After seeing Dr. Cantieri, we headed to South Bend.


My next appointment was with Dr. Lavallee, who is a sports medicine doctor, who also specializes in Ehlers Danlos.  He actually has Ehlers Danlos; the classical type, meaning it affects his skin and he also has the extreme joint hypermobility.  I had no idea what to expect from this appointment, except I was pretty excited to talk to a doctor who actually lives with what I am living with.

Monday afternoon Brad and I headed to Mishawaka, IN for my three doctors appointments that were scheduled for Tuesday.  We made a last minute decision to go Monday for a few reasons…The weather was supposed to be nasty Tuesday morning…I knew that three appointments and a 2 1/2 hour drive home would already kick my behind…And we got a room at the Comfort Inn for 50 bucks. 


We pretended we were there only for pleasure and enjoyed a nice dinner Monday night at Papa Vino’s (first time there) and quick trip to Meijers since I forgot socks, which was followed by watching The Bachelor (Brad was oh so thrilled 🙂

Tuesday morning we headed to my first appointment with Dr. Cantieri.  Dr. Cantieri is an osteopathic doctor who specializes in complex pain problems. 

This week I feel I like I finally hit my stride with physical therapy.  I felt like I was an actual athlete again for a moment.  That feeling is a high, let me tell you.

This time around, it is comforting that there is a plan in place.  It is comforting that we actually know what is wrong. 

In my first round of PT from July to October, I would go to each session and we would try so many different things, not understanding why I was getting so sick with standing up exercises, and why it felt like my body just kept breaking down and falling apart no matter what I did.  I was living in a fear-gripped bubble at each session, as I was being tested for MS, ALS, other neuromuscular diseases, nutrition deficiencies, vasculitis, etc (throughout the same time frame of these therapy sessions)…

Today I spent quite a while talking to my gynecologist.  I know it may be weird to some but I love my gynecologist.  He is in my top three doctors for the most kind, caring doctors I’ve ever seen (and as you know, I’ve seen a lot 😉

I made an appointment to see him after I returned from seeing Dr. Tinkle in Cincinnati.  One of Dr. Tinkle’s recommendations was to get on a second generation Progesterone birth control to see if it helps regulate my hormones and provides me with better joint stability.

I have gotten more questions about what exactly Ehlers Danlos is.  While I am still learning, and honestly there are many aspects that are still confusing to me, I found this video helps explain EDS more.