Inflammatory Arthritis

Hey, all! So, today was not a great day, health-wise. The #InflammatoryArthritis crew will understand... I always manage to come down with something around the holidays. Seriously, it's every. Single. Holiday. This time, I caught a little cold that turned into a sinus infection, many thanks to my suppressed immune system! Yay. :)

Today, I was feeling stiff, pained, exhausted, and generally yucky. During a burst of energy, I played the piano for a bit, but I became frustrated when I couldn't play with my usual agility. (Piano + sore joints = difficult.) So I resolved to sing—and that was good! A creative expression always helps me feel better when I'm mentally or physically down.

But the best part of today? Well, I learned that there is a significant interaction between two of my medications—and this interaction is likely responsible for my recent extreme fatigue! On my doctor's advice, I will be stopping the newer medication to see if the issue resolves. Let's hope that I wake up feeling a little better tomorrow morning. :) Yes, it's frustrating when a treatment fails, but I'm more excited than I am disappointed. It's been really rough lately, so it's hopeful to know that something is looking up!

For anyone curious, I am experiencing an interaction between a TNF inhibitor (a biologic or disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug) and a neuroleptic agent. No interactions between my two specific medications have been documented, but interactions between other DMARDs and antidepressants are known to cause confusion, fatigue, and dizziness!

#Arthritis #MentalHealth

I've been feeling lately like my few commitments are too much. I'm so, so tired, and I feel like I can't ever get enough rest. I have both physical and mental health conditions that occasionally flare up and become disabling... Still, I find myself unsure of what to do next, even knowing the reasons for my exhaustion. I feel guilty that I can't just rise above this.

I'm really feeling quite emotional because I've been debating dropping out of grad school. I never thought I'd even speak those words, but here I am. I'm feeling too exhausted to achieve the goals that once made me so happy and motivated me to push through difficult days. Part of me just wants peace, space to enjoy life, and finally, after so many years, a life without homework or commitments that haunt me after I leave work. But part of me is also so afraid that I'd be giving up on my potential. I imagine myself wondering, years from now, if I made the right choice. I imagine myself telling my future children what I do for a living, and... I feel ashamed of admitting that I just want to step back and recover from this stress that I cannot shed.

Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you.

#InflammatoryArthritis #Autism #ChronicFatigue #Anxiety

My story -

I grew up in the 80s/90s where being “double-jointed” was just a weird quirk/party trick. Well, the women on both sides of my family were affected pretty hard by the hypermobility.

I was 12 when I had my first ever dislocation (and first signs of POTS). It was summer and my house was unairconditioned in Texas. I was helping my mom with dishes when I started to feel slightly dizzy, so I held onto the counter-top.

When I woke up after fainting, half of the dishes were broken on the floor around me, my mom was crying, trying to wake me up, and my elbow hurt. I was taken to my PCP, who had no idea what was wrong with me, but took xrays of my elbow and suggested that I drink more water.

And so, began my relationship with different doctors – specialists, primary care, whoever I needed to see, I would. But, besides being anemic, dizzy/prone to fainting, and hypermobile joints, no doctor had any clue what was going on with me.

Flash forward to age 28(no, really, 28), when I’m working for an established optometrist, he noted that I hyperextended my knees when I was standing tin place; he recommended that I see a rheumatologist/cardiologist because his wife and 2 children had vascular EDS(which if you know ANYTHING about EDS, you do not want vascular EDS).

So, I went to their specialists and was diagnosed with hEDS, POTS, Ankylosing Spondylitis, bursitis and inflammatory arthritis – after years (as in 10 years without any sort of diagnosis) of bloodwork, CT scans, MRIs, etc. My doctors then placed me on a host of medications, including a TNF inhibitor, which essentially made my immune system go bye bye – which my doctor elected to begin 2 weeks prior to the big shutdowns due to covid in March 2020.

When covid began, we had a host of friends that didn’t take things too seriously with restrictions, but understood that we(my partner and I) had to because of my new health findings. We didn’t have to worry about going to the stores because of grocery delivery options and restaurant delivery and our friends at that time would also bring by dinners, etc, since we couldn’t go out. But, empathy fatigue is real. After about 2 months, our “friends” started going back out again(Texas did not take covid seriously, at all) and we were kind of left behind.

I still have no immune system, cannot go to concerts, clubs, etc – which is starting to weigh heavily on my partner, who loves interacting with other humans. But those "friends" are all gone now and the loneliness of

My life looks completely different than I thought it would at this point in my life – I was an avid roller coaster enthusiast, but I know that this part of my life is behind me, along with most exercise, and my sex life (what sex life?!) – but I’m pushing through and trying to make the best of my life as it stands right now.#AnkylosingSpondylitis #Bursitis #ChronicPain #Depression #EhlersDanlos #JointHypermobilitySyndrome

Hi everyone my name is Jenny and I have inflammatory arthritis fibromyalgia sojogerns c-ptsd anxiety major depression. And I am 43 years old., today my challenge today is exhaustion and severe pain from head to toe.

My Rheumatologist diagnosed me with inflammatory Arthritis due to the Primary Sjogrens Syndrome I have. When I research this, all I get is results for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriatic Arthritis. Is this a separate thing or is it really just the beginning stages of Rheumatoid or Psoriatic Arthritis? Anybody know?

Hi, my name is MissJamieLee. I’m new to The Mighty and look forward to sharing my story.

#MightyTogether #Migraine #inflammatoryarthritis#endometriosis#chronicpain#kidneydisease#surgicalmenopause

At the age of 44, I have lived the life of a much older person. My story began at age 18, when you begin your adult life...in my case, my IBD life. Some of you may have similar experiences and this may be a safe space to share.

A diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis in 1996, caused a cycle of flare and remission for four years. During that time I finished high school, completed my college program, worked full time, moved into my own place for the first time, met my future husband, and attempted to live life without my diagnosis. All that changed in 2000, my health deteriorated and a total colectomy and pouch were created over the course of 3 surgeries and 4 admissions. Doctors back then were hopeful that I would be able to have surgery to reverse the pouch and function almost "normally". My body rejected this idea and I went through about 6 more surgeries to repair fistulas. Ultimately leading to a life of a pouch for the next 18 years. Those years were somewhat uneventful, a few more surgeries, but I was mostly by definition, "healthy" as the colon was completely removed.

Made some life changes that were healthy, such as divorce, moved to a different city, and settled on another surgery (the BCIR in 2018). Most of the people living with IBD have not had this surgery and so I become a bit of a unicorn to anyone working with me to get an X-ray, MRI, and CT scan. It's an explanation that only leads to more questions. I hear, "So you have an ostomy?" and "Do you have a bag?" and "How do you go to the bathroom?" and "Why do you need those supplies?" After the surgery, I developed pouchitis and changed my eating habits. This cleared the reoccurring inflammation after a couple months but didn't help with the next blow to my life. My dad committed suicide and that threw my body into a trauma wreck. I developed another diagnosis, Inflammatory Arthritis that was severe. Being in full body pain for about 3 months until I could find the right medication to provide some relief, Humira.

Now I am working with two diagnoses that cause inflammation. In addition, I was diagnosis with anemia and depression. Over the next 3 years I was in pain due to a body that was attacking itself. I developed a belly abscess in January 2020 and admitted for 3 days. In the surgery follow up appts. I was pushed and poked and developed abdominal pain that wouldn't go away that was severe. This pain carried with me until September 2021 when a new health team diagnosed me with Crohn's. Are you keeping count, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's, Depression, Arthritis, and Anemia. In order to treatment the Crohn's I had to stop Humira, start Remicade and prednisone. I have finished my loading dose of Remicade and am now being switched to Inflectra (insurance forcing the change). I am taking Methotrexate via injection due to the pills causing nausea and was able to stop the Prednisone.

At present, my belly is uncomfortable most days, on a prednisone taper, and face swelling.

Sometimes I find it hard to tell whether I'm getting a migraine or a headache. I get headaches related to my inflammatory arthritis sometimes and so far the only difference I can spot between migraines and headaches is the light and sound sensitivity with migraines. That can take a little while to kick in though as the migraine ramps up. Now, I take zolmytriptan for migraines and it works best if taken as early as possible, but doesn't work if taken too often. This puts me in a tricky spot sometimes as to whether to take it or not. Is it a migraine starting or just a headache? 🤷‍♀️ So I'm wondering, what symptoms do you get in the early stages of a migraine?