Follow Up

I amazed Renee today. I walked into her office and said, "I need to show you something...." I then proceeded to lift both arms easily over my head. I did two pseudo-deep knee bends. I lifted one leg and rotated the foot 180 degrees, and was able to flex both hands from a full fist to completely stretched out.

Now, for the average human being, these acts are not usually a problem or very difficult. However, in early December, my RA kicked up and my medications slowed down and I have been having increasing difficulty and pain. My range of movement was affected.

My RA doctor agreed that the medication was no longer effective and we quickly worked on getting approval for a new medication. This was finally approved and I took it for the first time this week, on Wednesday. It didn't go so well.

However, the medication is working. As you can see from the range of movement I mention above, the majority of the swelling and pain has been removed, I take the stairs with little to no pain, I can move and stretch in ways I haven't been able to for awhile, and I am feeling much more chipper and full of energy because I am not in constant pain. I feel like I can bowl again (anyone who knows me well knows how positive a statement that is).

I spoke with my RA doctor about the ER visit on Wednesday. We came to an agreement that, because the medication appears to be working so well, we will try administering it again under controlled circumstances and hope that my body is getting used to it and I do not react in such a violent way again. If so, then this will become my medication for now. If not, then we have to work on another solution. So, on Tuesday, I will go to my doctor's office, we will administer the next injection, and then I will hang out in the office for a minimum of an hour to see if anything happens or if I have a reaction. If I do, they can treat me there for it or they can run me the block up the street to the ER at St. Joseph's and get me treatment there. Either way, I am confident I will get the immediate treatment that might be required should things go wrong.

I am cautiously optimistic that I will not react so poorly this time and this medication will continue to be a solid choice in the weeks and months ahead. Hopefully a week of this medication circulating through my body will ease the next injection and it will not be such a shock.