My body is being such a bitch right now!

[intuition897 2,179]

I am beyond frustrated. This is just a rant, and there really isn't much anyone can say to help, but I had to vent somewhere. And Facebook is not the place for it.

 

Okay, so y'all know how Mr. intuition and I have been riding the pine for the last DECADE? How we haven't been active in the lifestyle in forfuckingever? Well guess what: we met this awesome couple, and we totally clicked with them. They're attractive, funny, nice, engaging...the evening out went way too fast. If it hadn't been for my broken kitty, I would've suggested getting a room that night. But we all decided to meet up again this weekend. Great!

 

Wrong.

 

Guess what else hasn't happened in a fucking decade? A major inflammation flare-up. But here it is, in all its glory. My whole body has decided to go apeshit, screaming "Anarchy!" causing joints to flare up all over the place. Even my eyeball is inflamed. My knees look like goddamned cantaloupes. I was planning on using those this weekend, FFS!! I feel like hell, and I am so pissed.

 

I've had rheumatoid arthritis since my late 20's, and aside from the occasional hiccup, it's been manageable. But this is like some kind of sick joke. I tried subtly telling my doctor that I had plans this weekend...you know..."PLANS?" But she just kind of made a sad face, saying "Gosh, sorry to hear that." and gave a prescription for a different brand of NSAID. All I could think was, Look lady, I said I've got PLANS this weekend, for the kind of fun shit that we haven't done in over 10 years, and I don't want to "try" something that might not work. Just hit me with the prednisone because we KNOW it works. I might call her office again tomorrow and ask if she would reconsider switching me to that instead. I just have no time or patience for my body and her bullshit right now.

[Alura 2,775]

That's sad to hear, Intuition. Sorry I can't be more help, but I really hope it all clears up.

[cplnuswing 4,713]

That sucks!!!! We're for you! But, all we can do is hope things get cleared up as quickly as possible, and also say that a connection that good isn't going to just go poof, it'll still be there when you are back in action and rarin' to go! Keep nurturing that connection and it will be even stronger by the time y'all get horizontal with each other

[njbm 2,903]

As I get older and things do not work as well, I realize how thankful we have to be for our health. Hope your situation clears up soon, Intuition.

[Fundamental Law 2,903]

Just hit me with the prednisone because we KNOW it works. I might call her office again tomorrow and ask if she would reconsider switching me to that instead. I just have no time or patience ... right now.

 

A couple of comments.

 

1. The approach might need to be different. You might need to say to your doc, "This is not a usual flare. This is almost like my body has had an allergic reaction to something. Please give me a steroid pulse and taper. I am happy to use the NSAIDs for the ordinary flares. But this is different. I can't move and it is getting worse every time the sun rises or sets. "

 

2. Your long term therapy may need to change. RA is a dynamic disease. Different Rx for different points on the arc of the illness. Biologicals such as anti-TNF may start to have a role if your flare, once beaten back, comes back again.

 

Your frustration is palpable. It's going to take a collaboration between you and your doc to get this under control. Her approach wasn't bullshit--it likely reflected a lack of appreciation of just how quickly and aggressively this flare is advancing. Your plans are not--and should not-- influence best medical judgement. Your illness and its immediate severity should drive the decisions. My guess is that if you can make it clear to your doc just how bad this flare is, you will come to a different treatment. Whether you are well enough for fun this weekend is yet to be determined.

 

Good luck.

[intuition897 2,179]

Fundamental Law said:

A couple of comments.

 

1. The approach might need to be different. You might need to say to your doc, "This is not a usual flare. This is almost like my body has had an allergic reaction to something. Please give me a steroid pulse and taper. I am happy to use the NSAIDs for the ordinary flares. But this is different. I can't move and it is getting worse every time the sun rises or sets. "

 

2. Your long term therapy may need to change. RA is a dynamic disease. Different Rx for different points on the arc of the illness. Biologicals such as anti-TNF may start to have a role if your flare, once beaten back, comes back again.

 

Your frustration is palpable. It's going to take a collaboration between you and your doc to get this under control. Her approach wasn't bullshit--it likely reflected a lack of appreciation of just how quickly and aggressively this flare is advancing. Your plans are not--and should not-- influence best medical judgement. Your illness and its immediate severity should drive the decisions. My guess is that if you can make it clear to your doc just how bad this flare is, you will come to a different treatment. Whether you are well enough for fun this weekend is yet to be determined.

 

Good luck.

 

Thanks for this, Fundamental. You're right, her approach wasn't bullshit, it was just my own frustration. And no, my temporary plans shouldn't influence the treatment. Like I said, my flare-ups have been relatively mild and manageable with a short course of NSAIDs. I've only ever needed a course of prednisone once for a bout of iritis that wasn't responding to the usual treatment. But yeah...this is different. I worry that the NSAIDs are just treating the symptoms, not addressing the massive inflammatory response at the source. It's like the difference between bailing out a bathtub with a cup or shutting off the faucet.

 

Having an autoimmune problem is a little scary; you just never know when it's going to flare up, and when - or IF - it will go away. You always worry that the next flare is the start of a long, permanent spiral downhill, and that it won't ever get better, it just gets continually worse.

 

I had to look up anti-TNF. Hadn't heard of it before. Interesting stuff, but I definitely don't want to take something like that if I don't need to. If I could afford to go there, I found this health centre in Austria that uses - of all things - radon therapy to control RA and other autoimmune problems.

[intuition897 2,179]

And thanks, everyone, for the sympathy. Hopefully everything settles the hell down and the weekend can proceed as planned. But if not, as you said cplnuswing, this couple was nice enough that I'm sure it's not going to be a problem. I was just really (really) looking forward to an awesome weekend and am having some trouble swallowing the possible disappointment.

[SW_PA_Couple 4,026]

Timing is everything. Poor timing, this.

[GoldCoCouple 4,068]

Intuition: Yes it's frustrating, but you are worth the wait. Everything happens for a reason, it will be okay...

[intuition897 2,179]

Thanks guys. I actually called my doctor's office back today to let them know how things were going - or rather, how they weren't going (I'm not seeing great results from these meds). I'm just waiting for my son to pick up my new prednisone Rx so we can get that underway. This weekend may not include playtime, but who knows? We'll see what happens. As I recall, prednisone usually kicks the shit out of inflammation in a hurry.

[intuition897 2,179]

Well peeps, I have to say I think I love prednisone. This weekend may not include any acrobatics or contortionism, but what the hell. I'm in my 40's so I'm not about to apologize for that. I'm still a little sore, but 90% normal is okay with me. Methinks it's game on. Wish us luck.

[sexyinakilt 47]

Good luck! Glad to hear it worked for you so fast. We will of course need to hear all of the details of how things went.

[intuition897 2,179]

Good luck! Glad to hear it worked for you so fast. We will of course need to hear all of the details of how things went.

 

You can count on it.