I woke up with my head throbbing I decided I should probably go to the doctor.

Now, I’ve had head colds/allergies/sinusitis, etc. throughout the years and figured I’d get a script or two to treat it, but that was not to be. I went to the same doctor that Lomee had when he was in the hospital 2 months ago for pancreatitis and since I was a new patient he really wanted to do a full work up.

While I was in the office I got a chest and sinus x-ray and a steroid shot, then had to go down to the lab for blood-work and urinalysis. He’s doing a full blood panel to check things like cholesterol, liver enzymes, etc. and testing me for diabetes, lupus and arthritis.

I also walked out with 7 prescriptions. 2 of them are short term but the rest are for the next 30 days with refills for 6 months. The doc thinks I have allergies (even though I’ve tested negative in the past I’ve always reacted to things in the air), which is not uncommon living where we do…I guess this part of the US is the most heavily pollinated area. Plus he wanted to treat my achiness and fatigue which is a great idea even though I hate the treatment. I’ve always resisted certain kinds of drugs but its come to the point that I can’t keep doing that since doing so negatively impacts my quality of life.

Pretending there isn’t a problem doesn’t mean there isn’t one, so I’ve decided I have to do something I don’t like in order to do other things that I enjoy. Always being tired and in pain kills your motivation. No matter how good my intentions, it is easy to make excuses.

I got meds for my sinus problems (antibiotic, Allegra D, Flonase) as well as treatment for fibromyalgia (Prednisone, muscle relaxer, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory). I’ve known I’ve had fibromyalgia for about 7 years now and have been pretty good at treating it myself with diet and exercise. However, now its to the point that I can’t manage it without help so I’ve agreed to a low dose “cocktail” of drugs to help reduce the inflammation and stress in my body. Once the pain and fatigue has lessened I can start being more active and motivated to make the positive changes I need in order to get well.

The Prednisone is short term and will reduce the systemic inflammation in my body while the anti-inflammatory is for treating arthralgia, such as arthritis pain, long term. The antidepressant also helps me to stay asleep and elevate my mood and the muscle relaxer will help with stress and tension in my body. I guess they will all work together to treat different symptoms and target the problem from different angles. It makes sense but I don’t have to like taking them.

Looking for a job is really discouraging and I believe it contributes to the depression I’m feeling along with the general malaise. This affects how I feel and just kicks off physical and psychological pain that feeds on each other.

So, Lomee and I have decided to start eating better. Its not that we eat poorly but we could make better choices. He’s just about given up carbs as of this past week while I’ve been weening myself off sugar. I’ve also dug out the info about my food sensitivities and the foods I need to avoid so that he can reference it when preparing our meals. When I follow this “diet” not only do I start feeling a lot better but I lose weight like crazy. I knew I had gained weight (stress does that to me) but I am within 10 lbs of being the heaviest I have ever been. Last time I avoided my triggers I lost about 60 lbs in 3 months so I’m hoping for similar results. The loss of weight is secondary to improving the way I feel and it will make me healthier in the long run.

After only one day of being on the meds I woke up pain free for the first time in months. Lomee said I looked a lot more rested and that he could tell that I had not been feeling well for a few weeks. I go back to the doctor next week to go over my test results and to discuss how I’ve been dealing with the meds.

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