Sorry for the hiatus between this and my last post.
I've been exceedingly busy and tired out from my responsibilities (both my own and other family members). When I haven't been busy, I've been too tired to write.
I've had good streaks of up to 3-4 days of minimal pain and no pain medications. I've had bad streaks of similar duration and needed up to 2 or so Norco per day (taken 1/2 pill at a time).
As previously mentioned, I have completely abandoned doing any running. My running seemed to exacerbate pain and other symptoms.
I have begun resuming the consumption of fiber, however, I limit myself to pureed goods (such as V8, applesauce, and other such fruit & vegetable products).
I had an appointment with my doctor and I let him know how things were going. He felt I should start with the biologicals. I decided independently that even if I was improving that I was not improving fast enough and I wanted to start them too.
I picked up a case of Thrush and started taking Fluconazole for the thrush. Within just 2 days the thrush got a lot better. I'm still taking the fluconazole but the Thrush is almost completely gone.
In order to qualify for biologicals I need to get screened for potentially complicating conditions. I've gotten my blood draws (for hepatitis and TB) and chest x-ray. Now I need to get my TB scratch test.
However, three days ago I developed a high fever along with pretty intense belly pain. My doctor ordered a CT scan and the scan revealed that I had developed another abscess. So we've got to get that cleared up before I can start the biologicals.
Also, I've decided I will start with Remicade first. My doctor's office is signing me up for RemiStart. It will apparently help me pay for the first $8000 of drug costs. For me this will be very helpful. I'm within about $3000 of reaching the max out of pocket amount for my insurance. I'm planning on writing another entry to discuss how I plan to pay for the cost of Remicade. FYI, the cost was a major part of my decision to start with Remicade. Humira was going to cost me vastly more ($5000 vs $800 for the year after the insurance picks up its portion).
I'm up to about 16 prescription scripts plus many OTC vitamins and supplements and I'm not happy about it.
I've been exceedingly busy and tired out from my responsibilities (both my own and other family members). When I haven't been busy, I've been too tired to write.
I've had good streaks of up to 3-4 days of minimal pain and no pain medications. I've had bad streaks of similar duration and needed up to 2 or so Norco per day (taken 1/2 pill at a time).
As previously mentioned, I have completely abandoned doing any running. My running seemed to exacerbate pain and other symptoms.
I have begun resuming the consumption of fiber, however, I limit myself to pureed goods (such as V8, applesauce, and other such fruit & vegetable products).
I had an appointment with my doctor and I let him know how things were going. He felt I should start with the biologicals. I decided independently that even if I was improving that I was not improving fast enough and I wanted to start them too.
I picked up a case of Thrush and started taking Fluconazole for the thrush. Within just 2 days the thrush got a lot better. I'm still taking the fluconazole but the Thrush is almost completely gone.
In order to qualify for biologicals I need to get screened for potentially complicating conditions. I've gotten my blood draws (for hepatitis and TB) and chest x-ray. Now I need to get my TB scratch test.
However, three days ago I developed a high fever along with pretty intense belly pain. My doctor ordered a CT scan and the scan revealed that I had developed another abscess. So we've got to get that cleared up before I can start the biologicals.
Also, I've decided I will start with Remicade first. My doctor's office is signing me up for RemiStart. It will apparently help me pay for the first $8000 of drug costs. For me this will be very helpful. I'm within about $3000 of reaching the max out of pocket amount for my insurance. I'm planning on writing another entry to discuss how I plan to pay for the cost of Remicade. FYI, the cost was a major part of my decision to start with Remicade. Humira was going to cost me vastly more ($5000 vs $800 for the year after the insurance picks up its portion).
I'm up to about 16 prescription scripts plus many OTC vitamins and supplements and I'm not happy about it.
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