Health News - Mom and Chel

First, about Chel - she began rehab on Friday morning at my vet! Medvet offers rehab primarily for dogs that are struggling, but thankfully, she does not need that. Grandma took her on Friday morning, as I am in PA visiting Scott. I have not yet talked to the rehab specialist, but our initial conversations seem to take us to the same page. Good news.

Per my last post, I saw the allergist on Wednesday, and got the steriod shot - to make the rash go away. I got to thinking and decided I was going to drop into the rheums office on Thursday to see if he had availability to see it. I walked in and they got me right in - he was very happy that I stopped in so he could see it. I was supposed to see him Monday, but I knew the rash would be gone by Monday.

We discussed the results of my xrays and bloodwork. My xrays showed a minor congential deformity in my lower spine - nothing major, but could explain a lot of the discomfort in my lower back. All of my bloodwok was normal except for one count, which was 5x normal level. This count does produce false positives, but my doctor does not think mine is a false positive because of the high count. It was a count that was indicative of a high concentration of a particular antibody (ANA). Further bloodwork is necessary for more specific testing.

What this means is 2 things - number one, we are on a path to getting some answers, because number 2, this high count lends itself toward some sort of autoimmune issue. Of course, I asked what my doctor thought, but he said he did not want to speculate. I of course have googled what this elevated count means and seem to have eliminated some things based on symptoms, but who knows. Anyway, most important - we have a specific path to go down now. Until now, it seems we know more what it isn't than what it is, so it seems like we are on the path of finding out what it is this time. Yay.

So although I am not exited about what they are testing for, I have to admit I am relieved to know I am not crazy. My gut told me this was not normal and I am very glad I stuck to my guns and had some medical professionals who listened. I see my rheum again in 2 weeks, so I will keep everyone posted. Thanks for the good thoughts!