Now that I've posted pics...

here's a little more catching up to do.

I'm only able to type because my left arm is numb from the cortisone shot I got from the Dr. today. It's wasn't actually a cortisone shot--it was something else, but I couldn't tell you what now because I was too busy mentally freaking out when I saw the size of the needle the Dr. was bringing towards me. She had to inject it right into the joint in my shoulder. Let me just say, it FREAKING HURT. Anyone who knows me in real life, knows that I take plenty of shots daily for my diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Shots don't really scare me anymore. But this one did. Maybe it was because I was already in major pain. Maybe it was because I've never had one of these kinds of shots before. Or, maybe it was because I am just a little freaked out by the last few days' events. Let me rewind.

Tuesday, I started experiencing significant pain in my shoulder that really made my entire arm hurt. I went to bed that night but didn't get much sleep. Wednesday wasn't any better. I'm at work trying to type and work and my arm just kept getting worse and worse. The shoulder pain was really intense and my arm felt numb and cold. Finally, I realized that the color in my hand looked bluish/purplish. I asked my supervisor for her opinion and she was a little shocked by the color and how cold my entire arm felt. It was as if the circulation was cut off or something.

I figured it was a joint problem so I called my Rheumatologist. She quickly informed me it could be a heart attack because apparently (as I did not know) a cold and numb arm that hurts are classic signs of a heart attack. I knew about the pain, but wasn't aware that the arm could be cold and numb too.

I begrudingly went to the ER. I picked a good day though--never had faster service. :) I was in and out in 1 1/2 hrs!! The EKG was fine and the ultrasound showed no blood clots....the other fear. I was sent home with a nice prescription of Percocet and orders to see my Dr. today.

I hate percocet. It makes me feel weird. Very weird and unfortunately, it didn't help my pain at all. Just made me feel weird. How do people get hooked on that stuff anyway? Is feeling weird that much better?? I don't think so.

Of course, my arm isn't blue today and it's not cold either. Of course the day you see your specialist, it's not doing the crazy things it was doing yesterday. At least the ER Dr and nurses saw my cold blue arm yesterday and can attest to the fact that I'm not crazy. My Dr. hopes the shot will kick in and help, the lidocaine is helping the pain but that will wear off and hopefully the other stuff will help. If not, I get to go back for an MRI.

Oh, there's also the possibility that it could be Reynaud's Syndrome ---I don't even want to go there. You have to have the symptoms several times before they diagnose you with that, so it's too soon to tell if that's a contender.

I had to come home from work because I can't type fast, can't sit at the computer in a typing position all day and mentally--I'm just pretty upset right now.

Why can't I just be normal?