First of all, I want to say that I love my rheumy. He is always optimistic about my improvements and the possibilities of getting better. As he assured me during our last visit, “You’re probably 80 percent improved since the first time I saw you, but I promise you will get much better from where you are today.”
Hearing him say how far I’ve come is a great reminder to appreciate your victories instead of focusing on what still isn’t perfect. So I had a small celebration for the realization that it’s been more than a month since I’ve had severe morning stiffness – woohoo!
I’ve made progress, but I have a ways to go. It sucks that I was in the middle of a mild flare when I saw him (still am), which is effecting my feet, wrists, energy and digestive system (or is that the meds, ugh). It made it all the more frightening when he said I have to go down to four methotrexate pills per week from six because the results of my liver function panel weren’t good. I just hope that going down on the meds don’t make my symptoms worse.
I asked him if my current flare might be related to the 10K I ran over Memorial Day weekend, to which he replied, “You can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what causes what with this disease.” True, and I know that I’m guilty of this.
I explained that pre-diagnosis I was planning on training for a marathon in 2013, so I was worried that running wasn’t good for my body. He encouraged me not to give up that goal, which I love him for. So I guess despite the pain (it usually hurts after, not during running) and fears of making it worse, I’ll keep the goal and see how my training goes.
I also asked him about a weird blood burning sensation I’d had in my arms, especially near my elbows. That one stumped him a bit, but he said it wasn’t a concern unless it was happening frequently. If the symptoms are frequent, one concern is that the Enbrel is causing some sort of neurological side effect (great…). I haven’t had it since then, so I guess I’ll follow the “don’t worry” advice.
One more thing of note, I must of hit a blood vessel or vein giving myself my Enbrel shot last night because it bled, a lot. Eww. Aside from being gross (I’m a total wimp when it comes to these things), it’s fine. It barely even bruised compared to some of my less bloody shots, so go figure.
My takeaway from all this is to try to worry less and really, really try to not let RA rule my life, choices, or mood. Easier said than done, but that’s what I’ll try to do.
EDIT: Just want to add that during my first run after this doctor visit I choked on a bug – it just flew down my throat, gross! And so, another lesson (channel Stewie – What did you learn?): a) don’t run with your mouth open, and b) don’t run at dusk. Let’s hope this isn’t a bad omen for my training, haha.
My RAD Life 