On October 27th, toward the end of the day, I started to feel really tired and a bit achy...the kind of achy that I typically associate with the flu.
I woke up Tuesday morning (the 28th) feeling a little worse. By the middle of the day, I was feeling feverish and the body aches had kicked it up a few notches. I was pretty sure I was entering into the ever-so-pleasant land of the official flu. This ticked me off, because I haven't had the flu for years! I'm the snobby girl who turns up her nose at the suggestion of getting a flu shot--Who, me? Ha! I laugh at the flu! So entertaining the flu virus was a bit disturbing.
Tuesday night I was burning up and went to bed early. I shed the fever while sleeping, and when Patrick came to bed I was completely soaked with sweat, as well as the sheets and my pillow. Yuck.
Wednesday was even worse. I fought the fever all day long. Patrick stayed home from work to help take care of me, and he was so kind as to find our thermometer. My temperature hit 102.4. It was a miserable day, and I saturated the bed with gallons of sweat that night too. I did sleep well, though, which was a nice change.
Thursday I woke up really sore. My joints were not happy AT ALL. I decided to stay home from work another day. My temperature hit 102.4 again. I had another sweaty night's sleep.
Friday I decided to try working. Pretty much, I showed up to work, set up the bar at the restaurant, took two tables with one person each in the bar area, and stocked the bar for the dinner shift. That's it. I gave all of my tables in the dining area away. I was afraid I was contagious with the flu, so I didn't want to be around any customers. By break time I was feeling so horrible that my boss sent me home.
I didn't have a temperature at all Friday (I checked obsessively!), but my body still felt like I had been jumped by five angry men (or run over by a truck, if that's a more pleasant visual). I convinced Patrick that I needed to go to the doctor. I had a headache from hell, was utterly exhausted, could hear my pulse in my ear super super loud, and moving was very painful.
We went to InstaCare and they did some tests. What a fun way to spend Halloween! I informed the nurse that she was Dracula for Halloween. Stupid joke, I know, but she did take my blood!! My CBC was normal...no infection in my body. They informed me that I did not have the flu...and why on earth did I wait to come in until after three days of a high temperature???!?!?! I'm stubborn, okay? They sent some blood to the lab for testing that would take 24 hours. The doctor wanted to see if I had rheumatic fever or if I have rheumatoid arthritis.
I took the next night off of work and got the phonecall from InstaCare...the lab results suggest that something along the lines of rheumatoid arthritis is going on. The lady suggested that I go to my regular doctor and have further testing done to find out for sure if I have rheumatoid arthritis.
Well, we don't have health insurance, so it is now November 17th, and I haven't gone to the doctor. I have good days and bad days, and I just do my best to keep moving around with a smile on my face.
So, STEP 1 was finding out that there is a problem. STEP 2 is getting health insurance so I can confirm what is going on and start kicking it in the butt!
**I'm going to type RA from now on instead of rheumatoid arthritis. C'mon...do you think it's good for my fingers to type that many letters over and over and over?!?! :)
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