I saw my very first rheumy this week, even though I was tempted to cancel, afterall who among us needs yet another doctor? I was positive he was going to say I was over fifty now and this is just the aging process. Wrong!
First, he was ticked off that the PC at my spine and pain clinic hadn't sent my records, said it makes him look ill prepared, so he talked with me while we waited for those. I told him my mom has arthritis and heart problems, my mom, grandmother and daughter all had/have thyroid problems, my grandson is a two time bone marrow transplant survivor of AML leukemia and my 25 year old daughter died in 2004 from disseminated HSV and she was in remission from ITP. I don't know much more than than because both of my grandfathers are unknown to me and I had been healthy up to February of 2004 when I got Idiopathic PN.
He was a little upset that my neuro didn't go any further than an EMG for diagnosing my PN, since alot of autoimmune conditions have PN as a "side effect". He walks out and comes back with my stuff from the pain clinic and starts to talk about iron buildup in the bones and such, and talked about I hadn't gotten the right blood work, he needed and ANA and something else. After that he was going to talk with his colleges about the iron buildup thing and look at lupus...I wish I had absorbed more, truly I was taken back that he is seeming concerned and most of what we talked about didn't stick in my mind. Now I am wondering what questions to ask him next, what I looked up says iron buildup in the body is genetic, seldom from toxicity. The treatment is giving blood to reduce the iron in the body, if undiagnosed it can be fatal because it destroys the liver. I have alot to ponder, I googled my daughters Disseminated HSV and danged if I didn't find this:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=1448683 , a paper about my daughter! I am a bit ticked off, I feel my permission should have been sought and I will email the U. of Wa. Medical Center to let them know.
Strange week for me and I would welcome any thoughts or suggestions. Does it seem that there are alot of autoimmune conditions in my family that are genetic or envirionmental, I have often wondered about our aluminum plant and fiber board mill that used benziene before the EPA got on them. I am worried, but maybe thankful that I do have something more treatable.