Joints

Due to a snafu between my mail-based pharmacy and my doctor's office, I was not able to get the refill on my Enbrel (rheumatoid arthritis) medication prior to leaving for Saint John. I last took Enbrel on Saturday the 10th, as my new schedule for taking the medication is the 1st, 10th, and 20th of each month. So, rather than taking it on the 20th, I have gone without.

It has been an interesting time, seeing how long I could go without using any back-up medications to help with the pain, stiffness, soreness, and discomfort brought on by my RA. I made it until the 25th before I just had to take some Prednisone. My feet and hands, especially my left wrist, were getting very swollen and stiff, and that wrist was downright painful and I was having trouble holding or lifting items.

I took 30 mg of Prednisone yesterday, and by the end of the day my pain was mitigated and the majority of my swelling was down. Today I stepped it down to 20 mg and am continuing to be okay. Tomorrow will be down to 10, and then 5 the following day.

What is nice about this inadvertent test is that I am seeing how much healthier, in general, I can be without the immuno-suppressant drugs in my body. I have felt much healthier, livelier, and energetic during this time. However, that feeling was mitigated by my steadily increasing pain/discomfort level with my hands, feet, lower back, neck, and knees. It's a trade-off for me, these days; do I want to be less sick less often, but in constant pain and discomfort to the point of affecting my daily life, or do I want to be able to do more active things but feel sicker all the time?

Trust me, that is not a simple question to answer. Of course, part of the reason we are shifting from a once-a-week dosage schedule to every 10 days is to see if we can better balance my general health with my pain levels.

I was able to move my shipment date on the next prescription of Enbrel to arrive at my office on the Monday following my return to SoCal. Until then, hopefully this one dosing of Prednisone will be enough to get me through the rest of the week.