Thursday, December 19, 2013

Changes are taking the pace I'm going through

Starting around Thanksgiving, the pain that flares up in my left hip from time to time hit both of my hips and I had to walk with a cane.  On RockerBoy's 40th birthday, we moved in with my friend "J." She had kicked her boyfriend out and needed help with the rent, so we came to the rescue. (Really, she rescued us.)  So now it's me, RockerBoy, "J" and her two kids and two dogs, and my two dogs. Things are going really well except that Curly Joe is being a turd to J's dogs and we all seem to have contracted Captain Trips. I'm working six days this week and I'm fighting the plague. 

Meanwhile, my friend had to loan me her late grandfather's wheelchair so I could get around at work. It was humiliating and frustrating, but I wouldn't have gotten through without it.  I went to ZoomCare and had bloodwork done: Rheumatoid Arthritis Factor, ANA w/Reflex, Sedimentation Rate-Westergren, and C-Reactive Protein. All of it came back negative.  The doctor referred me to an osteopath and two physical therapists and told me I should get radiographs of my hips, pelvis and my left knee (which has also been hurting in a scarily weird way).  Last weekend RockerBoy and several of my friends forced me to go to urgent care for radiographs.  I got the hip/pelvis ones done and they also came back negative.  I wasn't in an accident and I didn't hurt myself at work or anything, so no one is sure why I have this pain.

Oh, did I forget to mention when I had my right leg stretched 3 inches in 1990 to make it even with my left leg, it was actually over-stretched by half an inch? Yeah. That might have something to do with it. 

At any rate, I live in a different city now (20 minute drive to work instead of 60!), so I'm going to get a new PCP and look into PT and all that. J and I have been talking about trying a gluten-free diet because she thinks her kids might have a wheat allergy, and I know that gluten is an arthritis trigger. Plus I'm almost positive going gluten-free will help RockerBoy's asthma and allergies. We'll see how that goes.

Work has been hectic, but us night shift drones are used to it, though it does take its toll after a while. At least they're working on making it so that all of us only have to work every third Saturday again.

Big things coming in 2014....

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