Sleepless in Bournemouth

I am feeling a little bleary eyed and befuddled this morning as I have had yet another disturbed night. For three nights in a row I have been woken by pain in my back and across my ribs on my left hand side. My restless night was not helped by the fact that one of my neighbours' car alarms went off three times at 4:45, 5:30 and 6:00 am !

At the moment I am weighing up whether it is worth going to my Doctor about the pain. The agreement that I reached with my GP is that if I experience significant pain I try taking anti-inflammatories for a week. If, after that week, I am still in a great deal of pain then I go back to her. I will have a blood test to assess my ESR. She will then arrange for me to see a Rheumatologist. Because my arthritis is classified as mild I do not get regular Rhematology appointments every 6 months. Although I have a supportive GP I do sometimes feel like I have been left to cope with this by myself. It has been left to me to research my condition try to find a way to muddle through.

Whilst I was going through the various tests and consultations which lead up to my diagnosis I was told by a junior doctor that my flair ups would be a 'nuisance'. That really stuck in my mind, Breaking a fingernail is a nuisance. Finding it difficult to walk because my ankle has swollen to twice its normal size, or being unable to sleep because it hurts to lie on my left side is not what I would describe as a nuisance ! I know that she was only trying to make me feel better but instead she made me angry.

One reason why I am reluctant to go back to the Rheumatologist is that I am afraid that he will put me on more powerful medication. At the moment I just take anti-inflammatories when I need them. They have some pretty unpleasant side effects including nausea, stomach cramps, sometimes diarrhea and make me feel really 'spaced out'. I know it sounds like a contradiction when I have just been complaining that I am in pain but most of the stronger arthritis drugs carry big risks such as liver damage and stomach ulcers.

I am on leave this week so I will see how I feel by the end of it. My OH is on leave too so hopefully we can do some things together to take my mind off how I feel. I am conscious that this is just as hard on him as it is on me. I will explore that in a future post. For now I will try to get on with my Sunday, have a shower and some breakfast and see if that makes me feel any better.