I met with the pulmonology team at May virtually. I did the Pulmonary Function Test while I was there but needed to wait to see my provider for results. I did that on Monday August 3rd. In a nutshell, everything looks good. I asked about how I seem to go from a head cold to bronchitis very easily and he offered me albuterol for my nebulizer followed by saline in my nebulizer. Next time I get sick (hopefully never), I'll just write and he'll send me the prescription. So we have a game plan for that!
Two days ago I met with my thyroid cancer provider to review the results of my blood work and my ultrasound. I knew they looked fine. They are monitoring some pesky lymph nodes that are near the one that was treated in 2012 with ethanol ablation. It's nothing of concern, but I do need to return to Mayo in one year for a neck ultrasound.
As for the new diagnosis. If you go back a few posts, you'll see I've been struggling with chronic pain and such and have been working with a rheumatologist in Wichita. He sent me for a inner lip biopsy to check for Sjögren's Disease...he said he was testing me to rule it out. One of my blood tests pointed towards this, but it was not a strong test result. Well, yesterday I got the biopsy results and I do, in fact, have Sjögren's.
On the one hand it's very affirming to have an actual diagnosis and that all I've been facing is not just me going crazy or imagining things. I'd much prefer to be a hypochondriac and have all this be fake. Sigh. But, alas, that's not to be. On the other hand, it's annoying to have an actual diagnosis because now I have a better handle of what's ahead for me. I'm only just learning about this disease and I have a lot to learn. So far I know that my case us not typical. I have mild dry mouth and mild dry eyes. For most these are more severe symptoms. My symptoms are more inflammation related. For me, that's fatigue, chronic pain and so on. I grabbed a screenshot of a handy list of how this disease presents itself. I noted in yellow what annoys me a little and in red what annoys me a lot.
This is the beginning of this journey so stay tuned as I learn more. In the meantime, Tylenol and adequate rest and a healthy diet and my P.T. routine continues. Prayer helps too!!
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