Yesterday morning myself and G got up at stupid o'clock (also known as 5.30am) so I could be in St Vincent's Hospital at 8am for my appointment in the bone and joint clinic. Thankfully the traffic wasn't bad and we got there at about quarter to 8. After checking in at reception we took a seat in the inner sanctum and I was the first name called. On my previous two visits I had seen members of Prof Fitzgerald's team but never the man himself so yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting him for the the first time!
He ran through my history and asked me lots of questions. Then I had to lie up on the bed and he put pressure on my joints and by god did he lift me out of it in several places!! I got dressed again and he told me that he was going to recommend I was admitted to their rehabilitation unit in Harold's Cross to try and get to the bottom of my situation. They have all kinds of treatments and specialists so he said I will be in great hands. He said that I have all the symptoms of Fibromyalgia but the medication I'm taking every day seems to be doing nothing for my pain and it should be helping. The good news is that it's not as bad as arthritis in the way it affects your joints and it's not going to kill me, you can read more here if you are interested in learning more about Fibromyalgia http://www.arthritisireland.ie/go/publications/information_booklets/living_with_fibromyalgia/living-with-fibromyalgia. I asked him how long would I expect to be in for and he said that it would be for 2 weeks, Monday to Friday. I'm waiting on a phone call but it's looking like I will be going in before christmas. It's going to put a lot of pressure on both G and myself but it has to be done!
After I had seen Prof Fitzgerald I had to go get some more blood taken, I'm really not going to have much left if they keep taking 6 tubes of it every time I visit the hospital, and luckily the queue wasn't too long because sometimes you could be waiting there FOREVER!
I'm going to be bringing my laptop with me so that I can Skype the boys every night before bed and also so I can keep up to date with the outside world so I will be looking for any dvd/book recommendations and any interesting websites to help me pass the time! That's when I'm not being poked with needles, doped up on new medication, being electrocuted (I'm hoping that part of the booklet doesn't apply to me!!!!) or swimming!
Fingers crossed they will be able to get things under control for me soon and I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my progress!
Wow, the booklet is very overwhelming, god love ye. Will hope & pray that they get to the bottom of it before Christmas and that you get to enjoy some pain-free time over the holidays, hopefully they can find something that works for you. Best of luck Jacinta xx
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