Time for a reduction

So since my last blog post, I had been starting to really struggle on the days that I took my MTX injection, even to the point that I was being sick several times throughout the day. My hair was tons thinner and every Friday I would go home from work, have tea and get into bed to sleep off the side effects.

For a while I thought that this is the price that I have to pay in order to have my normal body back and that I should really count myself lucky because it was MUCH better than being on crutches for months. But it got to the point where I was so ill and fed up of wasting my Fridays that I decided to get in touch with the rheumatologist.

This was at the start of May, when I was actually long overdue a 6 month review that should have taken place in March. So I phoned up to find out how much longer I would have to wait for an appointment, to be told that there was a huge backlog of at least 4 months. This would mean that I wouldn't get an appointment until July at the earliest and there was no way I could wait that long.

One of the most important things I have learnt since being diagnosed with arthritis is that you have to fight to get an appointment, if you sit and wait, you could be waiting for months (which has happened to me before). So I stressed how much I need to see a rheumatologist ASAP and managed to get appointment for a few days later as someone else has cancelled. Proof that you can't take no for an answer!

After seeing the rheumatologist, I have been given anti nausea medication for the day of injection and a lower dose of injection. I have also been given folic acid to take every day rather than once a week, which will hopefully help my hair grow thicker again.

I've had three weeks of this new medication and so far so good, I still feel a bit peaky on a Friday, but no where near as bad. Also, Im sure my hair is getting thicker, so I'm feeling much less self conscious.

Hopefully this is a sign that things are on the up!

Metoject take two!

So since my last post, I have taken a break from the metoject to get rid of the bronchitis. Thankfully it has almost gone now, with only a slight cough left behind.

I decided to try again with my injections last Friday, but this time to inject into my leg to see if this would help prevent being sick. It actually hurt a lot more than my stomach, but maybe this was because I was so nervous about it this time. I also bled a little bit, which I never did with my stomach.

Despite this discomfort, I wasn't sick! I was extremely tired over the weekend and slept for most of it, but other than that, I was okay.

This morning I injected into my leg again, this time with much less pain, however when I took the needle out, a bit of the liquid from the needle came back out of my leg. A bit strange! I have emailed my nurse to make sure that this is okay. Once again, I have not been sick, which is great.



My finger was swollen and stuck in the
position in the first picture for months,
the second picture shows that I can now
bend it nearly all the way and it's much
thinner!

So is it working? I would say without a doubt the injections are having a positive effect. My psoriasis is definitely reducing and my joints feel almost pain free. I feel slight discomfort in a few of my joints at times, such as my index finger if I pick up something heavy, but definitely there is a massive improvement.




Hopefully now I am on the road to recovery and I can tollerate the metoject.

Metoject Update

I have now injected myself three times, each time with little problems. Of course it hurts a bit, but after 5 minutes it is completely forgotten about and I can get on with the rest of my day.

I was so pleased to have absolutely no side effects after I injected the first time and just hoped that this time the medication would work.

I started to notice that my psoriasis was less red and noticeable. My arm didn't look completely clear by any means, but it was definitely improving. I also managed to start running again, something I wasn't sure I would ever be able to do again. These were all positive signs and I began to gain a bit of hope.

The next Friday I woke up to have no voice at all. I had been feeling a bit off for a few days, quite tired, no appetite and I had slight sinus pain, but Friday it had seemed to hit my chest all at once. Regardless, I did my injection and went to work, which happened to be at a client's premises. 

Despite the fact that I was unable to speak, I actually felt okay for the first hour or so. But at around 10am, I suddenly started to feel very nauseous and by lunch time I had to go home to be sick. I went back to work though as I didn't feel as bad after that, but the rest of the day I felt very drained.

After a few days of having no voice and feeling pretty under the weather, I went to the doctors to find out I had bronchitis. This explained why I was feeling so ill, but as it is a virus, there is no treatment for it, I just had to ride it out. 

By the next Friday I was still feeling ill, but got up and did my injection none the less. Once again, after a few hours, I was sick, but this time it kept coming. After a few times being sick in work I had to go home, I felt horrendous and slept for the rest of the day. 

I have contacted my nurse as I am concerned that it is the injections making me sick, but since both times I have been sick I have also had bronchitis, the nurse can't be sure which is causing it, or if its a mixture of them both.

So for now I have had to stop my injections until I get rid of this bronchitis. I'm hoping that will be soon as I have had it for two weeks now. Then once it's gone, if I take my injection and I am sick again, we will know that I can't tolerate them either.

I really hope not because it is such hard work trying to get started on a new medication. Fingers crossed I can take my injection next week and all will be okay!

Metoject - My First Go

So in a previous post I mentioned that there had been another mix up with my notes and therefore a hold up with an appointment to start injecting Methotrexate. Thankfully the nurse managed to get me an appointment a few weeks later, for Friday 19th April at 9am.

Today was the day and I was understandably nervous this morning. I am not afraid of injections or needles, especially since I have to have blood tests every month, but injecting yourself is a different matter.

I had a new nurse today, who was lovely and made me feel slightly more at ease. That was until I saw the needle and syringe! I actually expected to be using one of them pens that diabetes sufferers use to inject insulin, so when I saw a needle I panicked! 

The nurse went through explaining all the do's and don'ts, how to check the medication is okay, how to store it etc.. basically everything I needed to know. Then it was time for me to hold the syringe and get used to it. It felt very strange holding it, you see it on the TV all the time and watch nurses hold them in front of you, but when you hold it yourself, it feels like its something you shouldn't be allowed to do!

Once I was comfortable, I cleaned my hands with the sanitiser foam and got started. The first challenge was to get the cover off the needle, which is actually very difficult! You cant squeeze too hard or else some of the medicine will escape, but you have to squeeze hard enough to get it off. 

Then it was time to bite the bullet and inject. I must admit, I did pause for a second in slight panic, but quite quickly told myself to stop being a baby and just go for it. It's one of those things that the longer you wait, the worse it gets. And to be completely honest, it barely hurt at all. I felt it going in, but getting my bloods taken hurt way more than this!

It was so simple! No bleeding, no cotton wool over the wound, nothing! Its been about 3 hours now since I did it and there is still no mark.

So overall, nothing to worry about! Now my main concern is how well are they going to work...

I will keep you all posted!

Dis-Appointment Time

 So after waiting for a sooner appointment, I heard nothing for weeks and therefore I decided to email my rheumatology nurse. It has happened before where my nurse hasn’t had any of my notes passed to her, so I decided to tell her everything that had happened in my appointment with the consultation so that she was prepared.

I had been in more pain since reducing my dose of mtx and my skin had become quite sore, but I just set my sights on my appointment in March to get me through.

So yesterday was the day that I could finally get started on a new treatment that may work. I was apprehensive about having to inject myself, but at the same time excited to get better. When I arrived, it was not my usual nurse who greeted me, but another nurse named Jill. When we got in the room, Jill said the words that made my heart sink “so you’re here for a check-up”. Instantly I knew that my notes had not been passed along from the consultant.

I knew that this would happen, which is why I emailed Judith a few weeks earlier. Jill explained that Judith is on long term sick and therefore she will be taking over her patients, as well as her own, but she had no access to Judith’s email.

Obviously, Jill could not take my word for it that I was meant to be starting injections, so she has to contact my consultant to confirm this. The second bad news of the day was that my consultant has just left and gone to Tenerife, so there is going to be a delay. Once this has all been confirmed, the injections need to be ordered, which can take a while.

Then even more bad news, Judith was the only nurse who knew how to use the metoject, therefore Jill needs training before she can show anyone else. On top of that, because she is having to see both her own and Judith’s patients, it is going to be a long wait to get another appointment with her.

So basically, I am left in limbo with no idea of when it is all going to get sorted. This is just one of many occasions where I have been let down. It is incredibly frustrating and I don’t even know what to do about it all…

Downward Spiral...

Hi Everyone

So I realise that I have been extremely quiet on the blog front recently, but it is because so much has gone on.

In a previous blog post I mentioned that my consultant had decided to increase my dose of methotrexate to 20mg, as 15mg didn’t seem to be working all that well. After two weeks of taking the higher dose, I became so ill that I could not eat at all. I didn’t have a full meal for two weeks and I was lucky if I could even get a third of the way through my food. Also, I was having a really bad flare with my arthritis, pretty much all of my affected joints swelled back up and I had to go back on to crutches.

In the end I emailed my rheumatology nurse and told her everything that was going on. She got in touch with my consultant and got me an emergency appointment for a few days later. I was so grateful at how fast they were to help me, as I was pretty miserable by this point. I had blood test results around this time and recently found out that my inflammation count had risen from 8 to 24, where as it must be under 20.

At the appointment with my consultant, she said it was obvious that the methotrexate was not being absorbed enough, therefore I was to start on methotrexate injections, or metoject as they call it. This would mean that it would go straight in to my bloodstream and hopefully work a bit better. It also means that it would bypass my stomach and stop me from feeling so sick all of the time. There was also mention of starting another drug as well as the metoject, but I’m not sure if that is if the metoject doesn’t work on its own.

The other development was that my skin had broken out in psoriasis up both my arms and on the back of one of my legs. This meant that my consultant could officially diagnose me with psoriatic arthritis. The diagnosis also explained a few other symptoms, such as extreme pain in my right heel. It is pain underneath my foot rather than a joint and I can barely put any weight on my heel at all some days. My consultant explained that with psoriatic arthritis, you can also develop another condition where the tendons can also become inflamed and this tends to start in the foot.

So at the end of my appointment the plan was made to get an appointment with the nurse to learn how to inject myself and then get started on the metoject. I mentioned that I already had an appointment for March 21^st for a check up with the nurse, so my consultant said that she would try get me in sooner, but if not I will have to wait until then. In the mean time I was to reduce my dose of MTX so that I wasn’t feeling as sick, but this also meant that I may be in a bit more pain temporarily. So now I just had to wait for my appointment...

10 Things I Took For Granted...

Below is a list of the top 10 things I took for granted before having Rheumatoid Arthritis:

1. Washing & styling my hair - Since my hands have become very painful and swollen, I have lost the ability to squeeze anything. I currently use herbal essences shampoo, however the design of the bottle is a nightmare for me to get anything out of it, particularly the conditioner! I have devised a new way of getting the shampoo out of the bottle, which is pressing it against the wall with one hand and putting my other hand underneath to catch the shampoo, but this does take a lot of effort. I think I may start choosing my shampoo based on the bottle rather than the contents! Once I have got the shampoo out, I really struggle to get my left arm higher than shoulder height, which means anything to do with my hair has to be done with one hand. It doesn't sound that bad, but try washing your hair with one hand, its not that easy! Especially when the fingers on the hand you're using are swollen. This also goes for putting my hair up, so if you see me going for the "bed head" look, this may not be out of choice, it is probably because I haven't been able to do anything with it!

2. Not having to worry where I can get a parking space - There are times when no matter how sore/tired/lazy/ill you are feeling, you have to go shopping, and this applies to everyone! There's always that one thing you consider leaving for another day, but in the end, you really need it that day and have to go out. On these days, I will drive round and round for ages to try and find a spot close to the shop that I need to go to. Even if I have been driving for 15 minutes and there is a perfectly good spot further away, sometimes I just cant manage the walk on top of having to walk around the shop.

 3.Wearing what ever shoes I want, when I want - I adore shoes! And in particular, I adore high heeled, platform shoes. However these do not mix with swollen and painful feet or weak ankles. Don't get me wrong, there are some days when I can wear heels, but more often than not, I can't. If I know I want to wear heels at the weekend, I do try to walk less during the week to try and keep the pain down, but this does not always work. Also, it's not just heels, sometimes I cant wear a pair of flat shoes simply because my feet are too swollen to fit in them.

4. Helping people - So many times I hear "will someone help me carry this" or "can someone pick one of these up" and previously I would be the first one to help. Even though I am small, I was surprisingly strong and would never think twice about helping someone with anything. But now I simply can't! I am in pain in so many places that I struggle doing things for myself let alone helping anyone else. My consultant also told me that putting too much pressure or strain on an affected joint could tear my tendons around it very easily. Even though I know this, I always feel guilty when I hear someone ask for help , especially when no one else volunteers and sometimes I will try anyway. 

5. Being able to pick up a cup of tea with one hand  - I first noticed the start of my arthritis when I felt pain in my knuckle picking up a cup of tea. Since then it has spread to my fingers and wrist, which makes it incredibly painful to pick up anything with one hand, even a cup of tea! I cant put any pressure on my index finger because it is so swollen or my middle finger because the knuckle is so painful, which means that the only fingers I can put in the handle part is my ring finger and little finger. If you've never tried picking up a cup of tea with just those fingers, it's really hard! My left wrist is also too weak to hold it, so I have to share the weight between both hands.


 6. Enjoying lying around in bed at the weekend - I used to love the feeling when you first wake up at the weekend, with no need to get up right away, so you can just lie in bed  under your nice warm covers and wake up gradually. Not anymore! Now when I wake up, I want to sit up right away because something, somewhere will be hurting, no matter what position I lie in.

7. Unlocking a door - It is a nightmare for me when I have to use a key to unlock or open a door! I find it really hard to grasp the key and then I also really struggle turning it. I feel like Alice in Wonderland trying to open a tiny door, using a tiny key, with a massive hand! I have to use a key every day to get in to work and quite often at weekends there will be no one home when I arrive. There have been times when I have spent 10 minutes outside my house trying to get the key into the lock or trying to remember which way I am meant to turn it, because neither seem to be right!



8. Being able to open up bottles, jars and packets - This is a bit of an obvious one, but when you have swollen fingers, it is almost impossible to open anything. I can't count the number of times I have gone to make pasta and not been able to open up the jar of pasta sauce, or gone to make a drink and can't open up the vimto bottle.  It is so frustrating when you are on your own.

9. Not having to arrange my life around medication - At the moment, I take 8 pills of methotrexate on a Wednesday morning. This means that my Wednesday evening is pretty much a write off because I feel horrendous. I have never known nausea like it and it can last for days. I try to arrange everything I have to do in the week so that Wednesday is clear. That way I can go home after work on Wednesday and spend the night watching films, reading or having an early night. I also have to take advantage of the times when I don't feel sick and try and eat something, because at the moment I can't make it through a meal without having to stop due to feeling sick. I can't actually remember the last time I ate a full meal.

 10. Feeling secure in public places - It has never been something to cross my mind until I got RA. But if I know I am going to a public place, I can't help but worry that I am going to get hurt. Places like pubs and clubs are the worst because people will just push past you without thinking that they could be doing some real damage to a person who is fragile. But I even worry in places like waiting rooms because I'm scared a child is going to bash my feet while I'm sat down. I didn't realise before, but public places can be very stressful places because you have no control over other people.


This may seem like a negative post, but I thought it was important to show what RA sufferers go through on a daily basis. I also thought it was important to highlight how much some people take for granted, I wish I realised before hand. They may seem like small issues, but it's hard to deal with when they occur on a daily basis and you never had this problem before.

My next "10 things" post however, will be a positive one , so look out for it!
    

Steroid Free

Hi everyone

So since my last post, I have decided to come off my steroids completely. They weren't doing me much good painwise and they were giving me far too many problems. I started to get a painful and bright red rash around my mouth and on my chin, I put on nearly a stone and they gave me terrible heart burn. I have been taking steroids since July, but since I was on 2.5mg before hand, I decided that I might as well just stop altogether.

Red and swollen index finger

My main concern with coming off steroids was that my foot would balloon again, like it did last time I stopped taking them. Luckily this hasnt happened! The arthiritis has got really bad in my shoulder and collar bone, I can't raise my left arm above my head without being in a lot of pain. My index finger and middle knuckle is also causing me a lot of greif at the moment too and to be honest, my pain is back pretty much everywhere. I am also beginning to get really tired again. This was all already happening before I came off the steroids though because my tnedication wasn't working, so I am not going back on them! At least now my consultant and RA nurse can see my real pain rather than it being masked with steroids. 

Swollen index finger

As for increasing my dose of Methotrexate, there has been no positive things to say yet, but I am struggling to eat because I feel so sick from it. I took my latest dose on Wednesday and have felt constantly sick since. Im hoping that the Folic Acid I need to take tomorrow will do it's job and get rid of the nausea.

Hopefully, my next post will be something positive to report on! 

An arthritis upgrade...

Hi everyone

So as I mentioned in my last blog, I had a check up with my consultant this week. I first saw her in August 2012 when I was diagnosed with arthritis, click here to read the post about my first meeting with my consultant. The plan was to get started on medication and to come back in three months to see how I was doing... Well five months later I finally got my appointment!

My expectations of how the appointment would go were nothing like what actually happened! After being told by my rheumatology nurse that I was improving nicely and therefore didn't need to see her anymore or have my blood tested as regularly, I expected for the consultant to match this notion. Even though in the back of my mind I felt like I was going downhill again and a lot of my pain had returned, since the nurse was happy with my progress, I assumed that I was just having a bit of a blip because of the snow and cold weather.

In actual fact, after being examined by my consultant, she told me that since I still have so much swelling and pain in my joints, this is an indication that my medication (Methotrexate) is not working properly. I was slightly confused by this, as a few weeks ago I felt almost back to normal, but it turns out that my steroids were masking the fact that my medication wasn't working. When I was reducing my steroids, my medication should have stepped in its place, but instead I have just got progressively worse.

The consultant also asked if I had any rashes on my body. I told her about a small rash that had started on my elbow and had appeared up my right forearm over the past week, but it was only minor and I didn’t have it anywhere else. (It turns out that I also had it on my other elbow, but couldn’t see it) My consultant believes that this is the start of psoriasis, and therefore I probably have Psoriatic arthritis.

About 1 in 10 people with psoriasis develops psoriatic arthritis and in most cases, the arthritis develops after the psoriasis. However, in a small number of cases the arthritis develops first, sometimes months or even years before the psoriasis develops. Trust me to be the minority!

This also highlights the fact that my medication isn't working because if it was, it would have stopped the psorasis from a developing. In a way, this is a good thing because it means I can have a firmer diagnosis of the type of rheumatoid arthritis and get the most accurate treatment, but at the same time I'd rather have nice skin. Although, at least I only have very small patches of it at the moment.


So the new plan is I have had my dose of Methotrexate increased to 8 pills, and will continue with this dose for the time being. I will have to go back to see my rheumatologist nurse in 6 weeks to see how I'm doing. If it looks like I'm still not getting better than this means that I am just not absorbing enough of the Methotrexate for it to work and therefore I will have to start injecting myself with it.

So I'm hoping that the increased dose gets to work ASAP!

New Year Update

Hi everyone

Happy new year! This year so far has been a bit of a busy one for me, hence my first post of the month being on the 18th of January!

Before I start, I would just like to acknowledge the late Alice Pyne. It was so sad to hear that she had passed last weekend. She was an inspiration to so many people and she showed that just because you have been diagnosed with an illness that you will have for the rest of your life, doesn't mean that you have to dwell on it. She also showed the power of using your illness to help others, which is what I am trying to do. RIP Alice.

So since my last post, I have reduced my steroids down to 2.5mg (I'm nearly off them!). Although, I have started to get pain back in all of the places I did before, so I am wondering if I will need to go back up to 5mg :( I am at the Rheumatoid Arthritis Doctor (Dr Wood) next week so hopefully she will advise me with what to do next. I've had to start wearing my wrist support occasionally again, I am struggling to get my arm above my head because of the pain in my collar bone, my feet are quite sore when I walk and most annoyingly, my fingers on my right hand are swollen and painful again. It feels like I am taking a step back, but I hope that Dr Wood will be able help me.

My appointment next week is for my 3 month check up from my first appointment... In August!! I was diagnosed at my appointment in August, then Dr Wood gave me a steroid injection that was to last three months and then she would see me again once I had started on my medication. Well, I finally received an appointment in the post in December for January 11th at 12pm, in Kendal! I had to ring up and rearrange for an appointment in Ulverston, otherwise I would have had to take pretty much the whole day off. The problems I have had with getting appointments has been ridiculous!

On a more positive note, I went to my monthly clinic with the Rheumatologist nurse this week. My blood test results showed that during the week that I was ill in December, my inflammation count shot straight back up to when I was first diagnosed with RA, so it was four times higher than the week before. Luckily my next blood test showed that it started to go back down again after that, so it was just down to me being ill. But other than that, my blood results showed promising signs, which means that I have now been passed to my GP and no longer need to go to the monthly clinic. It also means that I only have to get my blood tested once a month now rather than every two weeks which is also great news!

I am still on 6 pills of Methotrexate once a week, which I am pleased to say still aren't causing me too much trouble. I do tend to feel a bit dizzy and sometimes a bit sick on a Wednesday, but nothing too horrendous!

Its Christmas!!

Firstly, appologies for such a long delay since my last post once again! 

I mentioned in my last post that I was starting to feel ill with a sore throat and cough, but I was planning to spend the weekend recouperating... Well this has turned into several weeks and I'm still not 100% better! I got really ill and slept for pretty much 3 days straight, I even had to take a day off work which is not like me at all. But I slept for my entire day off, so it was definitely the right decision. Now I am much better, but I still have a cough and I am still going through several boxes of tissues!

Anyway, since it is nearly Christmas, I thought I'd reflect on the past few months with how far I have come since my diagnosis with RA and look forward to the future.

I can honestly say that compared to two months ago, I feel like a completely different person now that I am on methotrexate. I actually feel like me again. I can run up the stairs, I can stay up past 8pm without feeling exhausted, I can even get up and ready in the morning before I have to take my meds. These all sound like small things, but it's the little things that you notice more when they are taken away from you. Like not being able to unscrew a bottle top or wear shoes that have a slight heel.

There is definitely still more improvements to be made, mainly with my index finger which is still swollen. I cant really use my index finger for anything yet, so I struggle to write or do things like squeeze shampoo out of a bottle. But I can straighten my finger now, so I guess it will just be a longer process to get back to normal.

I am down to 7.5mg of steroids now and I am hoping to reduce this to 5mg over the Christmas break.

My hopes for the new year are to get completely off steroids and to get as close to normal as possible. I would really like to get back to my normal weight and fit back into all of my clothes too. But with coming off the steroids and hopefully being able to start exercising more, this should be possible! (Fingers Crossed) I am feeling very positve about the new year. 

One thing that I want to add really quickly,


Wishing everyone a fantastic Christmas and a wonderful 2013!

Checkup clinic, blood tests and DIY

As expected, I haven't had much spare time since getting the keys to my house so once again, apologies for the delay in my latest blog post. Jamie and I have spent every spare minute we have working on our house! We went straight round last Friday and started stripping wallpaper, only to find what was to become our worst enemy lurking underneath... Wood chip! 

For those of you who are lucky enough to not have come across wood chip paper, it's basically a cheap paper with small chips of wood within it which gives the effect of a textured wall finish. Apparently it was really fashionable in the 1970s?! Then add several layers of paint on top and you have the most difficult thing to remove from walls...Ever! Best of all, it is on every single wall!! So we have spent the past week steaming and scraping the stuff off the walls, with the help of our families. We are making progress with only a few walls left to do, but i feel like I have a scraper permanently attached to my hand!

In other news, I had my monthly check up with the Rheumatologist nurse this week. My blood test results showed that I was doing well and my inflammation was coming down, which is great. Its a relief to know that the MTX is working. It also showed that my white blood cell count is still high, so I'm constantly fighting some sort of infection, although it can't be that bad as I haven't felt particularly ill. I have been quite lucky so far with not picking up any bugs or viruses, despite having my immune system dampened by medication. However this week I was finally beaten and I now have a sore throat, sore head and annoying cough. I'm feeling pretty lousy and working on the house every spare minute probably isn't helping but I'm not one to mope in bed.


It was also blood test wednesday this week. I managed to get my best place in the queue ever, Patient 5! It was pretty lucky though to be honest because I felt like I was going to pass out if I had to wait much longer. I think it was the mix of feeling unwell and the warm hospital, but I was glad to hear my name being called. I managed to get a right whopper of a bruise this time though, I think its time to start switching arms!

I'm out for tea with the girls tomorrow for a catch up before Christmas and all my other time will either be spent working on the house or recouperating. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

 

My new addiction

Apologies for the delay since my last post, I have been rather busy over the past week with several appointments and errands to run. Hopefully I will be able to explain why in a few days, but until then I will update you all on my progress.

I am definitely noticing improvements in my condition. Firstly, I am nowhere near as tired as I used to be! I used to struggle to get past 7pm without wanting to get into bed, whereas now I am managing to make it to around 9pm/10pm before I think about getting in to bed. (Wednesday is my exception though because Jamie is at night school so I get into bed really early!)

Secondly, I can now get out of bed straight away now. Before hand it would take about an hour after I had taken my steroids before I could even think about moving, whereas now I get up straight away. I am still sore when I first get up and it does take a while to loosen up, but it is much more bearable these days. 

Sadly, my finger is still not showing any changes at all!!! I'm due an appointment with my rhuematologist doctor over the next few weeks so hopefully she can put my mind at ease and tell me that it will get better eventually. On the brightside, I have still not had any negative side effects from the medication, which is fab!

I also wanted to talk about my new addiction... walking! Over the past week I have been for 3 walks with a total distance of over 11 miles. I love getting wrapped up, turning on shuffle on my iPhone and setting out for a walk on my own. Its a great to get some head space and time alone with your own thoughts, plus the fresh air makes me feel great afterwards. I was planning to do a nice long walk tonight, but my foot has started to hurt when I got home so I am reluctantly having a night with my feet up in the hope that its better tomorrow.

Keep your eyes peeled for my next blog post... I will hopefully have some exciting news to share!

Improvements...

Hi everyone

I noticed a few improvements in my condition over the weekend, so I thought I'd let you all know!

Firstly, on Saturday morning, Jamie (my fiance) and I were up at 6.30am because Jamie had work. Usually when Jamie works at the weekend, he drives me home because I don't have time for my steroids to kick in before I have to drive. However, this weekend I managed to drive home 15 minutes after getting up without too much discomfort! I'm not saying it was a pain free drive, but certainly bearable, which is a huge improvement. This got me thinking that maybe I don't need to wake up at 5am to take my steroids anymore... The past two days I have taken my steroids at my normal wake up time of 6.30am and have managed to drive to work okay. So no more 5am wake up calls!!!

Secondly, after getting home, having my breakfast and catching up on Friday night's Children in Need Show (I recorded it so I just watched certain parts) I decided that I would go for a walk. My dog isn't very well at the moment, and Jamie still at work, so at 10.30am I set off walking on my own with only my iphone music for company. I didn't have a planned route or time to walk, I just went where my feet took me. I was quite surprised when I walked back through my front door to see that it was 12pm and I had been walking for an hour and a half!

I took this picture of the Abbey on my walk, how pretty does it look?!

I felt great after my walk! Admittedly my feet were a bit sore and my legs were ready for a sit down, but all in all the fresh air and exercise left me feeling awake and energised. After so long of hardly being able to do anything, it is so nice to finally become more active again. Im looking forward to my next walk now!

My third improvement is I have decreased my steroids again by 2.5mg, so I am now on 12.5mg. Each time I decrease, for the first few days I feel slightly more pain in my joints, but then it starts to get better again. I think this is because my body needs a few days to adjust to the new level of steroids. Im going to keep decreasing them by 2.5mg every few weeks until I am either in pain again or hopefully, until I am off them completely. Fingers crossed its the latter!

The only slight disappointment is my index finger still shows absolutely no sign of improvement. It is still swollen and I still cant straighten it or use it for anything. Maybe my next dose of MTX tomorrow will start to help.

MTX week 6 & Winter Walks

Hi Everyone

There is not much to say in terms of MTX week 6 to be honest, as there are still no significant changes. I am not in any less pain and the swelling of my index finger in particular is just as bad. At the same time I have not had any side effects from the drugs other than feeling dizzy in the morning that I take the MTX. So in that respect, I'm still waiting!
On a more positive note, I have decreased my steroids again by 2.5mg, so I am now on 15mg a day. I decided to decrease my steroids by myself because the visits between seeing my rheumatology doctor is 3 months, and there was no way I was waiting 3 months to start decreasing them!

I don't like taking the steroids for many reasons; 

• they can thin your bones, 
• they can destroy your stomach
• they stop your body from producing natural hormones and many other side effects. 

But the main issues I have found are constant hunger, reduced memory and water weight gain (mainly on my face). Lots of people have said that they can hardly tell I have gained weight and that my face has become more rounded, but I can tell and I have felt very self conscious about it all. You know your own body and you know when something changes.
Therefore I decided to start walking as well as decreasing the steroids, to try and shift this stupid water weight! In order to manage walking I have to strap up my feet and wear a knee support, but its worth it and I am really enjoying becoming more active again. I also love walking in the winter in the fresh air, its my favourite time of year.

Last night after walking for an hour with my dog and niece, I sort of ruined my hard work and had a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows! I'm not usually a fan of hot chocolate to be honest, I am a big tea drinker! But on the rare occasion that I have one, I go all out with cream, marshmallows the works! I made one for my niece too and it seemed to go down well! I must admit, it was rather tasty and I can see myself having a few more over the winter months. But isn't that part of the fun of cold weather? Walks in the fresh air, big, comfy clothes  and lots of warm food and drinks?!

Don't you just love winter?!