Forward plan

The day before I left for vacation, I met with the NRD (New Rheumo Doc) and talked the results of my labs. He confirmed that I most definitely have the Sjogren's and Lupus antibodies (I had told him that, but didn't have the latest numbers in front of me). Normal ( i.e not having Sjogren's or Lupus) is less than 1...I have a whopping level 8. He decided that because of such a reading, the lip biopsy wasn't going to be needed. Yay no puffy lips (I really wasn't that concerned, in fact, I was kinda looking forward to posting a goofy picture of me with puffy lips...oh well... :) ).

Then we started talking the forward plan. He mentioned the Benlysta meds and I must have made a face because he chuckled and said "oh that's right, you're the crazy woman who doesn't want to take Benlysta". Yup, he really did call me a crazy woman. :)

After some talking on my part telling him that I wasn't absolutely opposed to it, just the material that I had read was scary, he gave me some additional information on expected side affects, results, etc. And I discovered that I can't get approved for the other med that was on our earlier table of options, since my antibodies are Sjogren's/Lupus and the other med is only approved for R.A. (rheumatoid arthritis). Since I meet the required number of factors/symptoms to be diagnosed lupus, NRD officially coded me as SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus) with secondary Sjogren's. ::gulp::. And I agreed to give Benelysta a try. ::bigger gulp::

I spoke with my Current Rheumo Doc (CRD) while I was on vacation and they confirmed that they could administer Benlysta in their offices (Benlysta is given via IV). They are currently working the insurance stuff out, and as long as all of that clears, my first infusion will be on June 13th!

In addition to that forward plan, NRD had me try a new pain med and it works well!!! The pain isn't gone, but it is dulled sufficiently so that I feel like my brain is getting a break from dealing with the pain. It is amazing how much fighting pain exhausts you. And cheer-worthy aspect about this med is that it is NOT a narcotic, which means I can take it during the day (if needed) and not be all loopy/dizzy/non-functioning. Huge huge huge praise on finding something that is working until the new med can be administered and kick in.

So that's the forward plan. We'll see how it goes. Even if it doesn't pan out the way I hope it does, I know that God is still working through all of this and all that matters is that all of this is part of HIS plan.