The Girl With Arthritis

It's been a long time since I've last updated. I don't want to sugar coat it; the past few months were extremely difficult. Though I'm hesitant to say it was the worst period of my life, it was definitely the most exhausting in all respects- physically, mentally, and emotionally. While there were many things going on that were extremely demanding, I wasn't exhausted solely due to those stresses. Rather, it was because I was very ill. And I owe it to many people -the people in my life and to my readers- to explain why I was absent and very much not myself for a few months. In July, the medication (Sulfasalazine) I had began in May was causing harmful side effects, so I began taking Plaquenil. I was very hopeful that this would be the treatment that would bring me to remission in a year or two. It seemed to be successful for many of my friends, so why not me? Plaquenil takes a very long time to work, so I wasn't surprised I hadn't felt any benefits by Au...