NOT CHANGING MY MEDICINE

 I went to see my new Rheumatoid Arthritis doctor. I really liked her when I met her virtually. We got on great. Today when I saw her in person I got another vibe from her. Maybe she was having a bad day? I don't know. I am going to see her again in December and I am going to see if she is the same way. 

My labs came through and everything was in the good range. That is fairly typical for me. Especially during COVID since I am alone most days and masked all the time. 

I am still processing the appointment because she told me things I was unhappy hearing. She had a completely different plan about my meds than we spoke about on the video call. Instead of adding a medicine she wants to completely change my meds. We all know what that means: potential flares, insurance problems, etc. I am not willing to go through that. The holidays are coming up. Things are not great now but they aren't "horrible bedridden flare" bad.  I told her no. She wanted to put me on Gabapentin and take me off Orencia. I said no. Maybe Orencia is not working well but I am not a fan of gabapentin. I give it to my dogs and they have horrible side effects. 

She also wants to change my diagnosis after 20 years. I was like "what???" I was so upset about that. It is like telling someone they are a Texan for 20 years and then all of a sudden they are told no we lied, you are actually not from Texas, you are from Philadelphia. Or telling a vegan that you have been feeding them dairy products for years. How do you change something that you have told someone for years and they have been taking meds for and living? It was an upsetting day. I am choosing to ignore her until she gets to know me better. How do you make a decision like that after knowing me for 30 minutes over video conference? Four other doctors can't be wrong. 

That was my day and I had a hard time concentrating on anything else. Then an earthquake hit on the West Coast. That was all anyone could talk about. 

Until tomorrow...