I'm forever dropping things I transfer from one place to another. Like from the microwave to the counter (over-the-counter microwave shelf) top.
Last weekend I was slicing some watermelon and hit the plate with the 10" knife so hard, that it cracked. (one chip went somewhere, still haven't found it- I'll probably do so by stepping on it and cutting my foot ) One less plate to the supply of the mismatched that we use everyday.
I feel thankful that my wife doesn't act like I'm an incorrigible 'klutz'. She just helps me clean the messes up and tells me to go more slowly and try to be more methodically careful.

Ah, thanks for this. I've been having increased tinglies in my right hand, and noticed yesterday that I was consistently dropping or flinging stuff held in that hand. And I've got some scraped knuckles from "bangintothingsies" (excellent term, by the way ).

Am going to my primary care doc this afternoon to ask if she will refer me to the Mayo Clinic for a "second opinion" on the Sjogren's/neuropathy diagnoses. Not that I have any reason to believe my docs in Denver were wrong, but the docs in Sioux Falls don't seem to have any respect for the previous findings. I am thinking if this stuff is confirmed at the Mayo Clinic I might get more cooperation from whatever rheumatologist I end up with.

I am very, very nervous about this. I actually feel traumatized by how the three rheumys in Sioux Falls belittled me earlier this year, and the last thing I want is to undergo more tests that may or may not be helpful (not to mention that my insurance won't cover it and I could go bankrupt paying for it all). But I'm pretty much at a dead end for treatment unless I can get someone to believe I have autoimmune disease causing nerve damage and not "just" fibromyalgia going on.

Wish me luck.

Oh, and I just thought of a bad pun: I guess misery loves "clumsy", right?

fanfaire,
who deals with nervousness by being silly

Sjogren's? I don't recall reading how that diagnosis was made---could you remind me, and anyone else who's lost track. I thought you had neuropathy associated with fibromyalgia.

My neuro and I had a talk a few weeks ago about Sjogren's--I've had a positive Schirmer's test. He basically thinks it's not a worthwhile diagnosis, and he's thought a lot about it. His take is that if you have neuropathy, and you have autoimmune issues in your eyes/mouth/joints, it's more helpful to think about them separately and get treated for them separately. Once you label them Sjogren's, he thinks, you're bound to just feel down. Interesting thought, as it's just a compilation diagnosis.

But I didn't realize you had sjogren's. Do you have the antibodies? Was it a positive parotid biopsy or eye/saliva test that made that diagnosis?

I was diagnosed with Sjogren's in 2003 via lip biopsy. I've had it for 10 years now. I also have fibromyalgia but consider it secondary.

The reason I'm concerned about proper diagnosis of Sjogren's is that I have extra-glandular activity, meaning it effects my internal organs in addition to nose and mouth. I have damage to my entire digestive system, lymph nodes and probably some vasculitis. I suspect autoimmune inflammation might be causing the neuropathy, although you are right, with neuropathy it's very difficult to tell what's causing what.

Fibromyalgia doesn't usually damage the organs directly, so it doesn't require as much monitoring (although it is a pretty crummy ailment in its own right). Also fibromyalgia as a solo ailment doesn't respond to immuno-modulators, anti-inflammatories or steroids, but Sjogren's does, so even though some of the symptoms of the two are the same, the treatments can differ. I find if I treat the Sjogren's, the fibromyalgia is much less bothersome.

I went to the primary care doc today, and she agreed to do the referral to the Mayo Clinic. She's going to try to get me in to both rheumatology and neurology. She did a brief neuro exam today and found some reduced sensation on my calves (different spots on different legs) that I didn't even know about as well as carpal tunnel type pain that I did know about.

I also found out this afternoon that my long term disability insurance company had called my primary care doc a few days ago and tried to bully her into stating that I could work and that I was suffering from nothing more than depression. The doctor told them that I could barely walk down a hallway, much less hold down a job and that I had primarily physical ailments. If nothing else, any documentation I get from the Mayo Clinic is going to put a dent in the LTD company's contention that I'm not really sick.

We'll see what happens. Oh, and I was clumsy at the doctor's office too.

fanfaire