Week 23 from Baseline

Well, since I last provided an update, I have remembered to take my morning AND my evening doses of Salazopyrin and it seems to have made all the difference. I’ve been barely symptomatic at all since the last time I provided an update. The times that I have been a little symptomatic, it’s limited to the ankle and its because I’ve gone on a run, or had a long St John shift. Perfectly reasonable and expected if you ask me.

All in all, I’m very pleased with my progress provided I take both the Adalimumab and the Salazopyrin. I guess that makes me a little concerned in the sense that I wonder what will happen when he General lets me step down off Salazopyrin altogether and how I will react to that. Right now, I wonder if longer term, I will need to continue to take both. I do hope not. After all, it is toxic medication. And the less one has to endure in the long run, the better off one will probably be.

But I also think that I shouldn’t worry about all that right now and enjoy the fact that I have been quite stable and pain-free. So I’ll do that instead!

Week 21 from Baseline

This last week has seen my left ankle quite grumpy. It's not grumpy enough to bring back my limp, but there has definitely been some general umpleasantness about it. From a pain score point of view, it's around two and a half.

Of course it would help if I remembered to take Salazopyrin at night. Over the entire week, for some reason, I have remembered to take the two tablets in the morning, but I haven't remembered my evening dose.

BAD Sharon. BAD BAD BAD Sharon.

Must make more efforts and perhaps set up some reminders.

Aside from that, I am pretty well and I'm looking forward to a relatively relaxing weekend. And with any luck, I'll be heading out for a run should the weather become a bit kinder and the pathways less wet.

And on that note, it's just after 4pm on Friday. Beer O' Clock! Happy weekend all.

Week 20 from Baseline

Yes, another weekly update that is four days late. I really must make an effort to get back on schedule.

It was last Friday in the afternoon that I last posted on here (complete with the pictures) details regarding my post-run swelling. So naturally, you might think a smart person would have learned to take it easy. A smart person would slow down. A smart person would not back up their run two days later with another run after such arthritic results.

Hey, I never professed to be smart.

The run on Saturday actually went better than the first run the previous Thursday. For starters, I ran further and longer. Not much longer and further mind you but a little bit makes the difference. The pain and swelling I experienced from the run on Thursday had gone so in all honestly there no real barrier to having another go. After the run on Saturday, the ankle swelled up and there was a little bit of pain. It behaved in exactly same manner as after the Thursday run, except that the symptoms didn’t take 20-something hours to appear. My ankle was ‘tired’, if I can call it that, immediately after I pulled up Saturday morning.

To make matters more interesting, the Big Day Out was held in Melbourne the following day (Sunday) and since I love these big events, I had put my name down to volunteer. It hit 39 degrees C at some stage in the afternoon. ‘Carnage’ is a word I’d happy use to describe how the BDO went. There were no moments to rest. Given what I had put the ankle though the past 4 days, I was extremely pleased with how it held up. Again it was quite tired-feeling by the time I got home but this was no surprise given that all us volunteers were completely knackered and stank worse than a council tip.

I haven’t been able to run since as the weather has not been all that wonderful. I might try and go tonight or tomorrow. We will see.

This week (Week 20) was also noted by a trip to K. My blood tests from last visit were all fine. There was some swelling in my left ankle (duh) and also in my right ankle (????). But other than that, it was a fairly unremarkable visit with only the small batch of surveys to complete and no physical assessment due.

You’d think by now, I should know to keep my mouth shut

This morning, I posted a blog about my run yesterday and how my ankle held up. Pretty pleased with myself I was. All was fine and dandy.

At 4:00pm today I got home from grocery shopping. After putting all the groceries away, I sat on the couch and put my feet up. That’s when I noticed ‘that’ type of achey pain in the ankle. 

Let’s fast forward to now.

And a close up for good measure.

The photos were taken at 5:15pm. And yup, that’s some nice swelling I’ve got going on there on the left. I guess that run yesterday had more of a negative effect on my arthritis than I thought. I know it’s arthritis and not the trauma. I can feel it.

Bugger!

Week 19 - 'Ang on! That was days ago

It was only late last night I realised my week 19 date had come and gone and I had not blogged an update. What can I say? Time flies when you're taking a few days off the job.

I think it's probably fair to suggest that my Arthritis has stablised. <------ (update: 5:30pm - This was a stupid thing to say...... ) At least for me and what I can detect in myself, this feels a fair thing to say. Occasionally, my right ankle becomes a bit of a grump for a day, but this is honestly nothing when I compare it to how it was behaving before I commenced in the trial when there was only the occasional good day. Now, in terms of my overall symptomatic experiences, 95% of all days are good days.

Now, for an admission.

I failed to note in this diary in between now and my very first run attempt back in November, I had only once attempted another run just prior to Christmas. The reason I didn't mention it was because I failed to make a full kilometer before I decided to turn around and walk home quite pissed with things. I don't know really what happened to make it such a fail. I do k now it was cooler than I prefer, probably 18 degrees. And it was also very windy. The wind got in my ear, even with my music headphones in. Within a few minutes of getting started my ear was aching and the ache started to make it's way into my throat and my neck. It wasn't pleasant at all. The rest of me was wasn't performing either. I recall having to make an effort to will myself into giving it a go. In the past when I was running regularly, this generally worked in my favour and I'd normally end up pretty pleased with myself for pushing myself to go. On the odd occasion, the mind is stubborn and the body follows suit. So the combination of an impending throbbing headache and a petulant flesh caused me to admit defeat and try another day. But I was disappointed and to be honest, a little angry.

Since then there have been a variety of other factors made it difficult to summon the motivation I needed to try again. This include a couple of disappointments but also Christmas came along as did my Noosa/Sydney break. But yesterday that changed. The conditions were perfect. 21 degrees and not a whiff of wind on the horizon. I was in the mood to go. And in the afternoon, I did.

40 minutes and roughly 5.5km later I got home buzzing. Did my ankle hurt? A little while I was running. But the run was great. My body was willing and the spirits were high. I went further than I thought I would. I would have been content with less than 5km, because distance wasn't the priority. Getting my heart rate up and keeping it there for 45-50 minutes was the priority. I was only stopped by the horn of a car that was sailing past. It was my husband coming home from playing a round of golf Since we were only around a kilometer from home, I jumped in the car very satisfied with what I had done. At this point, there is no need to push things. The fact remains that yesterday I did close to 6km and accomplished 40 minutes of sustained exercise. And today, aside from a little muscle soreness in the legs, I feel perfectly fine. <------ (update: 5:30pm - Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Spoke too soon ...... )

That in itself is something to smile about. A reminder to forget about the last attempt. A reminder that I really do enjoy running.

Week 18 from Baseline

In the last week, my back has been extremely grumpy which I assume is due to lack of attention by my Chiropractor. But since my visit on Monday, I have had no further troubles.
I’ve also been prone to a few more headaches of which I am putting down to an overabundance of stress. It’s true that there are parts of my life that are a little stressful right now. And sometimes, in the weak and sooky moments, it does gets the better of you.

But in terms of my arthritis, I’m fairly pleased with how the last week has gone. I did experience a bit of pain in the ankle briefly last week. It felt painful, but really, it felt more tired than in pain. I wasn’t wearing any heels when it started and it was a day in which my physical activity was limited. It might very well be the makings of a flare up, but if that’s true, it was definitely subdued by either the Adalimumab or the Salazopyrin.

I have to confess, the pain in my back, my head and to a lesser extent, my ankle has once again combined to make Nurofin Plus my best friend in the world. And that’s never a good thing. I did attempt to dull my aches with some Paracetamol, but as usual, it works as effectively as hitting the sore bits with a hammer. It doesn't only fail in its job to relieve the pain, it fails to stop it from getting worse.

Week 17 - Time out for Queensland

I simply wish to say:

- To all the people currently cleaning up from the QLD flood disaster. I wish you well. Stay strong.
- To those who are still waiting for the floods to come, good luck and stay safe.
- To those who have lost loved ones, I am so sorry.


Donate to the Premier’s Disaster relief appeal online or by phone on 1800 219 028.

You can also donate via Internet Banking

Account Name: Premiers Disaster Relief Appeal
BSB: 064 013
Account number: 1000 6800
SWIFT code (for international donations): CTBAAU2S

And don't forget the a little bit for the animals. Donate to RSPCA QLD Flood Appeal here

PS. I have had no arthritic problems and no pain this week. So there you go. This matters not today.