I promise, there will be some positive stuff mixed in here. I try to find the silver linings, and there are some to find, but I need some gumpy time for all this, too.
Actually, by this point, darnit, I deserve some grumpy time!
The changeover to methotrexate shots finally got off the ground, and lessened the side effects considerably. Since I didn't like being nauseous all the time, this was a great boon. Having an acupuncturist offering to do the shots during my weekly treatments was a HUGE boon as well. (So was having a hubby willing to take over on weeks when Pam isn't available.) But ...
Of course, this is me, and my messed up body, so you knew there had to be at least one fly in the ointment, right?
As we're tapering me off the steroids my index fingers are acting up more. So is the rest of me, but the index fingers, where the RA is the worst, are the most concerning. Yep, the methotrexate dose isn't enough to handle the RA load.
At my rheumatologist's appointment yesterday, it was decided to add Enbrel to the mix after all. Another weekly shot, another set of hoops to jump through. I'm waiting for the phone call to schedule a time when the refrigerated delivery can be signed over to me.
I'm also waiting to go into sticker shock at that time. To give an example of why I am braced for sticker shock, my monthly Savella prescription, before insurance, is a bit over $300 at last check and I end up paying $70 for it. The Enbrel? A month's worth of weekly shots, autoinjectors, etc runs over $2000.
Thankfully the manufacturer has a "support card" to cover out-of-pocket expenses of up to $12000 a year or it. The downside is that it requires that we pay the pharmacy then file for reimbursement, and there's no telling how long that process will take each time. It is still a net gain, but extra effort to make sure everything gets filed right away, money tied up that could be used elsewhere, etc. It is still a silver lining, if a slightly tarnished one.
I just got off the phone with my primary care doctor's office. Dad has had issues with blood clots, that turned out to be hereditary in nature, so I had a quick blood test done on Monday to see if I tested positive as well. Yep. I do. I go in next week to talk about it, and see if anything needs to be done in the near future or not. Dad and his dad didn't get them until later in life, but my body is so messed up that later could be much sooner.
Oh yes, why was I at my primary care doctor's office on Monday? Shingles. Again. On the left side of my face. Again. Thanks to already being on prednisone, and catching this early (she had a cancellation the same day as the outbreak started, with JUST enough time for me to rush there after I hung up the phone), the visible outbreak has already faded. The nerve pain on that side of the face, however .... Let's just say I am very grateful to have gabapentin on hand. I've still got a week's worth of horse pills (the acyclovir pills are large, and need to be taken 5 times a day) to get through, so I expect the pain will be ramped up for a few more days.
Ah well, it is what it is. It isn't anything terminal, for which I am very grateful, and I'll muddle along with just a few extra primal whimpers now and then.
In other news, we're not sure when Adam's contract is going to suddenly end. He could just walk in one day and be told they don't need him anymore. That's not nerve-wracking at all. Nope. Not a bit!
Meanwhile he has about 2-ish(?) months to go before he has his degree. He's been burning the candle at both ends with work, working out and his classwork, but the end is in sight on the class front at long last. I'm so proud of him. It isn't an easy load, to be sure!
The work on my website for the expansion was a huge amount of information to process and document in a very short period of time. I got it done, but I'm still finding bits and pieces of articles that need tweaking. I also survived testing and documenting the winter holiday event. To call me tired right now would be a massive understatement! At least the website stuff is (mostly) done until sometime next month, when the Erollisi (Valentine's) Day stuff will need to be tested then documented! And then comes Brewday (St. Patrick's Day) and Bristlebane Day (April Fools+) and then sometime in April things will mellow with regards to the website for a few months. {fingers crossed}
More next week. I'm low on
spoons and trying to conserve where I can.
Last, but not least, my heart and thoughts go out to my Uncle Jim and his large clan right now. My Aunt Beverly lost her own battle with failing health this week.