Today I saw my GI doctor for the first time in a year. Which to me is a good thing. It means that I wasn’t sick enough to have to go in for a visit. I did get sick a few times over the last year but they worked with me over the phone thankfully. It’s a three hour drive one way to go see them.
One thing that I was irked about when I first got there was filling out the paperwork for past medical history.
There wasn’t any place to put down that I have Indeterminate Colitis. Only Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis. I ended up writing it in myself. In my opinion this needs to change. Indeterminate Colitis need to be recognized nationally. I shouldn’t have to write in what I have on a piece of paper that lists forms of IBD. I also should have the right diagnosis in my chart.
Anyway, my doctor so far is happy with how I’m doing. The only thing he’s concerned with right now is the joint pain. There isn’t a whole lot that he can do about it right now because I’m already maxed out on the Humira. And the only other option is chronic steroids which I don’t want to do right now. Long term steroid use is NOT good for you. Which leads me to believe that my GI thinks I might have arthritis. Or at least joint complications due to the IBD.
So right now I’m stuck dealing with the joint pain. It’s the worst in the mornings and sometimes at night after a long day at work. During the day they don’t always hurt once they’re warmed up and I’ve been using them for a while. I should also start doing some daily hand exercises to see if that helps. I already found a few online and saved them to Evernote. Hopefully they help and make a difference.
I also got some blood work done today. I’m hoping those labs will be back tomorrow. My WBC count is being checked along with a ESR panel. I’ve never had an ESR done before but it checks for inflammation levels in your body. Hopefully my labs will be back tomorrow! I’m interested in seeing how I’ve been doing since last year.
On my clinical care summary that my doctor always writes up before I go home it mentioned that my BMI is above normal range and that I should talk to my PCP about weight management. Which did bum me out a bit. I was on steroids for 10 months last year and that did not do me any favors weight wise. I was working out regularly earlier this year and did manage to lose somewhere between 7-10lbs. I definitely need to get back to the gym and get in shape. I have about 10 more pounds to lose before I’m back to where I was before I got super sick in December of 2013. Looks like it’s time for me to find some motivation to get back to it.