Went to see the new doc (primary care) last week and she was great (still miss my old doc though). She listened, didn't stop me or try to object to anything, she let me be my own advocate and made sure I was finished before she started speaking. We talked about my concern of flogging my body with medication and she agrees we should try to seek alternatives whenever possible but keep me as healthy as possible. I told her that I wanted to be taken off Savella but my old rheumatologist disagreed with the idea. We discussed it, I told her why I wanted off of it (that it made no changes when I took it - except to cause side effects - and I noticed no change/improvement in pain until the Lyrica was started, on top of the Savella). She told me to try taking it down to half dose, lose the PM dose and see if there's any change, then when I see the rheumy again in a couple months (new rheumy, new insurance, all new docs), we'll already have an idea with evidence to back it. I like this very much.
She also did the new patient blood work (just to get a baseline - is there a baseline for someone with chronic illness...?) and since I couldn't remember my last lipid panel. I got a note back in the mail today with a script included (CRAP). My calcium is elevated and vitamin D is low. Say what?! I take a multivitamin daily, but it doesn't pack a huge bang in either department. Mostly, it's got minerals and folate and B vitamins (it's a prenatal that I've been taking since I was a teen). I avoid dairy as a general rule because my stomach is so sensitive, and I haven't even been eating my yogurt lately (for the last month, it just hasn't been hitting the spot). I know calcium comes from other sources, but that's a biggie, and not part of my diet so much, so I'm really not sure what I'm taking in (or not taking in/putting out) that's making my calcium so high.
And also, the vitamin D deficiency sucks. It's not terribly low. Just slightly. But enough to earn me a new prescription. Goody. She wrote me a once-weekly pill for the D, which is nice. Provided they're not outlandishly pricey, I prefer that. Honestly, I think I'd rather slather the important parts (face, neck, scars, etc) with some SPF 45 and take a 10 minute cat nap in a low dose tanning bed once a week and see if that makes any kind of change. I know the cost would be about the same and insurance wouldn't cover it, but I would be okay with that if it would mean less medication in my body. I think I will talk that over with her. We'll still have to reschedule time to get that recheck of both levels and do my pelvic exam at the beginning of the year anyway.
In the meantime, the Klonopin is well past kicked in and whatever else I had to say is not going to get said tonight.
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