A Bizarre Change in Condition

Thank you for your positive attitude. We need it. Be careful with Ayurveda! Some of their remedies work wonders, but some have been shown to be very toxic. Do research! But I believe wholeheartedly in the basic principles, which were always intended to be manifested primarily in diet and lifestyle rather than in meds. Parallel destructive trends with the West!

Mary,
Absolutely, I agree. No one should go into any alternative treatment without researching and consulting with their GP, especially where many are on a sundry of medications that could potentially interact. Herbs and homeopathic medications may not seem dangerous, but in some instances can be, even veggies if one is on blood thinners. I always recommend researching. That said, even in Western medicine one must consider risk/benefit regarding what a doctor may deem beneficial. I am first and foremost a patient advocate. While for example while Methotrexate may be considered in the event one has relapsed re: PMR and steroid taper, one must consider the potential detrimental side effects. But this goes for most anything, including aspirin and OTC medications. Here in Ireland the Functional medicine model is very good, east meets west. The Irish culture is old and they have embraced many ancient medicinal modalities not considered in the USA until the last 100 years or so.
Warmly.
Patti

After a month of NO prednisone and dealing with pain that was making my life miserable, I went to the doctors and agreed to go back on at 5 mgs only.

I also take Tylenol in and organized time. Took me about two weeks to get the steroid and Tylenol to work best for me and I feel pretty good.

I take my prednisone around 7 pm, as it makes me light headed/dizzy and I am usually relaxing and watching my fave tv programs.

I take an extra strength 630 mg Tylenol around 7 am. Works for 8 hrs and gives me a pretty good day (prednisone is still in my system from the night before).

I will add one 500mg of Tylenol if needed around 2 in the afternoon.

So far so good.

I know Tylenol has its downside- but at 75 yrs old in August, I felt like I had no life with so much pain.

I still deal with balled up muscle pain in both upper arms…..was approved for acupuncture so we shall see if that helps that area when they call for an appointment.

I agree with you, Patti, about func medicine. I have not looked as far into it as I want to. I live in the Washington, DC metro area and have checked many times for a functional doc. It's amazing how few there are and what bad reivews they get. It's discouraging. I am also interested in Ayurveda medicine and I am grateful that you brought it up. I don't think I have enough years left to do all I need to do.
I did see one doc who is an internist with interest in functional medicine and she was the best to date. Unfortunatley for me, she's in NYC, so we did a telehealth visit. She is treating my daughter for long covid and has her on LDN which has helped greatly. I very much trust this woman as she was the only one interested in putting pieces together. She had me do a lot of labs, none of which any rheums or internists would even entertain, including:
LYME DISEASE AB WEST BLOT
ANA,IGG W RFX TO AB PANEL
RHEUMATOID FACTOR
HISTAMINE, BLOOD
CERULOPLASMIN
TRYPTASE
CYTOKINE PANEL
IMMUNOGLOBULINS QUANT
The only one that concerned her were 2 cytokine measurements, IL6 and 10. I wasn't surprised. " The immune system is definitely overactive. This can be seen with postviral illness, autoimmunity, or in other areas. " She did think LDN would be helpful.
When I asked about "other areas," she said she'd really have to be in-person to address some scans or other tests to follow. I understood that. I really don't want a full body scan to rule out cancer, etc. But haven't totally slammed the book on it. Just not sure.

When I showed these results to my "new rheum," he threw them at me and said "We don't deal with cytokines and other xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx." x=words and a sorry explanation I couldn't hear or understand as so caught off-guard by his behavior and also because he wasn't making sense. Well, you understand where I'm going here.

I have read a lot about gut health and long before whatever this plague hit me.
Again, thanks for sparking my interest once again.

Believe me, when I saw what was living in those caruncles, I read for days and days. It doesn't look like Dacryoadenitis. I found one or two photos, one on Reddit actually, of all places and another in an article from NIH in Bethesda, MD. I wrote the author about it but didn't hear back.

Thanks for all the wonderful info and for reminding me there is another way. I do so very much need to find a functional, alternative, integrative doc or program. I believe for me it is going to be the only way. And I agree about the NPs. The ones I've seen in the past have been great. At this time, it may even be tough to get an appt with an NP.

Is Ireland your home? Such a beautiful place. I have not been but my husband is part Irish and many of his *11* brothers and sisters have been there seeking relatives, history, beauty, pubs (lol). My brother and sister-in-law went on an 8 day jaunt recently and had just a fabulous time.
Best to you, lovely Patti and thank you so much for caring. I hope you are faring well from all your efforts and from making the decision to take a functional path.