The begining continued...

I was given to try different medications that did not seem to work while I was still having pain, and my symptoms seemed to be getting worse. My hair started falling out, my hands and body were swollen, and I couldn't even brush my own hair. I had trouble even trying to hold a mug, and it was devastating. During each visit, I seemed to have more and more symptoms, which piqued the doctor's interest, which led to the discovery of fibromyalgia.

Then I had problems with my insurance, where my doctor's office and the insurance could not meet eye to eye, and I had to go to another rheumatologist. This doctor was horrible and mean. She kept saying I have nothing wrong with me and that she doesn’t know why I am there and why I’m getting pain and symptoms. I was arguing and crying, telling her that she is calling me a liar and the doctor, who is well known to be one of the best doctors in my area, a liar. The stress I was getting was making my symptoms even worse, and I had to keep fighting with the insurance until I could go back to my original doctor.

During this time, when more tests and bloodwork were done and changes to my medication were made, it was determined that I also had rheumatoid arthritis. That is when I began to have my symptoms a bit more controlled. It was not that much better, but it was not worse. Since one of the medications I was prescribed was well known for causing damage to the eye retina, I was told to see an eye doctor for regular check-ups. After going to a couple of different places, I found one I liked, and after a few visits, she asked about my condition and doctor. I told her the problems I was having, and she suggested that I go to a large, well-known hospital where I could see all the doctors I needed. I see between 4 to 6 different specialists a year.