2021: A year of doctor appointments

The fingers on my right hand have developed strange, itchy, varying-in-size, red bumps that respond painfully to pressure. After two weeks of itchy bumps I got a new development: my index finger and middle finger started swelling at the joints and refused to bend. My PCP diagnosed me with cellulitis and hooked me up with a course of antibiotics. (NOTE: I already take a high-powered antibiotic daily. For this 10-day period I took 4 antibiotics and then supplemented with 1 probiotic daily. Taking 4 pills to kill bacteria and then 1 pill to return bacteria back to me was an irony I appreciated and one my family regularly mocked.)

The antibiotics knocked out the cellulitis infection and reduced inflammation but, within hours of completing the course, the bumps had returned in force. Currently I have about 25 bumps on the fingers of my right hand. After consulting with my PCP again she sent me off to dermatology and encouraged me to ask for a biopsy. 

My dermatology appointment was a hoot. First, she looked at my right hand and proclaimed she had never seen anything like it in her life. She immediately grabbed a camera and started documenting my strangeness. I then shared that my PCP thought the bumps might be related to my mastocytosis and that a biopsy might be worth considering. Her eyes lit up in wonder as she asked “You have mastocytosis? What type? How does it manifest? What triggers you?” I definitely felt like a novelty in her office – in a good way – and I so appreciated that she expressed curiosity about the condition rather than being dismissive. I told her that the items that trigger me the most are exercise and surgery; she giggled, proclaimed “That’s great – everyone wants a reason not to exercise and you actually have one! I don’t exercise and I don’t have a reason at all!”, and then looked abashed when she realized I actually did want to exercise.  😊

After talking it through she agreed to the biopsy and we selected one of the bumps to remove. She injected my finger, asked how it felt (cold, I thought), and then immediately started into the biopsy before the painkiller could numb the area. It hurt! She apologized a few times that it was painful, but she kept right at it. After the procedure was completed, she explained what had happened. Apparently, lidocaine can cause mast cells to degranulate so, to ensure the best biopsy results, she hit me up with saline instead. I got a painkiller placebo, ha!

We’ll find out this week what the biopsy says and, if I’m lucky, my frequency of doctor appointments and consultations will lessen. I have interacted with a doctor at least one time every week thus far in 2021. Seven times in as many weeks is enough to begin 2021!