i am back. joe mentioned tonight that it’s been a while since i’ve blogged, so here i am.

i’ve been feeling very blah lately. i don’t know if it’s because it’s getting to be that time of month or what, but i’ve just felt so frumpy and gross and just…well…blah.

i’ve also been in a *lot* of pain since my last visit to my rheumatologist two months ago. she cut my methotrexate prescription by one pill — from six a week to five — and my knees have been killing me. i really don’t think one pill would make *that* much of a difference, but i don’t know what else it could be. i’m so tired of not being able to do things and feeling like i don’t have a “normal” life because of this. i’m even in extreme pain when i’m sitting or layinig down, which shouldn’t happen. today, i looked up various things. i may try physical therapy, which my rheumatologist suggested. the only downside is that my insurance only pays for three visits. i may even try remicade infusions. maybe those are stronger than my enbrel injections.

another possiblity is an arthroscopy, which would allow an orthopedist to go into my knee and remove the inflamed tissue which, along with fluid in the joints, causes the knee pain with rheumatoid arthritis. it’s much less invasive, but i have to wonder how quickly the problems would return. my mom, who has osteoarthritis, had the fluid removed from her knees and said she felt a lot better afterward. hmmm. i guess i’ll be talking to my rheumatologist in a few weeks. i may even call my uncle, who’s an orthopedic surgeon. he knows what can or should be done for damaged joints. and if i trust anyone, it’s him. here’s to pain-free days in the not-so-distant future!