sinisterporpoise

 Last night was not a good night.  Any night where you spend half the night in the Emergency Room seldom is.  I've already told the tale elsewhere, but something else is bugging me about the visit last night. The ER Doctor -- the same one who had told me he had had 200 kidney stones several years ago, oddly enough -- took none of my concerns seriously and kept interrupting me. I was the patient, and I  was probably not in the best mental state to handle the situation. However, my roommate was also in the room last night. When she tried to bring anything up, the doctor kept interrupting her.

I could not say anything last night, but now I feel the need to give that doctor a good swift kick in the rump.  Listen, Doc, I know you're the expert on medical issues, but I asked her along because she is an expert on what I've been going through. She has lived with me for the past three years. You have not. If she thinks something is relevant that I missed, you need to pay attention to her. After she has stated her concerns, you can answer her.

You thought it was bronchitis and a nonspecific polyarthritis exacerbation, and you are probably right. (At least you didn't think it was fibromyalgia pain. I only thought it might not be fibromyalgia pain because of the way my tendons had been acting for weeks.)  As someone who used to work with words, I believe that "nonspecific" means you don't actually know what's causing my joint issues, but I have enough of the necessary symptoms to get an arthritis diagnosis.

If you'd realized I was the same person you treated for Kidney stones a few years ago, would you have treated me the same way?  Would you write this rant off as the effects of being shot with corticosteriods last night if you saw it today?