Housework - what a filthy word. It should be banished

Being on a chemically induced high is not so bad but soon it must come dowm

Gogs xx

well good news you haven't lost any more weight, if you can pick some things that tempt you as suggested previously you might well even out and hopefully start gaining when everything else falls into place.

i feel regular contact with your GP is definately the way for you right now, someone in your corner,

even though i'm under control i can cry quite easily since getting this flipping disease, and with my my knee's being jiggered so to speak, it's a word i use to describe them politely .. lol

hugs back and hopefully we'll begin to see you shining bright soon

Suzanne x

glad things are a bit better , keep on munching ! wish I could join you , I have the opposite problem I cry at the drop of a hat too , difficult to keep the happy face on all the time eh ? I sobbed all the way through crufts on the telly at the weekend because I missed the dogs at work ( I am a vet. nurse ) soppy devil ! , sending a hug x

I do think having a good GP is half the battle - mine kept me sane for the first awful 18 months of RA, when none of the drugs were working and I thought I was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

It doesn`t hurt to cry - it`s almost impossible to put a good face on all the time.

We lost our second dog, our beautiful Golden Retriever, just over a year ago now, and I still miss him.

Kathleen x

Hi Gogs

How are you doing - you have been a bit quiet over the last few days?

Hi to everyone, and thanks Paul and Suzanne.

The RA nurse phoned me last Thursday and said my liver function tests were vry abnormal and I had to stop my Leflunamide.
I tried telling her that I didn't think it was that drug as I had been on it since November with no problems, she didn't listen
I told her this had only happened since I'd started the TB treatment - she didn't listen she just remained insistent I had the stop Lef.
She then said she would contact my GP and phone me back which she did, I was to have urgent bloods on Friday (which wasn't convenient).

I was so upset and angry that yet something else was stopping me from getting any better, I have a really severe flare, which I still have and have had for the past
six plus weeks. By the end of the day I was still bristling with anger so I phoned my consultant. She explained much better why I had to stop all drugs and although
I still felt frustrated I always go along with her wishes.

I saw my GP today and he smiled while telling me I'd ruffled the RA nurses feathers, he also explained to her just how difficult things are and how I am not yet
on suitable medication and about my painful, swollen joints.

Today I received a letter from the hospital informing me of what was discussed with the consultant and that I will now be seen in the 'joint injection'clinic' where presumably
I shall be having joint injections. My GP also gave me an IM Depo-Medrone 120mg today. This will not only make me high, it will also affect my sleep pattern again but
hopefully it will reduce the pain and swelling.

I've had more bloods today and more again in a weeks time.Basically I'm feeling a bit despairing of the whole thing.

Thanks for your continued interest in me.

Love

Gogs

Hi Gogs,

Your GP sounds as he is supportive - which is good. I remember when I was first diagnosed, & the RA was rampant - before I changed hospitals & rheumies - my lovely GP telling me that he was the one who had the "whole picture," rather than the hospital personnel.This was after a rheumy doc prescribed a drug I wasn't happy about, an anti-inflammatory.

I now have an excellent rheumy team, who liaise fully with my GP and work together. Things will get better for you if you can just keep going.

If you have to go to the joint injection clinic it may be an ultrasound guided injection. I had another one of these on Friday. They do a scan of the joint first, then inject the steroid, and it's much more accurate. Mine was into the bursa below my hip, and the whole procedure took about 35 minutes. After almost 9 months it is finally pain-free - I only hope it lasts.

After a few weeks on Leflunomide I was taken off it due to its effect on my liver - it nearly put me in hospital.

Take care,

Kathleen x

hi Gogs,

although i know you are hating all of this changing/stopping drugs .. not wanting to start them, it does sound like you are being cared for in all the right place's which is good for you as a whole.

i hope the depo helps bring this flare down, they have worked very well for me in the past.

and glad you are having continued support with your GP, which is my security blanket.

take care,
Suzanne x

Hi everyone,

I'm slightly calmer now than I was last Thursday

The depo injection is starting to work and although some of my joints are still tender, they are no way near as
painful as they were, also my neck pain has reduced a lot (I;m still waiting to hear from the neurosurgeon - they really slow), the swelling has also greatly reduced.
Sleeping is not tooooo bad either .

I have now joined two aqua aerobics classes, swim three times a week and try to walk the dog everyday. I am still wasting away though.
On Monday my GP said he didn't need to weigh me as he could see I'd lost more weight, in fact I lost five pounds in just the week,
don't know how I'm managing it. Slight warning from him that although he examined me as best he could he said perhaps it is time to
consider some internal camera stuff - just in case. I've no idea why I'm not disturbed by this, I feel completely devoid of any concern.
It's a bit like the shock people go into when their loved one dies, the reality doesn't hit them for a long time. I've had an appointment for joint injections on 31st March,
not sure I'm looking forward to those.

On another good note I'm pursuing my photography interests and have booked a further photography day course at Tatton Park for April.
I just need to keep fit and well - hence all the physical activity to try and build a bit of muscle up.

Thanks to all of you for all your support and caring, I don't really know how I'd have coped without you all

Gogs xx

hi Gogs,

really sorry to hear the weight is still falling off you, yes maybe the time for some internal stuff .. never pleasant i know, i think you feel devoid of any concern because you're not out of that black hole yet and things are just going over your head. it's one of the things that are put forward as a precautionary. are you managing to eat enough to keep you going now?

you do sound more upbeat overall though and am pleased to hear you are enjoying all your hobbies, put's me to shame.

keep posting we all want to know how you are,

Suzanne x