I trust my doctor.

Much as my previous health-related post was fun in an OCD, hypochondriac sort of way, I'm actually quite glad that I have a good doctor who is on the ball and whom I trust, rather than having to rely on "crowd sourcing" (where I ask the unwashed masses to weigh in) or on the vagaries of the Internet as seen through my own neurotic lens.

As for any official diagnosis, the jury is still out. But I did want to follow up on the responses to that post.

Comments on the post itself and on Facebook suggested that aging and autoimmune disorders were strong contenders, but also raised the question of possible gluten intolerance.

Meanwhile, three medical wannabes ventured to do the survey. Here are the results. I can't figure out what it means. Can you?

If my reading of this is correct (the lower the score, the higher the ranking)
then Lupus got the strongest combined score, and Fibromyalgia got the lowest combined score.

Of course, three answers (and one of those skipped the ranking question) is about as far from scientifically reliable as Sarah Palin is from the presidency. Which is to say, it might have seemed reliable at some point, but it's not.

However, the comments on the survey were interesting.

Interesting.

I was actually diagnosed with sleep apnea years ago, but I kind of rejected it for several reasons:

• I felt that my daytime sleepiness was more likely related to undiagnosed diabetes (getting my blood sugar under control has helped tremendously with that!) 
• I wondered if the oxygen levels in my blood (part of how they diagnose apnea) were a function of living at very high altitude.
• The doctor who diagnosed me was kind of an apnea fanatic: apnea was the answer to every question.

But it's worth mentioning to my current doctor who doesn't seem to have a particular bias.

For now, I'm focusing on doing what I can to feel better. I've reduced my hours at work for a couple of weeks so I can rest and allow my body to heal. Some probiotics are on the menu. The exercise part is hard because I'm tired, but I do understand the importance both for the physical and mental benefits. (When I reduced my work hours, one of my plans was to take the dog for a good walk every morning. Hasn't happened yet, but it will.)

As a few of you commented, the depression is a priority. I'm combining traditional medicine as well as psychotherapy and light therapy (it's too coincidental that this coincides with shorter daylight and less skin exposure to sunlight).

But I will finish this post on a brighter note.

I am blessed to have many people in my life who fit this description: Steve, Pat, Winkie, my children, even my pets. I love them all.