MCTD Support Group
Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) or Sharp's syndrome is a human autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body. MCTD combines features of polymyositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and systemic scleroderma and is thus considered an overlap syndrome. MCTD commonly causes joint pain/swelling, Raynaud phenomenon, muscle inflammation, and scarring of...
Sheri-Glad you are feeling some better. Are you eating yougert for that diarrhea? The stuff I used to give my son for diarrhea was Acidopholis. It is in probiotic stuff though.
Marilyn- Sorry your hips are giving you trouble. Cold makes it worse I guess. Seems you might be living in the wrong climate! It is 42 here and to go no higher today. Will be 25 by AM. Raining. Here it doesnt get so cold but the humidity with the cool temps kills the joints.
Matt- Never heard of you being so ill! Hope you can get a handle on this soon. I hate when being sick interrups my life. I try not to make my sickness my life, but when it gets bad enough it is all you can think of. What degree or course work will you be persuing for your graduate studies?
Both my daughter and daughterin law will be finishing their masters this year. Daughter has a degree in art with a minor in art history. She has her graduate show on friday. Her masters will be in Art ed. The daughter in law will defend her thesis in March for her degree in Entomology. Hope both will find work.
And you too!
Well, off to the eye Dr. My hips kept me up all night. Should have gotten up and took something but I was too tired to get up. Maybe just too lazy!
Hope today is looking up for us all!
Mary Ann
Marilyn- Sorry your hips are giving you trouble. Cold makes it worse I guess. Seems you might be living in the wrong climate! It is 42 here and to go no higher today. Will be 25 by AM. Raining. Here it doesnt get so cold but the humidity with the cool temps kills the joints.
Matt- Never heard of you being so ill! Hope you can get a handle on this soon. I hate when being sick interrups my life. I try not to make my sickness my life, but when it gets bad enough it is all you can think of. What degree or course work will you be persuing for your graduate studies?
Both my daughter and daughterin law will be finishing their masters this year. Daughter has a degree in art with a minor in art history. She has her graduate show on friday. Her masters will be in Art ed. The daughter in law will defend her thesis in March for her degree in Entomology. Hope both will find work.
And you too!
Well, off to the eye Dr. My hips kept me up all night. Should have gotten up and took something but I was too tired to get up. Maybe just too lazy!
Hope today is looking up for us all!
Mary Ann
we skipped a day again. Today is actually the 4th. I too am suffering from a cold. It just lingers (5th day so far). Hope it goes away soon.
Cat sorry you are feeling so poorly--especially with everything on your plate. Hope the school interview goes well.
Everyone else, hope that your day gets better.
Oddman
Aw well, we are all here!
Had a bad time at my Plaquenil screening. Kept having a black cloud cover one eye. The Dr said I just have floaters. Well, I have had floaters for years. Think something else is wrong. He really looked at my retinas but I wonder now if something will come up later. Worried about the Macular Degeneration. He changed my glasses but that is not it. Guess I will just go back if problems continue. Dont know what else to do.
Getting cold here and rainy. Looks like night. Wind is really whipping.
Got to tell you something that happened at work yesterday. An older man came in and saw a woman he knew. They were both there for therapy. He said "I was out yesterday at the store and when I came out the woman was there and said, "I need help. Ive lost my weiner". The man said, " I thought to myself, Never knew you had one in the first place!" She said, "I need you to help me look for it". He said to himself, "Oh, boy! What now" And to her " Where did you lose it?" She said,"under my car seat". So he reaches under there and comes out with a hot dog. Seems, she was eating in the car, and when she took a bite of the hot dog, it shot out of the bun and under the car seat and she couldnt find it. Everybody got a good laugh out of that one! Its funny how we can say one thing and people think you mean something else. Sometimes we get offended at things people say when they didnt mean what they said to be interpreted that way.
Have a good laugh today and maybe you will have a good day.
Feel better!
Mary Ann
Dallas-- YOU are my hero this week! I went into the doctor last night, told him what was going on, and he says, "Ah, you have a virus."
I said, "No, don't think so. I think it's a reaction the Bactrim."
He says... "Hmm... I suppose that's possible, could be."
I said, "My pal on my MCTD support group had almost the same symptoms with Cipro and Flagyl."
He nods, considers, listens to my chest and says, "Your friend is right. With an immune disorder, your antibodies will go into overdrive because of the antibiotic-- they think it's an invader. Explains the spiking fever with almost no other symptoms."
He tells me to stay off the antibiotic and drink two gallons of water a day. I had about five glasses of water last night (and one of beer, figured it wouldn't kill me if nothing else had by that point!). Fever was down to 99 by 10:00 and gone by midnight!
Moral of story: If you have a bad reaction to antibiotics, take it very seriously, see the doctor immediately, and the water-- it was like antivenom! So what if I had to get up to pee every two hours last night! A trivial inconvenience compared to the way I felt yesterday!
Had the interview today, it went well, wish me luck. If accepted, if I can afford to attend, (and if no full time work is available) I will be pursuing an MA in psychology for MFT license, possibly with a dual concentration or some kind of coursework in organizational management. Eventually, in lieu of retirement, I would like to be a therapist. However, I would also like to do some consulting on an organizational level, as most businesses seem to have no idea how to resolve interpersonal issues at all.
Best,
--Cat
Ummm, Cat, do you mean me, Sheri, instead of Dallas? I was the one on Cipro and Flagyl, lol. I don't want to take the credit you are offering unless you mean me, lol.
Either way, I am soooo glad you are feeling better!!!! YAY!!! What your doc said makes total sense. I am going to contact my rheumy tomorrow (if she is in) and run all of this by her. I am convinced that I had a reaction to the meds, no doubt. I am still having some diarrhea, but not as bad, so I didn't call the oral surgeon today. At this point I really don't trust him.
Anyway, YAY!!
Mary Ann- thanks to you too for your suggestions thru this nightmare. Yes, I am eating the yogurt with the acidopholis in it. We'll see how it goes over the weekend, literally, lol.
Hugs to you and everyone else!
Sheri