Out of the Blue

On the sixth of May, my Rhematologist prescribed low-dose Prednisone to help with my progressing RA. I'd been taking Plaquenil since the end of January and hadn't seen much change in my condition. So he suggested stopping the NSAID Relafen and starting with a daily steroid. I did not want to take steroids for several reasons. Weight gain was my primary concern, but it turned out to be groundless; I actually lost weight while taking it. The common side effects for Prednisone are insomnia, infection - I'm already at higher risk for that because of the Plaquenil - excess stomach acid production, excess appetite, and nervousness. However, I also wanted to feel better physically - the pain was difficult to manage, and the fatigue was almost impossible, so I said yes to Prednisone. Initially, I did feel better. I was more physically able to keep up with my days. I had less stiffness, and the tendonitis in my right elbow went away entirely. Overall, I felt closer to normal phy...

One summer, when I was about six years old, I was wading barefoot in the spring below the house when I stepped on a shard of glass. It pierced my foot about two inches below my fourth and fifth toes on the right. Because the water was so cold, I didn't notice right away - it felt like I'd stepped on a sharp stone. I kept wading, kept playing, until the ache became persistent. Sitting on the stone steps that led down to the spring, I saw a small cut which had been washed clean by the water. It hurt when I pressed on it, but there was very little blood. I put my shoes back on and went on with my day. I didn't tell anyone. I knew only too well what happened when you told people about things like that. They wanted to probe around in the wound and make sure nothing was left in there. In my short life, I'd already had countless splinters dug out of various appendages, and I was not eager to experience that again. Besides, it was just a little cut. I kept quiet, but the pain...

I've been struggling with how to write this post for over a week now. I've written and deleted, written and deleted, and finally I decided just to say what's on my mind. I am angry at my rheumatologist. There. I said it. It took months to get in with this doctor and now neither he nor his nurse will return calls. I had another panel of blood-work done two weeks ago and they still haven't answered my request for results, even though they said the results would be available on the seventh of March. I had a steroid shot on March fifth, which was supposed to be repeated every two weeks, but my rheumatologist has decided that since it took a bit longer for the steroid shot to work - seventy-two hours rather than forty eight - my pain must not be related to my medical condition. And that's just stupid, folks. It makes me want to scream and kick something, except I can't stand to kick anything, because my toes and feet hurt too much. The last thing I wanted to ...

In my last post, "Stalemate", I talked about my new treatment plan. Basically, I complained about it, because I was totally opposed to taking steroids. The first few days after the steroid were about par; nothing had changed and I felt that nothing would. I was impatient and I was - and am - tired of being in pain all the time. I was frustrated and felt that my doctor was not being aggressive enough in treating my RA. Saturday came - three days after my steroid shot - and I still felt tired and out of sorts. I got up and did a little light cleaning, then went to work for an hour or so before completing the morning by picking up groceries. As usual, I was exhausted by the end of that trip, and so Saturday afternoon I just bummed around the house. I struggled up and down the stairs to do some laundry. At three pm, I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up in thirty minutes. Usually after I sleep on the sofa I'm stiff and have a lot of difficulty moving, but I noticed right aw...