First, thank you so much to everyone for your amazing support on my Friday post about my vehicle loan. It means so much to me. I get more support on here than in my own world. As for my plans, first I need to get this paid off and then come up with a battle plan for what is next.
I went back to the specialist in the city this past week. The news wasn't great. While I am finished my round of steroids, it did not put me into remission as they had hoped. (for colitis, remission means there are no active flare ups, blood, etc) Doesn't mean the disease goes away, just is sleeping. Dormant seems a better term for me.
The everyday meds are not sufficient to keep the inflammation down so we are up to step 2, which is a drug with all kinds of scary side effects and potential medical problems. One of the potential problems is a decrease in my white blood cell count, so I have to go for blood work once a week for two months and then if all is well, once a month for the rest of my life.
While I am glad to be off the steroids and all their nasty side effects, the ones with these new drugs aren't great either. The worst is the joint pain. My knees ache so badly right now I can barely move or get up/sit down. This is supposed to fade as my body adjusts to the meds. I sure hope so. Right now, this sucks.
Step 2 of drugs was supposed to cost $200 a month. I am very happy to have medical coverage. I filled my prescription with trepidation. The bill came to $5. Thank goodness.
If step 2 does not work, step 3 is the final step of meds currently available. They are about $30 000 a year and I am told medical insurance does not cover them. I hope it does not come to that.
I need to get my butt to the school for a bit and get some work done. I need to get groceries too. and clean.
On the bright note, I get to use my clothes line for the first time since last fall. That makes me very very happy :-)
Frugal Friday
20 hours ago
10 comments:
Have you tried adjusting your diet for the colitis? Ive heard good things about the Paleo diet having a positive impact on colitis so just thought I would mention it. Glad your scrips was only $5 I cant imaging having to come up with $30,000 a year for meds!!
I hope this next round of drugs help, Jolie! Hope your knees start to feel better as well... ((hugs))
Wow, sounds intense.im very glad you have insurance! Is there anything else you can do to reduce symptoms? Diet? Vitamins? Just wondering if there are things you can do to help the medications along. I hope your side affects are few and far between.
I think you should also consider doing something homeopathic. BodyTalk is an amazing alternative and I highly suggest you look into it. It will only assist your healing. There's a website where you can find practitioners all over the world. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it can't hurt (literally) and will only make you feel better. Give it 3 - 6 sessions before you notice anything, but there are amazing stories out there about how it's helped people. I sure hope the next round of drugs helps you! x
thank you everyone. They have scheduled me in with the dietician for the next visit. While there may be common foods that can trigger inflammations, colitis seems to be very individual. What affects my mom doesn't seem to affect me, and vice versa. Right now I know I can't have popcorn. I loved it, both on and off WW and it's been hard. I have 90% given up chocolate, which is killing me too. Raw veggies can trigger problems as can the fruits I love with their darn little seeds. Nuts seem to agitate it too.
I have talked to my home doctor, the local gastro dr who did my colonoscopy and my specialist at the University and her team. All of them have said to not worry excessively about diet until we get the inflammation under control. I am being careful, nonetheless.
Oh you poor thing sore knees is a real pain (no pun intended) mine are shot after years of running, now I need help just to get off the floor.
Hoping the meds kick in soon and the pain goes, my Hubby deals with this on a daily basis and the body really does adjust.
Keep well.....
So sorry to hear that you are still struggling with inflammation, Jolie. My nephew has had Chrohn's since he was 15 (now almost 19) and he has had alot of success with a new drug, but I'm not sure the name...I believe it is the expensive one you speak of, as my sister said it was about$3000 per month. He is part of a trial through the University Hospital in Edmonton.
My dad had diverticulitous (spelling??!!) and cannot have foods with seeds, nuts, etc. either.
Keep your head up and all will work out fine for you. This is a bit off the wall, but you might want to try distance healing at some point. There is a guy in Brazil called John of God who supposedly has miraculously cured many people, including Wayne Dyer. It might be worth checking out before you drop $30k on meds.
I hope this helps - my sister-in-law has ulceritive colitis and it's pretty rough. At this point she's on monthly infusions so I understand all the side effects you have to go through. Good luck!
Ahhhh Jolie - such a tough time healthwise you're going through, sorry to hear the steroids didn't accomplish what you needed. Hope round two goes better and that the side effects ease over time. Thinking of YOU!
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