Cleveland Clinic, Here I Come!!

This time tomorrow, I'll be in Cleveland. And by Cleveland, I mean the tiny town about 40 miles outside of Cleveland that I grew up in. The husband and I will be joining my best friend and her fiance for dinner, and then joining my dad to see a late movie---and then? Bed. Up early to make the trip to the Cleveland Clinic.

I've been to the CC once before; it was not pleasant. I went there last spring for a second opinion on my Focal Myositis (again, I have no idea why I feel the need to capitalize my disease(s)...it's not like it makes them more real if I do...but, I digress). I saw this wee man with the last name of Wilke. He was a peach. If it was possible to make me feel stupid about having had a rare autoimmune disease take it's anger out on my leg, well--he was the man to do it. He asked me all sorts of questions--questions about my every-day health, and about my moods (to which I answered: I'm often cranky, to which he replied: I can tell). He agreed I had Myositis. He printed off about 80 articles he had written about Fibromyalgia, and told me to read up on it....and we were on our way.

So, it is with high, high hopes that I will be returning to the Cleveland Clinic. This time, instead of heading to Rhuematology, we will be heading to the Neuromuscular Center.

I had an appointment with my Internist on Friday--first time since the wedding. He asked how I was feeling----No change. Still sore. Awful sore some days. Back pain that would rival....well, it would rival really bad back pain. I'm weak. And tired...real tired. And I can't sleep worth a shit (but I didn't tell him that Lewis meows a lot, and throws himself into the bedroom door often throughout the night; I didn't think that would make much of a difference at this point).

The doc was quick to point out one thing: I had acne. Ummm, thanks. But not just acne, "acne much worse than last time I saw you, which means the steroids are doing something." Why, yes. Yes they are. They are causing my face to look like a pizza. A round pizza. But--they have helped me gain four pounds too---so, I'll shut my round pizza face for now. Anyways, the point he was making was that at my current dosage (10mg daily), the steroids are clearly doing something---but not the right something. While the dosage is high enough to make things happen, it's not making my muscles better.

So, I'll begin the taper from the steroids this week. (good. I didn't want this damn moon face anyways.)

Wish me luck for Monday. I'm not sure what to expect, but word on the street is that there is another muscle biopsy in my future.

And, to hold everyone over until our wedding pictures arrive, here's this:

Classy, no?