Lupie Bones

I actually had a chance to speak to my doctor myself by telephone, and he said that my foot is fractured, but only a small fracture. He wants me to go in for an MRI to check to see if there's anything else going on with my foot. He also instructed me that walking a half-marathon isn't a wise goal at this point.

I started wondering what sort of other things could be going on? My doctor said, "thinning bones". In my research, I found that people with lupus are susceptible to osteoporosis, and there are two reasons for this: One, inflammation accelerates osteoporosis, and two, prednisone accelerates the process. The book I read about this recommends that all women with SLE should take calcium. I bought the pills, but they are too big to swallow. I have esophageal motility issues. I think I'll take Tums. Those have calcium, and they're chewable.

Another complication of SLE can be Osteonecrosis. Osteonecrosis happens when there isn't enough blood supplied to the bones and the bone tissue dies. That sounds fun, doesn't it? This condition is associated with the use of prednisone, as well. This is the issue that's diagnosed with MRI scans. I'm just a little bit concerned about this one because it mentions that this problem is commonly seen in the hip, and I've been having pain in my hip for over a year. I mentioned it to my rheumatologist, and he said, "arthritis". I told myself that if I turn out to have a problem, I'm switching rheumatologists.

I hate the uncertain. Whenever I'm in the process of waiting for the results of medical tests, I do nothing but research and theorize. It helps me worry less, believe it or not.