Snap, Crackle, and Pop

My blood tests came back and apparently, I don't have any food allergies.  I was a bit disappointed.  I keep hoping for a moment where it is a, "yes!  that's the reason!"  I wanted to know the reason for this stuff to be happening.  To point at something and I have this food intolerance and it caused my body to react.  But alas, that is not the case for me.

I did go to another podiatrist.  The idea that the arthritis on the top of my foot was causing all of this swelling in my feet.  It just didn't seem right.  That clinic slapped a label on it and that was it.  The new podiatrist didn't even do x-rays.  He felt around on my feet and told me that several of his patients have arthritis in their feet but it does not look like mine.  He thinks that it has be something in my system causing the swelling because when ever it is not working right - swelling always go to the feet. He saw that I had to have kidney surgery and wants to be check with my kidney doctor to see if that could be causing my swelling.  If not, then he will order a MRI so he can see what is going inside.

My symptoms are getting worse unfortunately.  Once we came back from vacation in July, my body let me know that it was not happy with me.  (I am thankful I got to enjoy and see everything on vacation though!)  I figured that if I take it easy for a week, my body can quit the flare up.  My right knee really swelled.  Everything hurt.  But I pushed through it slowly.  I can't just lay there for a week on ice.  😂 I think it hit me when I was a store and was going to squat down to a shelf to look for a size.  And I couldn't.  My knee would not bend enough for me to squat. It's been about 3 weeks now and it will now bend but it hurts when I do.  The pain in my back and hips are worse than they used to be.  My pain/ache in my hands is a lot more often.  It feels like the flare up that doesn't end.  

My rheumatologist sent me to a specialist.  She is a Physical Medicine & Rehab and Sports Medicine MD.  She some how specialized with arthritis in the middle of all that as well. She put lots of new words (that I had to look up) on my chart.  She looked at my x-rays and told me that I have an abundant of calcium deposits where my tendons attach to my bones in my hips and lower back area.  This is causing me to have enthesitis there --  which is just the swelling and pain that is associated where tendons and bones connect.   Another fancy word that she put on my chart is polyarthralgia which is pain in 5 or more joints at the same time without swelling, redness, or heat.  Of course, we have the osteoarthritis which the other doctor told me about.  The one new word that is good news is spondylosis without myelopathy.  Which means:  General degeneration of the spine without central nervous system injury.  There at least isn't spinal cord damage.  I also have seronegative arthritis on my chart.  Which just means that I have all this mess and still test negative on the arthritis bloodwork.

She did give me a prescription for methotrexate to try for 4 weeks.  It is actually a chemo drug when used a higher doses.  It's only been a week so nothing new to report.  I am done with the steroids.  I had two shots plus 5 weeks of pills in 2 months time.  All I did was gain ten pounds which is not what I need to do!  I don't like to take ibuprofen all the time because it doesn't seem to help and I have enough other issues lets not add organ damage as well.  My next appointment is at the end of the month.  I am going to ask for x-rays of my knees to see what's going on there.  I see my kidney doctor for a check up this month and I'll ask about the swelling.  I'm tired and I don't feel good more days than not.  I am thankful that I was able to get into a clinic and get some one to look at my bones not what my bloodwork says at this point.  As the new specialist told me --- if it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, waddles like a duck, we are going to treat it like a duck and go from there.  

  

I am praying that they can figure something out with this.  It sucks to just not feel like me anymore. I know people that live with arthritis for years.  I've had damaged hands since I was in my 20's because of it.  I know. However, this spot that I am in now.  I have never been before.  I keep looking at articles online that could help.  This worked for me....  Try this.....And then read all the articles trying to decide if it would help or not.   I know most are just ads trying to sell gullible people a miracle cure.  I am only 50.  Hopefully I have many years ahead of me.  I want to figure something out without 20 million warning labels.