A name for the pain

My rhuematologist finally thinks he knows what is causing all of the pain, eosphenolic fasciitis. A more common name for it, thank you internet, is Shulman's Syndrome. Among its more charming aspects, it causes skin contraction, swelling, and a thickening of the skin. The constriction is the source of the stiffness/pain, loss of motion, and an orange peel like dimpling of the skin. A common treatment is to use medications that suppress the immune system to reverse the swelling. Because of my stem cell transplant and already impaired immune system, that is kind of a problem. For the time being, my prednisone dosage was upped from 5mg to 40mg which seems to have helped a little. I'll be meeting with Dana Farber and Brigham Womens on Tuesday to find out the next steps for this as well as having a bone density test. The bone test was already scheduled so it will be a busy morning.