#11 A New Diagnosis

I have always had joint pain, had seen a Rheumatologist in my twenties, but pregnancy put a kibosh to any treatment. After, I just learned to live with it. A bad fall at work had damaged my knee, I had ongoing issues with my neck, and frequent pain in my hands and other joints.

Poor judgement reared its ugly head again. I think I wanted, subconsciously, to blame my pain and failing health on something other than the MS. If it was the MS then I had badly mismanaged my own health and well-being. I heard about a clinic in Toronto that took patients from out of town, and would arrange for multiple consultations and any required testing. So, of course, instead of returning to the MS Clinic, or to the family physician I’d had in Toronto, I made an appointment.

It wasn’t all bad. I saw an OB/GYN and had some female issues taken care of that I’d neglected (the dreaded Pap smear and Mammogram). I did not get a consult with a Neurologist because, of course, I already had one. But I did see a Rheumatologist who diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia, the cause of all my pain.

I was already taking anti-inflammatory drugs, and continued to do so. Nothing much else changed, and by that I mean I didn’t change what I was doing. I kept up the crazy pace.