the rheumatologist

Adam and I woke up together, and he drove me. The appointment was at 10:15, in the building right next to the shopping center with the Krispy Kreme and the Smoothie King. However, since the doctor I was seeing is only in that office on Tuesdays, he was doing a lot of things all at once. So he didn't see me until 10:30. We hit it off really well, he is very funny. We talked about being from Brooklyn. So it was off to a great start.
Then he had to check in on another patient, so I had to wait a while. He came back, we talked more, then he had me put on a paper gown. He performed the standard fibro trigger point test. He poked here and there, I said if it hurt or not. Many parts hurt. He sent me into a back room for X-rays. He was still running around seeing to a lot of things, so by the time he came back to my room, it was after noon. Finally, he took me into his own office. We looked at the X-rays. I have some issues with my spine, my neck, and my lumbar area, plus demineralization that had been leftover from the anorexia; but that, he said, does not affect the fibro. And of course I have the problems with my left ankle from the CP.
About the fibro: Dr. Baraf told me that the main problem with fibromyalgia is that it's a learned, exaggerated, overstimulated, intense response by the muscles in reaction to any kind of stress or injury. It's completely subconscious, uncontrolled. He gave me an analogy: You are about to be struck by a car. Your muscles tense and tighten, adrenaline floods you, your body is caught between the fight or flight response. The car passes. You relax. Your muscles stop being so tense and tight and spastic. This is what happens in people without fibromyalgia. But in a fibromyalgic, the muscles don't know when or how to relax. They are in a constant, spastic state of tension, stress, pain. This leads to pain, fatigue, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, digestive problems; which loops around and leads to a constant, spastic state of tension, stress, pain. Compounding those problems is that the muscles have a stress reaction to anything and nothing. Even just sitting there, reading a book, can cause a reaction. The body is suddenly unable to distinguish between a real stress and nothing. And that leads to fibromyalgia's hallmark flare-ups.
He suggested that I don't read too much into a lot of internet articles and forums, because a lot of people can project it as worse than it really is. He said that I can try biofeedback, yoga, Pilates, omega-3 supplements, amino acids, and things that will gradually help my muscles relax and retrain. He told me that his personal method of helping fibro patients was to start with the sleep problems, then the muscle tension, then the pain, then the depression and anxiety. He wrote me a prescription for Flexeril, and told me to take it before bed. He told me I could keep on all my nutraceuticals (the supplements) if I believed they were helping. He said that he didn't want to start me on anything like Cymbalta until we know how the Flexeril works. He wants to see me in a month or so.
I like this guy, I really do. He listens to everything. He takes everything into account. And he has a fantastic sense of humor.
I am home now, because when I called my boss during a lapse between tests, it was after one o'clock. We agreed that by the time I ate lunch, got to the Metro, and actually got down to the office, I'd barely be clocking in any hours. So Adam and I just went home.
Now I am waiting for a pizza delivery (mozzarella, cheddar, white sauce, black olives).

the rheumatologist

Adam and I woke up together, and he drove me. The appointment was at 10:15, in the building right next to the shopping center with the Krispy Kreme and the Smoothie King. However, since the doctor I was seeing is only in that office on Tuesdays, he was doing a lot of things all at once. So he didn't see me until 10:30. We hit it off really well, he is very funny. We talked about being from Brooklyn. So it was off to a great start.
Then he had to check in on another patient, so I had to wait a while. He came back, we talked more, then he had me put on a paper gown. He performed the standard fibro trigger point test. He poked here and there, I said if it hurt or not. Many parts hurt. He sent me into a back room for X-rays. He was still running around seeing to a lot of things, so by the time he came back to my room, it was after noon. Finally, he took me into his own office. We looked at the X-rays. I have some issues with my spine, my neck, and my lumbar area, plus demineralization that had been leftover from the anorexia; but that, he said, does not affect the fibro. And of course I have the problems with my left ankle from the CP.
About the fibro: Dr. Baraf told me that the main problem with fibromyalgia is that it's a learned, exaggerated, overstimulated, intense response by the muscles in reaction to any kind of stress or injury. It's completely subconscious, uncontrolled. He gave me an analogy: You are about to be struck by a car. Your muscles tense and tighten, adrenaline floods you, your body is caught between the fight or flight response. The car passes. You relax. Your muscles stop being so tense and tight and spastic. This is what happens in people without fibromyalgia. But in a fibromyalgic, the muscles don't know when or how to relax. They are in a constant, spastic state of tension, stress, pain. This leads to pain, fatigue, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, digestive problems; which loops around and leads to a constant, spastic state of tension, stress, pain. Compounding those problems is that the muscles have a stress reaction to anything and nothing. Even just sitting there, reading a book, can cause a reaction. The body is suddenly unable to distinguish between a real stress and nothing. And that leads to fibromyalgia's hallmark flare-ups.
He suggested that I don't read too much into a lot of internet articles and forums, because a lot of people can project it as worse than it really is. He said that I can try biofeedback, yoga, Pilates, omega-3 supplements, amino acids, and things that will gradually help my muscles relax and retrain. He told me that his personal method of helping fibro patients was to start with the sleep problems, then the muscle tension, then the pain, then the depression and anxiety. He wrote me a prescription for Flexeril, and told me to take it before bed. He told me I could keep on all my nutraceuticals (the supplements) if I believed they were helping. He said that he didn't want to start me on anything like Cymbalta until we know how the Flexeril works. He wants to see me in a month or so.
I like this guy, I really do. He listens to everything. He takes everything into account. And he has a fantastic sense of humor.
I am home now, because when I called my boss during a lapse between tests, it was after one o'clock. We agreed that by the time I ate lunch, got to the Metro, and actually got down to the office, I'd barely be clocking in any hours. So Adam and I just went home.
Now I am waiting for a pizza delivery (mozzarella, cheddar, white sauce, black olives).

the rheumatologist

Adam and I woke up together, and he drove me. The appointment was at 10:15, in the building right next to the shopping center with the Krispy Kreme and the Smoothie King. However, since the doctor I was seeing is only in that office on Tuesdays, he was doing a lot of things all at once. So he didn't see me until 10:30. We hit it off really well, he is very funny. We talked about being from Brooklyn. So it was off to a great start.
Then he had to check in on another patient, so I had to wait a while. He came back, we talked more, then he had me put on a paper gown. He performed the standard fibro trigger point test. He poked here and there, I said if it hurt or not. Many parts hurt. He sent me into a back room for X-rays. He was still running around seeing to a lot of things, so by the time he came back to my room, it was after noon. Finally, he took me into his own office. We looked at the X-rays. I have some issues with my spine, my neck, and my lumbar area, plus demineralization that had been leftover from the anorexia; but that, he said, does not affect the fibro. And of course I have the problems with my left ankle from the CP.
About the fibro: Dr. Baraf told me that the main problem with fibromyalgia is that it's a learned, exaggerated, overstimulated, intense response by the muscles in reaction to any kind of stress or injury. It's completely subconscious, uncontrolled. He gave me an analogy: You are about to be struck by a car. Your muscles tense and tighten, adrenaline floods you, your body is caught between the fight or flight response. The car passes. You relax. Your muscles stop being so tense and tight and spastic. This is what happens in people without fibromyalgia. But in a fibromyalgic, the muscles don't know when or how to relax. They are in a constant, spastic state of tension, stress, pain. This leads to pain, fatigue, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, digestive problems; which loops around and leads to a constant, spastic state of tension, stress, pain. Compounding those problems is that the muscles have a stress reaction to anything and nothing. Even just sitting there, reading a book, can cause a reaction. The body is suddenly unable to distinguish between a real stress and nothing. And that leads to fibromyalgia's hallmark flare-ups.
He suggested that I don't read too much into a lot of internet articles and forums, because a lot of people can project it as worse than it really is. He said that I can try biofeedback, yoga, Pilates, omega-3 supplements, amino acids, and things that will gradually help my muscles relax and retrain. He told me that his personal method of helping fibro patients was to start with the sleep problems, then the muscle tension, then the pain, then the depression and anxiety. He wrote me a prescription for Flexeril, and told me to take it before bed. He told me I could keep on all my nutraceuticals (the supplements) if I believed they were helping. He said that he didn't want to start me on anything like Cymbalta until we know how the Flexeril works. He wants to see me in a month or so.
I like this guy, I really do. He listens to everything. He takes everything into account. And he has a fantastic sense of humor.
I am home now, because when I called my boss during a lapse between tests, it was after one o'clock. We agreed that by the time I ate lunch, got to the Metro, and actually got down to the office, I'd barely be clocking in any hours. So Adam and I just went home.
Now I am waiting for a pizza delivery (mozzarella, cheddar, white sauce, black olives).