I went to see my GP on Wednesday. Well not my doctor really as he is on a holiday until Aug 25th so I saw another doctor in the same clinic. In some ways I wish I had waited until Dr F came back instead of seeing Dr C.
The reason I went was to let the doctor know that my wrists, arms and shoulder seemed to be hurting more than normal & that I didn't think that the mobic I was taking for my Carpal Tunnel (CT) was helping (I did forget once again to mention my hip pain). Once I mentioned this Dr C got me to squeeze his hands and then place my hands together in different positions to check them. He then asked me if I had any test done etc to confirm if it was carpal tunnel and had anyone spoken to me about treatment options that were available. I had to say No tests were done.
While Dr C was checking out my hands he noticed that I have psoriasis and he suggested that I might have arthritis. Of course the first thought in my head was NO NOT Psoriatic Arthritis! He organised for me to have a blood test to check for various markers that would show inflammation levels, liver function, etc and gave me a referral for a nerve conduction study (NCS)
I saw Dr Li all those years ago when I was first diagnosed with CT and he didn't believe in sending people to see specialists or sending them off to have loads of tests done. Maybe he was mindful of how much money these things could consume as most of his patients were on benefits of some kind. In fact the one and only time I asked Dr Li for a referral to a dermatologist he said I don't know they are awfully expensive to see. He reluctantly wrote a referral and I saw the derm a few times only but that was enough because the main aim was to get a UVB lamp - which is exactly what I got.
I am now booked in for the NCS on Wednesday Aug 19th in the afternoon. I'm truly not looking forward to is as I have been told that it hurts. I am such a wuss when it comes to pain. Who on earth thought of this blasted test to assess for carpal tunnel anyway? Some kind of torturer? Sending electricity, even in small doses, through the skin/body sounds like torture to me. I am not happy Jan!
Before I get too distracted by the test that I am having I wanted to find out more about Psoriatic Arthritis (PA) & treatment options for it. In some ways I am truly hoping that the diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel is confirmed and that this test isn't a waste of time. I would really hate for this pain that I am having to be PA. The thought of me having arthritis scares the pants off me. At least CT can be fixed if needs be by an operation PA can't. The links (Arthritis Victoria) that I did find in regards to PA have been very helpful.
To be honest I shouldn't really complain about Dr C. considering I have never seen him as a patient before he is being very thorough by sending me off for different tests. It's a shame that Dr Li didn't do it all those years ago. It would've save me some time in working out where to go to from here. And of course I'll keep you all updated on the outcomes of the tests. Wish me luck for next Wednesday!!
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