I have a doctors appointment today for some ‘Sjogrens stuff’ – anyone with an auto immune disease will know what I mean by the word ‘stuff’ as it covers a multitude of explanations, you don’t even need to go into it, just say to any other fellow sufferer of Sjogrens/Lupus and say I have ‘stuff’ going on and you will be met with the sympathetic look that tells you they know exactly what you mean.

My ‘stuff’ for today is the pain and soreness down the right side of my face and the ‘whooshing’ noise I get in my right ear which causes me to go off balance.  Do I need my ears syringed? Who knows but aside from renewing my Methotrexate injection prescription today, my GP needs to assess the latest ‘stuff’ and sort it out.

Last week I was at the dentist to get my x-rays and fluoride treatment done and next month I have a whole day dedicated to my eye specialist to have my eyes dilated and my punctal plugs checked (and ‘stuff) and at some point during February, an appointment with my Immunologist is on the cards.

It is like doctors take the place of your family and your time, effort and money is aimed at attending or organizing various medical appointments and any time and money that may be left over is spent on your drugs that you need in order to function.

I mean really, I am tempted to invite my eye specialist, my dentist, my GP and my Immunologist for tea round my house so we can get them all in one room and discuss ‘stuff’ and save us all the effort of second guessing what the other REALLY thinks about the situation, perhaps we could play board games about various Sjogrens symptoms and whoever gets it wrong has to buy the Methotrexate.

My immunologist even gave me his mobile phone number once after I got a bad reaction from a steroid injection in my hip.  I deleted it pretty quickly as I have a habit of sending text messages to the wrong people.  I mean can you imagine it – me sending a text like ‘I am in the shower naked, waiting for you’ or even ‘I have the worst period pain and could murder some chocolate’ or worse still, a message that is aimed for my friend Waitangi which usually has the word ‘anus’ in it written in childish fashion.  I shudder to think about it and you can see why I deleted his number and we wont even discuss the potential for picture messages.

I may go as far as having a family portrait on my living room wall – myself, my husband, my immunologist, my eye specialist, my optician and my dentist and even my two dogs and cat – a bit like those awkward family photos.

I just hope I don’t gather any more specialists along the way as my ‘family’ is more than big enough thank you, I mean can you imagine if I acquired a gynecologist!

Right, time to get ready for the doctors to discuss my ‘stuff’.