I’ve been pretty quiet lately, in general. I’ve just been kind of… processing, I guess. To be completely honest, I’m very stressed, very depressed, and completely exhausted. My blood pressure is scientific proof. There’s so much going on, I can’t seem to catch up. But today I actually got some good news.

Well, okay, so it’s not actually news yet, but I think it’s a step forward.

I saw my rheumatologist today to follow up on last week. (I just realized that I haven’t posted the vlog I made about last week’s fantastical random health issue. The video below is from last Friday, and explains everything.)

I’m a bad girl and didn’t see my gynecologist, but mostly because the cream that Sandy gave me was helping, and I

• didn’t see the point in spending more money on a doctor’s visit for them to shrug their shoulders, and
• was kind of afraid that if I left work to go, I would get fired (which is hilarious, since I said I didn’t give a shit, but really, I like my paycheck).

It cleared up completely, and I’ve just been trying to get rid of the athlete’s foot now (which I didn’t mention in the video, but I’ve had it between my toes for weeks). It’s gotten a lot better, and even Dr. Greco said so today. After doing some thinking, I figured that my diaper rash actually was a diaper rash, from the back-to-back IBS issues lately. Even if it was a yeast infection, the Nystatin that Sandy gave me is also an anti-fungal, so I killed two birds with one stone. I can also use it on my athlete’s foot (which sounds grosser than “yeast infection,” by the way).

However, because my body likes messing with me, I had a new issue to discuss with my rheumatologist today. Since this Monday, I’ve had this burning sensation across my cheeks, as if I have a really bad sunburn. It’s not really red, but it is uncomfortable. When I’m in the sun, it feels worse — just like a sunburn would. I haven’t been in the sun enough to have a burn, and I don’t burn easy anyway, so it’s odd. I thought on Monday that I had a fever, but my temperature was only 98.9, which is like .3 degrees above normal — nothing that would make my cheeks feel like that. I did some research and thought that it might be a Malar rash, but Dr. Greco didn’t seem to be concerned, so I’m just going to hit the STOP BEING PARANOID button and ignore it, unless something drastic happens (like an actual rash appears across my face, or something).

He did however set up the referral for my gastroenterologist, for my IBS issues. He said that Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome can be caused by the same inflammation that causes rheumatoid arthritis, but he does want to double check that nothing else is going on. “If,” he said, “Dr. Zlotoff says that the bleeding is not an issue, I’m going to start you on treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

Treatment.

Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Those are two things I’ve been wanting to hear — treatment, and a possible diagnosis — for years.

In the meantime, he gave me a prescription for Skelaxin, which he said helps with musculoskeletal pain. I will see him again in about a month, and have to set up an appointment with my gastroenterologist as soon as possible. (I’m going to call in the morning.)

My fingers are crossed that Dr. Zlotoff finds no issue aside from hemorrhoids with my IBS bleeding, so that I can start treatment pronto. If treatment for RA works, that means it’s most likely what I have.

I just want to take back control of my health.

In other news, the nose is doing well. I asked my body piercings expert, Crystal, if it was okay to use saline nasal wash for my sinus infection with the fresh piercing. I figured it would be fine, but I wanted to make sure. She told me that it would be fine since she uses sea salt to clean all of her new piercings, so I decided to try sea salt, too. I don’t know about anyone else, but trying to wash and rinse the inside of your nose with antibacterial soap is a pain in the ass. I started cleaning it with sea salt, gauze, and Q-tips for the first time a few nights ago, and I instantly noticed a huge difference. I could actually turn the stud without hassle, could raise it a little to clean underneath it, and best of all, it was a lot less sore after using the sea salt.

I keep forgetting that I have it, though; every so often, I’ll think to myself, “Damn, I have a huge booger in my nose! I should get it out…” And then I’ll yank my hand away as it starts to move toward my face, mentally scolding myself for nearly forgetting.

Being me is a lot of fun.