20 Years of a Lie?

Almost exactly twenty years ago I was faced with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Lots of meds. Lots of frustration. Years of steroids left me with osteopenia, treated that a decade ago, now need to check the status again. (Which reminds me that I need to call the facility that was supposed to contact me two weeks ago. In typical medical fashion.) I can't remember how many different medicines I tried. How many side effects I found--I'm looking at you, methotrexate.

But apparently it was for naught, and the times I felt good were from the steroids and times when my body just naturally calmed down. 

I saw a new rheumatologist last month, since my one and only other rheumie left last year. I'd been getting gradually worse joint and tendon pain after many years of remission of what I thought was RA. But apparently it wasn't RA. The new doc checked me out pretty well but found no actual swelling. We talked for a while and she dubbed it: hypermobility, barring other diagnoses. Specifically "hypermobility spectrum disorder", but we were checking for a battery of tests to come back. They mostly came back negative. It isn't RA. It isn't autoimmune at all. It's... Something. 

Now, I'm hoping that she doesn't brush me off and say to just deal with it. I've been "dealing with it" for all of my life. As in, at least as long as I can remember. As long as my mother can remember. And I'm sick of hurting. I'm sick of having my shoulder just drop out of its socket. My ankles, and hips, and fingers going on strike randomly. After consulting Dr. Google, there's so many symptoms that make sense with the HSD--including the joint issues, IBS, and menstrual issues. Fun fun! At least that last one was ousted and is no longer a problem. Now THAT was an awesome surgery for SO many reasons.

I see her again next week and I'm both looking forward to and dreading meeting up again. I don't know if I'm going to be dismissed as a hypochondriac (could be--but unlikely in this instance) or once again be told to lose weight, get more sleep, drink more water, have less stress. Yeah. Working on that. Why did I still have these problems as a kid? 

For two decades I thought my joints were eating themselves from the inside so I was on, quite literally, chemotherapy for YEARS. And it may have done nothing at all. Or not. I'm not sure. The money and time involved was probably astronomical. But I was physically disabled either way, no matter the diagnosis. I dealt with it, with a hefty dose of help from those around me--especially my man. So I guess the diagnosis didn't make much of a difference in the long run.

Fret fret. Stew stew. Ruminate. The doc visit will happen. If HSD is the diagnosis, not much can be done that I'm not already doing. Though I do need to exercise more. That's a fact. And I have the gear to do it. But... mope. It may be something else. I just feel lied to because of something that was a mistake. 

Future Bear Dog?

Last we talked you met Jett. It's exactly two months since she became party of the family.  She's now 8-months old and has blossomed into quite the pooch! No longer scared of everything, she now has to be reminded that not everyone wants to say hi on walks. Meeting people, even those she knows, may involve wariness. Or a great desire to play keep-away that manifests as running away from her new/old friends! So I have a work in progress who is now in obedience classes to get us both into a settled and well behaved state. We need a lot more practice. I'm hoping she'll be better behaved than I am!

 Her Favorite Position: Full Superman Sploot

In the first week of June I broke/badly sprained my poor pinky toe stepping over a chair acting as a gate to keep Jett out of the rest of the house. It is taking its darned sweet time healing, and at 6 weeks out now it is still not letting me walk more than about a mile without voicing its displeasure at being used. This makes it rather difficult to go on longer walks with the dog (with her in a weighted backpack to tire her out more), so I've been trying to get her worn out other ways. That's been interesting since she's not interested in fetching. Doesn't really care about treats. She ignores laser pointers, even though she loves chasing lizards. I can't play tug much due to sore hands even though she LOVES to play tug/eviscerate the tug toys. And she's a young German shorthaired pointer with energy to burn. Luckily she has two huge yards to zoom around, one at Mom and Dad's place and my big yard at home. She's managing and, outside of morning and evening zoomies, she's pretty low key. Just after breakfast and around dinner time she turns into a manic shark, but we're working on that. My nickname for her is Sharkie, and the bruises up and down my body show the origin of the name!

We're still working on house training and finding out her tells for when she needs to go out. She has solidly gotten the idea that she needs to go outside to do her thing, so we're almost there. I'm going to try jingle bells at the door to see if she'll indicate when she wants out. I foresee her getting the idea and non-stop jingling to get our attention like she does by barking when begging us to play outside with her. It'll work either way. I may go crazy while teaching her, but she'll get it, even if it is just at the parentals' house.

Bird Dog Genes at Work

As a month ago she was 50 pounds and 23" at the withers but still growing like a weed. Other than a lazy eye and food allergies, she's got a clean bill of health and now has active health insurance. Who knows how big she is going to get, but she's already on the high end for her dominant breed size, so I'm scared to think of what she's crossed with. The vet thinks there may even be a smidge of great Dane in her, but I'm hoping not. Her paws are indeed big enough for it though. And thank goodness she finally found out that she is capable of jumping into my car by herself. Lifting her is a pain--literally. She has not yet figured out that she can probably just step/hop over the chairs I have blocking the way into other parts of house and it's only a matter of time. But she's almost ready for the freedom anyway, given how house training is going. I am dreading the time that will come (soon) when she figures out how to lift her head and steal things from the countertops! Till then, I'll just deal with her tweenage temper tantrums and training  and try to keep her occupied. And focus on getting her recall better, as right now she's got a massive case of selective hearing. Just like a moody and tired tweenager/teenager. 

Bah! Kids! 

But it's good to have a new furry companion around (though I miss my old bear dog.) I can't wait for the weather to be less ridiculously hot/my body stopping misbehaving so we can go out camping! Maybe this one can have a chance to scare off a bear at some point. 

My Hiking Buddy