I hate how stress causes skin flare-ups for me. (I have
hidradenitis suppurativa if you've missed the other PSAs.)
My school stress started up a few weeks ago. While I was in DC I dreamed that it was the first day of classes and my first class had been moved to 8am, and I was so glad that I actually had my syllabus ready despite the course time change and that's how I knew it wasn't a dream since I always dream that before the semester starts - except that then I realized that I'd prepped the syllabus but hadn't gotten it photocopied so I had to adlib. :( Then once I got back from my travels I had two dreams back to back, one that I went to my office and it didn't exist any more (the building was my dream set of my high school) so I asked what happened to my office and a secretary found the key for my new office but didn't know where it was located. When that dream ended it was the first day of class and my first class had been moved to 9am, and it was a good thing that it wasn't 8am b/c I wasn't done with my syllabus, and the print shop was closed.
Add to that that I'm all worried about Kappa b/c she came back from the two weeks of boarding 9% lighter than normal, and a 10% weight loss is a sign of illness, so I brought her to a vet yesterday. He says he thinks it's just stress, but I'm waiting for him to get back to me on the results of a gram stain (a test of her poop for what types of bacteria are there).
So it's not surprising that the cyst I suspected was starting this weekend in my left armpit has now ballooned to "I can't lift my left arm voluntarily by itself because the pain is great enough that my shoulder muscles refuse to do it" -levels. I am able to get by mostly by glueing my left elbow to my side and just moving my forearm for things. If I do really need to move my left arm more than that, I take my right hand, grab my left elbow, and move my elbow slowly but steadily while trying not to fall over. This cyst really suddenly ballooned like this: I started soaking it yesterday, this morning I chose my clothing carefully, this afternoon I strategically placed my arm while driving, and this evening I can't move the arm. (Each of these stages here usually takes at least a day.) It's shaping up to be another doozy, so I'm waking early and calling my current dermatologist - whom I didn't like at my orientation appointment with him, but I haven't yet had an urgent appointment with him yet so we'll see how that goes.