Well all of my bloodwork came back stellar. Good for me!But even with this list of stuff I shared with him he insisted the vasculsr event that brought me near death is caused by my having done amphetimines:

Here is my personal symptom history list

5-14 yrs.- spontaneous nose bleeds, nose is cauterized
pollen allergies begin. prescribed antihistamines.
one incident mysterious red scaly rash on face, treated w/prednisone, 14 yrs.- TB test bigger red welt than peers, but not big enough to question
Protein in urine, high specific gravity at most check ups, had to return with more, and it would check out ok

15-19 yr.-
16- small pox vaccine that caused a large pustule on site of vaccination, dime sized swelling surrounding it,
tendonitous in Achilles Tendon was in a cast with crutches 3 weeks., spent 2 winters in a row on antibiotics for reoccurring strep throat- finally (16 yrs.) removed tonsils- spent 2 nights in hospital for bleeding from stitches in throat.,
received a vaccination that atrophied my left upper arm muscle and created a patch of scaly white skin at the site. Dr. said muscle would eventually come back normal, 12 months later it did.

20- 27 yrs.- beginning of fainting events. Had an EEG and EKG
to rule out epilepsy and heart trouble. Both negative, Tech said she never saw anyone enter 3rd stage deep sleep so quickly. no diagnosis. fainting continued
got hives from red wine and quit tasting them forever

sore throats lasting 6 months

28, 29 yrs.- went months at a time with a sore Right knee, for no reason, no injury. had to drive with Left foot because the right leg hurt too much,
found body temp to be consistent 97.6.
couldn't use scissors for a couple years, they hurt my right hand
'87 mom dx w/paget's syndrome of leg-reversed it w/ injections

30 to 36 yrs.-
one day my right hand trembled, dropped pencil in mid-drawing, next morning severe spasms occurred in shoulders, upper back, migraines, visual migraines started, did chiropractic care, living under extreme stress, used left hand for everything because using right hand hurt, caused headache.
First raynaud's experience,
continued fainting episodes- mostly in restaurants dx as food additive sensitive.
Elevated blood pressure.
very abnormal pap smear, pre cancerous, had cryosurgery,
Swollen glands in neck or pleurisy for months at a time w/ no other symptoms

36 to 43 yrs.- hand swelling, raynaud's, severe cramps in feet walking on cold floor, swollen, sore big toes, went to Dr. was told it was arthritis. another neck episode with same diagnosis of arthritis. naproxen and indomethican prescribed. persistent small scaly patch of skin on side of nose appears , pleurisy, started feeling cold after eating.
Got poison oak on 30 percent of body, had a tough time healing, prescribed prednisone (it made me nuts), poison oak got infected on the lower legs with red streaks-prescribed antibiotics., yellow jacket bite swells arm and hand to twice normal size- takes 10 days to resolve.
stopped growing tomatoes- seemed to help cramps in toes not eating them.

44 to present- occasional clusters of headaches, more frequent and dramatic raynauds, unexplained swelling in legs resulting in peculiar brown marks on calves and shins, wriggling sensation in calves, chronically dry mouth, stiffness in right hand, periodic swelling in both hands, pins and needles in extremities if leaning on them, sensitive burning/cold feeling skin of legs-hands, bumps forming on the side of last joints of fingers of right hand. Feel crappy for no reason at times, atypical fall resulting in first stitches ever needed. had chest xray found scarring in upper lung. flu-like symptoms appear attributed to pollen allergies, prescribed steroid inhaler, felt legs muscles, gut muscles nearly "give out" when rising from a squat- very scary feeling.

120204- raynaud's yesterday in right hand.
Today Right hand much colder than the left all day,
front right leg, below the knee
and right hand top, side and its last fingers felt tingling, hot, sensitive, puffy.
Sleepy
Right foot heel and arch numb.

013105- Raynauds very pronounced this weekend, left hand ring finger whitest ever. Earlier in day the right hand middle finger, top of hand purple. Right hand feels much colder. than right. Pins and needles feeling spreading.

020105- Sunlight is "stinging" my skin. Upon return from dogwalk downtown, legs become very heavy, must lie down to keep from falling. 15 minutes later the episode subsides

He did not even acknowledge the brown marks on my ankles whatsoever! Yesterday when I was at the podiatrist, an amazingly cool Dr named Russell Davis, he was aware of the marks right away. He told me they are vascular oriented and the strange part is he never sees them on someome under 70 years old or so- I am much too young for that action.

I was hoping this appointment with the Rheumatologist was going to get my case going in the direction of understanding and solution. Dr. Stein was the Dr first of his type to contact me when I was in the hospital. When I went to his office with my mom and Bob this morning I had no idea who the guy was or what he would look like.

Whatever impression I gave him has a lot to do with his approach to my relationship with him now.
Here is a quote from his report on me from the hospital:
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION: An anxious woman moving around in bed a lot, poor historian with poor concentration.

Even if the vasculitis in my brain's blood vessels is not an autoimmune response, there is something else driving it along. There has been too much stuff that's happened to me that I've never sought medical help for, and the more I think and read about it all the more I think some of it is related to some common thing.

I feel as if this Dr.s appointment today that I was so sure would be getting things off to an inspiring start for solution finding didn't do that for me.

I am grateful for all the positive info about my immume system serums and antibodies. But why do my blood vessels do the screwy things they do? I know my use of recreational drugs is not the answer. The weirdness has been happening since way before I ever thought of going out raving or painting all night.

I see where it is so important to keep my center and understanding in the presense of the Doctors. They are so unbelievably learned it is easy to think they are always right all the time. I respect his opinion, but I am seeking other opinions from other angles (and angels!)