Pills. Pills, ...Pills!

It's offical i'm now a walking drug store! I left out the Enbrel in the photographs, don't forget that!

I went and saw my rheumy today. My white blood count still isn't where it should be but we are going to hold off on seeing a hematologist for now and just monitor me which reminds me I forgot to get a standing order for bloodwork crap... i'll have to call them on monday. So he wants me to throw away diclofenac & darvecet & now has me on two new ones, Meloxicam 15mg (1 a day) & Tramadol 50mg (3x a day as needed) let's hope this brings some relief my feet have been killing me constantly. My pill bag is offically jammed pack now with bottles. He still has me taking pred 1 time a day for now as well. Blahhhhh. It's depressing I know.

On a better note state disability was processed so i'll be starting this soon so that's good news. Oh & for getting two prescriptions I got 2 $10 giftcards from target so I thought that was pretty good. They seem to have them in the weekly ad every other week now :D So thats pretty cool at least I can get SOME money back. Jeez.

Folic acid

My white blood cell count has been low the past few months. So I figured this is why I got sick, (a sore throat/running nose etc) this past week. & before that was my ear infection. As I was googling I found that folic acid contributes to the production of white and red blood cells. & well I haven't been taking my folic acid. So I then realized I had caused this myself. This is what I THOUGHT! Buuuut a few days ago they said it was at a 3.5 and 3.8 is normal so it had went up on the last blood test. (The one i took before realizing i better start taking my folic acid again) So i'm not so sure anymore. Either way i'm back onto taking folic acid daily as well as a daily vitamin (the adult gummy ones! yum!) Other weird things that have been happening was that 2-3 weeks ago i started developing red marks of some sort on my hands, near the corner of my eyes and one on my chest. This was the main reason I was googling side effects of different things. I still don't know exactly what it is but it has been getting better since I started back on folic acid so I'll have to bring this up to my rheumy when I see him next month.

Other then that i'm still doing the syringes for my Enbrel and i'm still getting the site reactions :( red, puffy and itchy! *sigh* It's worth it right now though cause I have been feeling pain free lately.

On a brighter note I am going to disneyland & cali adventures with my boyfriend and my cousin and her man on the 21st. So we will get to see the new world of color! i'm so excited! :D

Hi!

God I can't believe it's been almost a month since my update! I've just been so busy between my work schedule and spending time with the boyfriend. Everything has been going good when it comes to RA. I was still getting reactions to the Enbrel Sureclick & my boy offered to have his mom inject Enbrel with a syringe instead to see if that made any difference cause she does injections every day for people since she is a nurse so I trusted her. So last week the syringes arrived I took a peek cause I was curious as to what they looked like. It wasn't too scary and the needle wasn't that big. Well last thursday we did my first syringe injection. It hurt way less then the auto when it first went in and i didn't feel it until she pulled it out and it stinged a bit but so far the results are great I haven't had a reaction on my leg like I was having. His mom offered to give me the shots as long as I need too. She is so sweet <3 Eventually maybe I'll get some courage to do the syringe myself. I saw my rheumy April 27th and was off of Omeprazole 20 MG (1x a day) Prednisone 5 MG (2x a day & Diclofenac 75 MG (2x a day)

as of May 4th. =D I take Diclofenac as needed now which I haven't needed except a handful of times so far. So the Enbrel and Methotrexate are holding up well! I just hope this works for me. I've been getting headaches lately too but i've read that this is a side effect of Enbrel. I've been thinking about trying on the Injectable Methotrexate instead of the pill form also so that's something I plan on asking the rheumy about next time I see him which will be in about a month in a half now. I've been keeping up with my blood tests every six weeks, Just got it done on the 17th. When I was at the rheumy's he said my white blood cell count was low and that we'd see how it was doing the next time I see him.

I got an ear infection in both ears this past week, I waited because I thought it would get better but that was a mistake :( my bf's mom checked them out and I did have an infection so friday morning I made an emergency DR appt. Went it and got my prescription for ear drops and antibiotics. So the bf has been giving me my drops 3x a day. I don't know what I'd do without him! he's been so wonderful to me. :)

Other then that everything is going well. Life is good, finally. I feel like everything is on the right track heading in the right direction.

Been awhile

It's been awhile since I've made a post! I've been doing really good lately. I saw my rheumy yesterday and i get to cut off the Prednisone !!! I will have half a pill for a week then stop completely cause I had already gone down to 1 pill a day when I started Enbrel. Not just that but he said to use the Diclofenac as needed. :D this also means I can cut out Omeprazole after this week!! I'm so happy!!! He checked out my knees and wrists and said he sees a big improvement I had no inflammation! :D The only downfall is that the past 2 shots of Enbrel I've been getting injection site reactions that are red/swollen almost and last a few days then it turns to a bruise. Anyone else get this and have any tips? The rheumy said to give it a few months and if it gets really uncomfortable we might have to change medications =/

I'm still looking for a job with good benefits, each day that goes by makes me worry more and more. It's hard not to think about. I faxed over my resume for an opening for a clerical/legal asst today that my dad found in the paper. So we will see about that one.

Ok but that is not the only exciting news.. i'm so happy about! I have an new boyfriend who is absolutely AMAZING! I've never met anyone like him everrrrrrr. He makes me soooo happy! One of the best things is that my RA doesn't bother him. So that blog I wrote here: Relationships, yeah I was worrying for nothing. He is really supportive and just, I don't know, just to good to be true

& something a friend told me a few days ago..

".... everything that happens has some kind of explanation of reason we ourselves conclude it to be. And yes it is okay, you know your strength and capability of knowing whats worth it or not. theres nothing that isn't or wouldn't be okay unless you, yourself say and believe that it wont be." she is right. :)

Well time to get ready for work. I'm happy i'm off fri and sat!

Rheumy Appt Overview & Disney trip

My Rheumy Appt went well. I will be starting Enbrel, but there are some tests I have to take first. So i got more blood drawn yesterday to make sure I don't have Hep, and then Monday I have an appt to test for TB, after that's finished and my primary care docter faxes my rheumy the results I have to call him and let him know it's done so we can put in to get me started on Enbrel. I'm excited. He said he planned on taking me off pred but since I was in a lot of pain he decided to keep me on it a little longer until i can start Enbrel and he also gave me a prescription for a pain killer, the cool thing about them is that they are hot pink!! I posted a picture :) so i just have to take it as needed. I got copies of recent blood work & doctor notes that I am going to start asking for every time, so I'm going to get a file system going on to keep track of everything.

In other new; I got a new phone the day before yesterday! The HTC Droid Eris for verizon, I was ready for an upgrade and decided to stay with verizon. I love it! My first day of creative writing class was monday and that went well! & on tuesday I went to disneyland!!! & the good thing? I wasn't sore that day! I had so much fun!!! Here are a few pictures :) I love that I have a annual pass and can go whenever!


Yes i love love love alice in wonderland!! & was super excited that they finally have merchandise you can buy now since the moving is coming out! :) Anyways it was lots of fun and my feet didn't start hurting until the end, the weather was nice too! Good times :)

FLARES GO AWAY PLEASE!

I've been really sore lately, despite my increase of methotrexate over the past 6 weeks. Maybe it's because it's been cold off and on lately, I really don't know. All I know is my wrists and knees are sore & it's no fun =( I'm super tired too, ughhhh. On a good note I went and did some grocery shopping today, got a crock pot to make some yummy stuff and also picked up lots of fruits and veggies. 5 more days till I see my Rheumy!

band-aids

I never thought I'd be so excited to pick out band-aids. I want toy story & strawberry shortcake ones too but for now hello kitty will work just fine! =] As you can see I'm preparing myself.

Enbrel

So i've been reading/hearing a lot about a drug called Enbrel so i've been more curious about it & how it works. I decided to call them & see if I could qualify for the Enbrel Support Program & I did, the lady on the phone was very helpful & the card should be arriving within the next 7-10 days. I will also be receiving the complimentary resource kit. I was curious about how much my insurance covered so i gave them a ring but they couldn't give me an exact amount all they said was 20% was what I would have to pay & even that is still to expensive for me. I figured i might as well take advantage while i'm still covered on my dad's insurance to try this out & the support program Enbrel offer's is good for up to $4,000 each 6 month period and $10 out of pocket after. So with that in combination with my insurance it sounds pretty good. It's kinda scary knowing it's something i'll have to self inject but i think i'll be able to do it. I'm glad my appt is coming up with my Rheumy so we can discuss this drug and i can see what he thinks about it. The people over at the Enbrel support line have my Rheumy's info on file already so i just have to tell him i already signed up and what not. I'm not sure how it's works in combination with the others medications I'm already on so these are all things I need to find out.

Anyone who happens to read this and is currently on Enbrel please leave some feedback on how it's working out for you!

Medications and such...

I love waking up to doctor offices calling me in the morning. Good way to start my day don't you think? Well it's something i'll just have to get used too i suppose.

I was thankfully able to sleep through most of the night, didn't wake till around 5am at first. I've been feeling the side effect of prednisone which is now a dear friend of mine called insomnia. My Rheumatologist wants to take me off of it as soon as possible, he isn't a fan and i'm not going to argue =] one less pill i'll be having to take hopefully but this won't go into effect until my methotrexate kicks in. (which i mentioned in my previous blog entry) Speaking of medications why don't i give the run down on what i'm currently on.


Diclofenac 75 MG (2x a day)
Prednisone 5 MG (2x a day)
Omeprazole 20 MG (1x a day)
Methotrexate 2.5 MG (6x this past sunday & this sunday then moving up to 8x
every sunday after that)
Folic Acid 1 MG (Vitamin 1x a day)

I have to get blood work done every 6 weeks as well but my Rheumy gave me a standing order so i just have to go in whenever i get the chance every 6 weeks.

I've been researching a lot and have heard good things about something called enbrel. I plan on asking my Rheumy about it on my next trip. It is something that i would have to inject myself so i'm not sure i'm ready to do something like that but who knows. If it helps then i want to at least give it a try.

My approval from insurance went through today which is why i had the nice wake up call. So i'll be calling the Rheumatologist office soon here to schedule my next appointment. =D

It's been raining all week… no pouring all week is more like it here in southern cali. This weather makes me even more sore, can't wait till the sun comes back!