UCTD
Let me start by saying that my Rheumatologist is an excellent doctor and actually treats UCTD rather than taking the “let’s see how it goes” attitude. Now, having said that, I’m absolutely perplexed at her telling me I’m stable. Granted, my inflammation is normal whereas it began at 29.5, most of my blood work is normal now, but I keep having issues pop up. She diagnosed me as having UCTD with signs and symptoms of both Sjogrens and Lupus and said that she believes me to be in the beginning stages of Lupus. About a week ago, my parotid glands were huge and painful, beginning last month, both my ankles were swollen and are now to the point that I can’t hardly walk without sharp pains, both hands hurt when I grip anything, my fatigue is beyond horrible, and just this morning, my knees began hurting. Stable? How? In my mind, stable means no progression of symptoms and, to me, the connective tissue disease is wreaking havoc on my body daily. I’m completely confused. I’ve had multiple rounds of prednisone and take HCQ and Leflunomide daily. Regardless of being on these for months, my symptoms and issues continue to rear their heads. It feels like it’s something different every day. How is that stable?