The Girl With Arthritis

Now, I'm not a doctor and I'm not telling you what you can or should do. Don't take it to heart. Talk to your doctor. "Can I still drink with a chronic illness?" A question muttered in many different forms by many different people. And the answer is almost always yes. In the case of arthritis, you certainly can. It's not so much the disease we worry about alcohol affecting as much as the medications. Many medications do carry risks when it comes to alcohol. NSAIDs are usually safe to drink in moderation, of course ask your doctor first. DMARDs like methotrexate are popular in treatment. Some doctors tell you that it's fine to drink, but to limit it. Others tell you to avoid it like the plague. It's mostly concern to protect your liver and kidneys. With biologics, it may be the same story: you might be told you can drink, you might not. Only your doctor knows what is best for you. Me personally? Well, I was about twelve when I started methotrexate a...

Updated: October 2022 My name is Elizabeth and I will never have an easy disease to diagnose. It took several years ro get my diagnosis. I've taken a few different drugs, but none of them truly worked out for me. Methotrexate didn't work well. But Leflunomide changed my life. Not so much arthritis-wise, as I responded well. However, I began experiencing possible thyroid and kidney problems while taking leflunomide. I have calcium crystals in my kidneys, which could later become stones. As my mum says, "I'm sparkling on the inside."  We found this as blood was found in my urine many times. I also had to do a twenty-four hour urine sample, which is when you collect all the urine you produce in twenty-four hours. It really is quite embarrassing walking into the hospital with a container of your own urine, but it's worth it. I'm currently seeing a specialist for this problem and we are taking care of it right now by discontinuing leflunomide and lett...

I went to the rheumatologists yesterday. I can say that was  easily one of the worse visits ever. Due to weight loss in such a sort period, I've been taken off of Leflunomide. Rather, I've been prescribed Enbrel and since I will be going on holiday soon, I will not be starting for several weeks. It will be two injections every week. Thankfully I have several arrangements where a nurse will  be able to give me them, rather than do them myself. However I will most likely learn to inject them myself in case I'm never able to get to a nurse or whoever, or if I get confidence enough I'll just do them myself. Leflunomide, however, seemed to be working quiet well besides the worrying side effects. Also, both my regular nurse and doctor seemed concerned about my heart rate, which was a bit high. In fact, the doctor was so concerned I was sent to get an EKG. Though my heart rate was elevated, it wasn't too concerning.

I would just like to give a bit of an update about Leflunomide, which is like Methotrexate in the fact it suppresses one's immune system. So far, I'm not doing very well on it. While I don't get nausea as badly on Leflunomide like I did on Methotrexate, I still do get it. I don't lose hair on this either. However, I've experienced nasty side effects on Leflunomide. I've lost my appetite on this medicine to the point I eat extremely lightly just to get three meals, and when I say extremely light, I mean something to drink can become a satisfying meal. I'm also a bit afraid to eat because when I do I tend to get an upset stomach as well. Not all the time, but I do. Before this drug I was a healthy weight and slim: It was obvious I took very good care of myself. On this drug I've lost a lot of weight and while I still look rather healthy and just as though I've lost a tiny bit of weight, I'm rather concerned. I wasn't even trying to loss weigh...

My apologizes for not posting in a while: I haven't truely found the time to. But I'm here now and isn't that what really counts? Earlier in the week I actually fell and landed on my back. A few days after my fall, I went to an amusement park, and yes I went on rollercoasters. I probably shouldn't have, but I'm not very sore and I take it as a good sign. The only thing was I was unable to push my harness over my head because of the strain and pain and I needed a friend to help me. But all in all it wasn't a very painful day. My friends and I took it very slowly with a lot of down time. I did most rides, except upside down rollercoaster: I've never been on one before and I don't like the idea of going upside down. I feel like they'd hurt my back and shoulders a lot. Speaking of pain, Dr. Marc put me on a new medicine called Leflunomide. He said it's the same as methotrexate but less severe and I take it once I day. Two weeks later, so far so good...