It is July now. And still trying to get this figured out. When I spoke to my doctor about seeing a rheumatologist, I was told that the wait to get in was around a year and a half. Seriously! And that is if they look at your file and accept you. So, my primary doctor ran a few test that the rheumatology clinic require before they will accept you. Those numbers did not turn out bad enough. I got messaged through my Mercy app the results and that was it. End of the line despite the fact that my feet swell, joints in my hands are crooked, and I sleep with ice packs.
And, every 6 weeks the foot doctor wants to see me even though, he can't do anything to fix it. The only option they have suggested is wearing my compression socks, tennis shoes, and maybe adding an orthotic to keep my foot from moving so much. That sounds miserable to me. I was wearing my Chaco's everyday just a few months ago! I told them that I would rather deal with the swelling at this point. I am not ready for tennis shoes with orthotics everyday. I have discovered Taos Sandals. They are pricey, not going to lie. I found a discontinued color half price so I decided to try them. And so far so good. They are made for orthopedic support and shock absorption. A plus is they look similar to Teva's just a lot more support. These might be my new Chaco's. 😒
Despite the end of the road through my primary doctor, I had good news in June. A friend that has read my blog works for a company that is just opening their Rheumatology department. She spoke with them and I was able to get an appointment. I've only had 1 appointment so far but I was in there about an hour. (that has never happened with any doctor!) The doctor took the time to go over each of my issues that I am having. I also got X-rays on my hands, back, and hips done. Next appointment is in a few weeks. I know that it's not fixable but I would just like things to stabilize. From my foot suddenly swelling by lunch one day at work and never going completely done again. It's not stable right now.
The more I read about all this, it becomes more and more apparent that inflammation plays a very big part. And a lot of inflammation comes from food. Not one doctor has ever mentioned it to me. But reading articles from Mayo and other articles, I wonder why they don't. Even though I eat pretty healthy, my body could still be having reactions to the healthy things. So, I ordered a food sensitivity test from Everlywell. Haven't done it yet. I figured my body to be reacting to something I am eating everyday and I don't know it. It's worth a look at it. It helped my son having reactions. Turns out that he is sensitive to chicken and chicken eggs. We ate chicken 3-4 days a week. Once he took it out of his diet, he is feeling so much better. My test might not show me anything. But, what if I am dairy sensitive and I have been eating yogurt daily? It's worth a look.
