Update

Mat48

I know I know SW - you are right of course Especially as GP just emailed to say I need blood tests 1 week then 2 and then if all okay we can resume monthly. Actually I rarely made it to monthly last time because of liver enzymes. Nothing to do with booze I might add - I don't usually care very much about being teetotal.

But it is a pretty special day so if I wait until Wednesday night to take the MTX do you think I could indulge the night before on our anniversary or is that too risky still do you reckon? And if I do wait an extra day then will I be able to revert to Tuesdays the following week or do I have to hop an extra day each time until I reach Tuesday again? I ask this here because I have no rheumy nurse and it is no use asking the practice nurse or GP about this as they just wave a hand and say a few drinks can't hurt! :roll:

dreamdaisy

I empathise, Mat, we don't have an easy time of it do we? As you know none of us on here are doctors so we cannot answer your timing question. You have to choose, methinks. The anniversary is a big one, and demands some form of celebration, so why not hold off on the meth for a couple of days? There's no doubt that regular meds interfere with our lives but they are a necessity - we have to work round them and not vice-versa. DD

PS Other stuff happens to us which may not be arthritis-related: it is tempting to attribute the blame but . . . . .

Mat48

Yes that is an option I agree DD. It's the one my husband favors (naturally!) but part of me just wants to get on and take it as soon as I can because it took six months for MTX to take effect with me last time and as I'm in pain and feeling most unwell I just want to get on with it. I daren't take NSAIDs because of the hives so I'm stuck with cocos only. If I could get hold of my new Metoject tomorrow I would take it before the weekend but the pharmacist has to order it in for me.

Unfortunately the GP said he wouldn't prescribe it for me again when I stopped in August so I handed in my remaining metoject packs as I didn't want to see them again! Regretting this now - eyeing up my one remaining box of 20mg which I held onto for some reason and wondering if I might just use half the syringe tonight to get myself started. Don't answer this please as I don't want to be accused of eliciting medical advice on here - I'm just thinking out loud! Whoever thought that life would come to choosing between bubbly and injectable Methotrexate

DebbieT

Hi Mat,

Maybe it would be worth waiting until the following Tuesday to start the mtx perhaps? They'll be no risk to ure liver then.

Regarding the hives ... Is your GP sure it's not Keratosis Pilaris? It can also cause deep lines in ure nails. I've looked at the images online & they don't look anything like wot my mate's do. Hers look much more like hives or boils, red & very sore. If she scratches the ones on her face she won't leave the house as she feels she looks like a drug addict, it's very upsetting!!

You may or may not remember but they found I have a 1.5cm cyst in my Pineal Gland in my brain. I have been suffering from migraines a great deal for about 18 months, I also get a lot of numbness especially in my left side, head & face, arm, hand & at times my leg too. The neurologist says this is all down to complex migraines then vertigo & nausea joined the party in a big way & if you look it up all the sites say this is the pineal gland cyst but the UK says it's unrelated but the state's disagrees!! So I take a large amount of prevention meds, nausea meds & migraine meds now!! I'm due my annual 90 min brain mri in May to ensure it hasn't grown or encroached on the cerebral fluid tap
My point in this tail is .... I understand why you want ure rheumy to listen to you & hear ure symptoms & put the puzzle together as I'd like the same too!! The flip side for me is tho, IF she changed her mind & said yep Deb, I think it is the cyst ... We're gona have to operate!!

Look up where the pineal gland is, ul see my dilema if I was right So in the long run I'll stick with wot she gives me n hope like heck nothing ever changes up there :shock:

I continue to wonder about fibromyalgia with you!! :?

I'm so glad the med is working for you & many congratulations on ure 25th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. I felt a great deal of accomplishment on ours, we were married young & many gave us months not even years, we showed them

XxX

Mat48

Hey thanks Debbie. I daren't look up another thing online now, especially after Sophie's wise words, because I seem to be so suggestible! Funnily enough the one thing I dread being told is that my symptoms are fibro because there's so little that can be done about this. But whenever I have asked my GPs or the rheumy if it could be this they just shake their heads. I think Fibro is more of a severe muscle pain where my nerve pain is very much just in my legs and feet and doesn't affect my mobility as Fibro seems to? I do have the tender points though and wouldn't be surprised if they said I had this at all but they haven't so far.

Your friend's itchy spots do sound like mine. The GPs have suggested Rosacea but I really don't think it is because I have no flushing and it's mainly around the outside of my face and neck and chest - all under my ears and in my scalp. I've itched all my life with eczema but this is different because it stings too like nettle rash or really nasty mozzy bites. I might not be able to resist looking up your friend's thing - Keratosis Pilaris after all! Come to think of it my youngest son has Keratosis Pilaris pretty badly on both of his arms and has had this confirmed by a dermatologist. He says you can only get this condition on arms and legs. I think it could easily be this though because I do have a slightly hairy face and it's a kind of folliculitis I believe? If I ever get to see the dermatologist then I'll let you know what they say.

Your complaints sound far more heavy duty than mine and I don't blame you for fearing the jigsaw pieces leading to a cyst diagnosis and choosing to trust your consultant's point of view. I really hope the MRI shows it hasn't progressed at all and so you can breathe a huge sigh of relief about it only being "complex migraines and vertigo" - although this sounds quite lousy enough to me.

The only good thing about trying to compensate for my rheumy's reluctance to piece together the jigsaw puzzle pieces for me is that my research has taken me to many autoimmune forums and I've ended up concluding that I would far rather than have RA than X, Y or X :roll: Mat x

DebbieT

My friend has been diagnosed by a dermo so you can get it on the face, chest & back etc Its very painful, I feel for her n therefore you if it is ... N I know an awful lot about painful skin. I hope the appointment comes thru asap. Another of my cyber friends has it too ... They both have fm btw.

I'd ask the new rheumy, once he's dealt with why uve asked for 2nd opinion, to check for fm. Uve got to have 11 out 18 tender points as well as other factors to be diagnosed. Uve got nothing to lose & there are mild, moderate & severe cases. I started out moderate then had a massive flare of fm & arthritis after our first grandchild was born & have stayed in the severe catagory ever since!!

Ok, I'll make it easy on you ... It's right in the centre of the brain :shock: It's also thought to be the origin of the 'third eye'.

I've tried to step away from my puzzle as I can't change the out come either way but mainly as my hubby health has taken a big hit He worries me enough for 10 lifetimes!!

Right I'm off to chill with some trashy tv

XxX

Mat48

Great stuff re the trashy tv! Husband and son been watching the Voice on catchup but their idiotic laughter drove me mad so I came up to bed to hide! I think mine its urticaria - shame we can't put pics on here. My husband says it is very hot and swollen under my ears, neck and chest plus the yiucky scabs. I reminded him that when we met at the age of 19 and 20 he had the most dreadfull acne I've ever seen. And I still went out with him and chose him over a few more scenic lads - just in case he finds me so hideous that he thinks of trading me in for a newer healthier model? After all my 25 year warranty is probably up!
Mat x