It was an unpleasant way to wake up. I was sleeping on my side, like the doc insisted that I do (going so far as suggesting I always wear my hair in a braid or sew a button on the back of my shirt to keep me from rolling over). I was pulled out of a deep sleep by the feeling that my hip and top of my thigh on the left side (the one I was lying on) were on fire. Like I'd been moved in my sleep, and left on top of the stove while it was on high. I tried to pretend it was okay. That lasted about 15 minutes. Then I struggled to lie on my back, and it continued to burn away for another 15. Finally, after deciding that lying on my right side wasn't helping either, I pushed myself out of bed at about 0520, and went rummaging for an ice pack. I lay awake with it pressed against me for hours, but by 0730, I had to admit to myself that I wasn't going to make it to the office today. No way was I going to be able to drive a car for an hour, and then climb the stairs to meet with everyone for mentoring afterwards. I emailed the boss with my regrets.
I accomplished almost nothing today while I waited to see where this new flare of pain was going to go. I didn't have to retrace my steps very far to figure out what might have set this off. My doc is on the progressive edge of lupus maintenance, and she insisted on a gluten-free diet early in the conversation when she presented my diagnosis, including avoiding foods labeled gluten-free. Yesterday I had calculated that this whole episode started two days after I stole french fries off of the Mr's plate at a restaurant, and either from the fry oil or crumbs dripped off of his sandwich, I got a glancing accidental glutening. I had made progress for a while, but this week has been bad all over again. Sunday we went out for brunch and I got a gluten-free waffle, probably made with rice flour. Last night I went out for a drink with a new friend, and ate a handful of corn tortilla chips so that my glass of wine didn't go to my head. I've seen suggestions that the zein protein in corn is similar enough to gluten to set off an autoimmune flare. If it was my culprit this morning, then man, does it do its damage quickly. It wasn't even 12 hours later, but then, I was already in the middle of one episode and it just made it worse. If it was the rice from Sunday, it took a lot longer than I would have thought. And if it turns out I'm off base and it was the wine, then crap. I thought I could still get away with wine.
Still no blood test results from the second round given on Tuesday. I think the earliest I could expect to see them would be late Friday, but I'm not going to hold my breath and imagine I'll have word before Tuesday next week. I am of two minds. I want to go ahead and get on some sort of hardcore meds that will knock down this flare and stop the hurting, but I'm so afraid of getting prednisone and its accompanying side effects that I don't want to ask to start any new drugs without the doctor knowing exactly where we should begin. So I end another day in limbo.
And now... a cat in a bag.
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