It was meant to be at 11.45 so I left work, ditched my car and rode my little bicycle to the hospital. First problem - finding bike racks in the damn place. Second problem - finding the ultrasound ward which had recently been moved so none of the signs pointed to the right place. Also every person I asked had a different idea where it was. Anyway, cue a lot of running down corridors and up and down stairs (I think this must be some sort of new way they're getting arthritis patients to exercise!) I find it, all sweaty and out of breath - nice.
I shouldn't have hurried or stressed out because I had to wait almost 2 hours to be seen, but I didn't mind, these things happen. When I actually saw the doctor (not my usual consultant) she was lovely and very thorough and spent about an hour and a half with me. She did both my hands, my right wrist and my right foot (right hand and foot are my biggest problems). There's almost nothing wrong with any of my joints, no erosions or fluid on them. She wasn't sure but she thought there was maybe a tiny bit of synovial thickening on one of my PIP joints on the right hand - the one that started all this trouble anyway so that doesn't surprise me.
Anyway she said it looked 99% well, and taking my clinical symptoms and blood tests and xrays in mind there's no need in her opinion to put me on methotrexate just yet.
She wrote me a perscription for sulphasalazine, starting on Tuesday (when my throat clears up properly - still not quite right!!) Here's a picture of my new best friend:
Hurray - yellow pee, here I come.
I think it's wonderful that your doctor spent so much time with you. An hour and a half! In all the time I've had RA, I've never had a single doc spend that sort of time on me. I've also never had ultrasound as a diagnostic tool for RA. It sounds like it could be really useful. Instead, I've had random x-rays of different joints over the years.
ReplyDeleteI've been taking sulfasalazine for close to two years now, all without any problems other than the bright yellow pee you mentioned. And that's nothing. I also take Arava. My body seems to tolerate it well, too, except that it DOES make my hair fall out, bit by bit. That's not so nice, but as long as I don't go totally bald, I can deal with it.
The combination of meds has brought the inflammation in my body down considerably, though it's still a lot higher than "normal." My rheumatologist feels that my RA is "under control" and relatively "mild." I'm not sure about the mild part, since my hands are always sore and achy. However, they aren't awful, I can use them, and at this point, no other joints are affected. So I think he's right, even if I'd like to discuss what "mild" means with him.
I hope sulfasalazine helps your RA and eases your pain. And I hope you had a wonderful time in Spain. Can't wait to see your photos!
-Wren
I love reading your blog! It is such a source of strength to read about others who are going through similar circumstances. I too have recently started a blog about my journeys with RA @ http://madrewithra.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteHope you'll stop by. Keep up the great writing!!