Saturday morning, I woke up early and drank a cup of coffee with my husband. The house was quiet, as both of our teenagers sleep late when they can. I needed to get a few things at the store, but before I did, I stopped at my neighbor’s house to check on our vegetable garden and chickens. The okra is sprouting and the squash and tomato plants have flowers already. The chickens were noisy, and the brown one (like always) tried to escape when I opened the coop gate. I refilled the feed and picked up 7 eggs in varying shades of blue, brown, and white. After the grocery store, I stopped just off of the road near an old abandoned gas station and picked two pints of blackberries for a cobbler on Sunday.
I worked out when I got home, and then showered and fixed breakfast/lunch for all of us. We lounged around for a bit and then got ready for the wedding. My nephew got married that night. For the event, I put on my favorite flirty red dress and a pair of scandalously high-heeled shoes. The wedding was interesting- a line of storms came through about 3 hours before the wedding and the power was still out when we got to the reception. Everyone cheered when the lights came on and the band cued up the first tune. The bride and groom were glowing, and a wonderful time was had by all- including me. My husband had to drag me off of the dance floor (as usual) when he was ready to go.
I think I enjoyed it especially because I appreciated being pain free, which I hadn’t thought about much before last week. I enjoyed the power in my muscles as I worked out, the dexterity in my fingers as I picked berries, and joy of dancing. As you can tell, I’m less upset about this than I was last week. I’ve accepted that worrying about this isn’t going to change the outcome, and that I might have RA, or not.
In case you didn’t read last week’s post, my doctor called after a routine appointment to tell me I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. After the doctor called, I cried for a couple of days, and then I started reading and researching. And I realized something important. The tests for RA largely check for inflammation and an immune system response when you don’t have an infection. But what if you ARE having an infection- or your body THINKS you are? I had my COVID vaccine the day before the doctor’s appointment and I had a strong reaction to it. My fever shot up to 102, I had chills and a headache all night long. When I woke up the day of the appointment I still had a fever of 100. I had been waiting for this appointment for 3 weeks and didn’t want to reschedule, so I took 2 Advil and got dressed. By the time I got to the doctor’s office my fever was gone. I told the doctor I’d had the vaccine but not how recently. I didn’t think it would matter.
When I realized that the vaccine could have interfered with the lab results, I called my friend J who is a pediatrician. She said one of the blood tests that had shown up high was completely invalid. She wasn’t sure about the second, but said it could be off because it was taken so close to the vaccine as well. The third test actually indicated that I didn’t have long term inflammation, which is associated with RA. J said the third test measures a marker that shows up a few days after an infection has started. It wouldn’t have had time to react to the vaccine.
I had a different doctor appointment on Monday, and that doctor agreed that there very well may be nothing at all wrong with me. She refused to re-run the blood test though, saying that it was still less than 2 weeks from the vaccine and the immune response may not have subsided yet. She said she has heard of odd results in several other kinds of tests- like mammograms- that have also been attributed to the immune response to the vaccine. Her advice- wait to see the rheumatologist in July, and in the meantime, try not to worry about it too much.
Easier said than done, but worrying about it won’t change the outcome anyway. Could I just be in denial and wishing the tests were wrong? Sure, wouldn’t you? The tests that were high have been known to be wrong when affected by a vaccine. So there is hope, and uncertainty. I am not known for my ability to wait patiently, and July seems like an awfully long time away, but I don’t guess I have a choice. If I have RA, I’ll fight as hard as I can to keep my health, and if I don’t, I’ll do the same.
