Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis Part 2
So as you know this morning I posted about Living with Rheumatoid Arthritiswww.browardcountyreview.com. My knee got swollen in a matter of hours and over night only got worse.
So this morning I called over to the office I go to, only to find out my doctor is on vacation to Egypt. Won’t be back till August. Ok I’ll see her partner, I can’t take my knee this way.
So I stroll into the office, kids in tow since schools out. Meet with Dr. Waters. He checks my knee and agrees it has fluid, uh yeh I knew that, but he starts to say, we don’t need to drain it. It’s not infected, no fever, it’s not hot, and it’s not red. All signs of an infection. My suggestion is to start you on steroids, to get it down and recheck the beginning of next week. But of course if it gets worse, call and we will drain.
So I said, fine let’s do that. I need to take the steroids for the next few days and taper off as I go. 4 today, 4 tomorrow, 3 the next and so on till I’m done.
Hopefully I will be better by tomorrow, and back to walking properly.
Until tomorrow….Are you living with rheumatoid arthritis? Tell me what makes you feel better when you have an off day. What medicine do you take? How often do you have flare ups? Would love to know….
Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis
I have been living with RA (rheumatoid arthritis) since 2000. When I was first diagnosed I was 24 years old. I couldn’t understand why I was feeling the way I was feeling. I felt like I was 90 years old. Couldn’t at first bend my elbows, then it was hard to close my hands, then I was having issues with my knees.
I kept telling my husband something is wrong. Then I go to my Doctor and he tells me there is nothing wrong. You stopped taking your birth control so you may be having some type of withdrawal. Are you serious? You can’t be serious! I was working in the medical field at the time. I knew several doctors so I asked one of them and explained my situation. My doctor had ordered some blood work, but I hadn’t gone yet. He told me let me see what he ordered. He told me there is 2 blood test you need to get, but your doctor didn’t order it. So he did. It was at that time those test were so high that I was sent to a Rheumatologist.
They couldn’t believe my doctor didn’t catch it earlier. My body was so out of whacked, that it took so long to get me better. And not really better, but better than I had been feeling.
Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis over the years I have had highs and lows. There have been days I couldn’t walk. My husband had to help me walk around the house.
I had been doing well for a long time due to my current doctor Dr. Saba. When I started seeing her 4 years back, I was still feeling sick. She started me as I was getting tested for the first time ever. She sent me to get some tests I had never had.
Then she put me on a new drug for me. After being on prednisone, plaquenil, and methotrexate. I had enough. So she stopped all those and started me on Enbrel. A weekly injection I have to give myself. Yup I have to shoot myself every week.
Usually I am good. But when I am overly stressed I get flare ups. Which is what I am having now. If you read my post, What a Horrible feeling, you would know what I have been going through. Ugh not fun, plus these late night Miami Heat games hasn’t helped either.
So I am having to take it easy for the next few days. As you can see, my knee is wrapped because it is completely swollen. I can barely walk, I will be heading to the doctor, she will have to drain my knee more than likely. It is one of the worst feeling ever. And that is one of the things I hate to have done.
So hope you have a better day than me. Make it a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.
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