The basics from the appointment.
One, my Hughes Syndrome tests came back negative! No more aspirin, if I want. He said with my family history of heart disease it can't hurt to take an aspirin a day. We are questioning not taking it, only because several of my muscle symptoms did seem to improve upon taking the aspirin.
The blood says it is NOT Lupus. No way, no how, he said to close the door on that one.
What he says I do have is low Vitamin D and ''evolving fibromyalgia''.
First, the question of my vitamin D.
It seems my body just doesn't know how to synthesize sunlight anymore. And unless I consume huge amounts of dairy and fatty fish, the number is not going to rise. All this California sunshine is a waste on me, how sad! I was told last November that my vitamin D numbers were fine after the eight weeks of 50,000IUI. A mere six months later and levels are at a twenty-five! Last June it was a twenty-seven. Dr. Reuda explained that the range is thirty-two to sixty-five with the optimum number being a 50.
I was prescribed 2000IUI daily for 6 months. He wants to see how many of my symptoms go away and which stay. I pulled the list below off of webmd and don't actually suffer from all of them.
There is no clear pattern of symptoms. In fact many people remain asymptomatic despite low levels. But here are the more common symptoms
- Fatigue
- General muscle pain and weakness
- Muscle cramps
- Joint pain
- Chronic pain
- Weight gain
- High blood pressure
- Restless sleep
- Poor concentration
- Headaches
- Bladder problems
- Constipation or diarrhea
I highlighted the symptoms that bother me the most. Several other websites and articles name depression and anxiety as well. I am curious to see if the vitamin D treatment lifts my need for Prozac or makes a reduced prescription level possible. Rich is against this right now and I'm trying to see it from his point of view. In order to ensure continue matrimonial harmony we have tabled this discussion for now, to avoid a ridiculous argument over a theory being tested and not proven yet.
The only thing left is to see where the fibromyalgia goes, how it develops. I have six of the eight trigger points and overlapping symptoms with the vitamin D deficiency. Dr. Reuda's theory is the symptoms left after six months are the primary or secondary disease we are working with. Auto-immune disease evolve over time, mine isn't finished with me yet.
I continue to tweak my diet. No artificial sweetners, no soy, no sodas, no dairy, reduced beef consumption, reducing processed foods, and working on reduced gluten intake. I have noticed a strong correlation to carbs/processed foods and muscle pain/fatigue. There is a list of the 52 superfoods on my fridge for reference. I try to incorporate two superfoods into every meal I eat.
The last ten months have been running head long at testing, MRI's and the revolving doors of medical offices. We've gone through testing for the scariest, most complicated diseases to come back to the simplest possible answers. I've learned to go with the flow, accept my daily life as it is, and wait to see what the future is.
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