hi ....
yesterday was my first appointment with the rheumy nurse , since starting anti tnf , back in january this year .. it soon came clear it wasnt like any other normal visit ,, because whilst sitting in the waiting room ,, i were handed some more forms to fill in .. i clicked at this point i were going to be assessed on the performance of the drug and my well being ,, has the forms were the same forms id already filled in before starting anti tnf ... basically ,, questions on your well being , how do you find putting on socks / tights .. ( ive never tried putting tights on ) i dunno , can imagine its abit tricky tho . how difficult do you find getting up from a chair ? things like that ,, you just answer easy or difficult on a scale 1 meaning easy ,,, 10 meaning difficult ..
once id finished filling the forms i were called to see the nurse ,, she took one look at the forms ,, then compared them to the forms id filled in before anti tnf .. and said yes great improvement .. no problems there then .. we then talked about , how i were feeling and if i had any problems with the drug .. none whatso ever and ive never felt better ... were my replies .. now onto the bloods .. i knew this would be good news ,, not only because i already knew some of the results from the blood test , but mainly because how i feel in myself .. your body does tell you when something is working or not .. you dont need proof , but i guess the rheumy team do .. i knew all was good ,, when she looked at her computer screen and went WOW .. oh WOW ... your esr and crp are both reading normal levels .. when we both looked , i saw my crp level at xmas was 78 , and is now 6 ..
so that was that really .. she said youll have no problem ,, with being able to continue on the treatment .. and we`ll see you again in 3 months ... but just wait , because the consultant said he would like to see you ," my rheumatologist " at the hospital .. i went on to ask if i should still be taking MTX at 8 tablets ( 20ml ) per week .. although we dont want to rock the boat , when things are working so well ,, so lets reduce it slowly ,, as from now , take 6 ( 15ml ) for one month .. then drop it to 4 ( 10ml ) .. may then we will be seeing you again and we`ll `look at it again ... at this point the rheumatologist walked in .. asked me how i was ? i said , fantastic doctor .. he shaked my hand and said ,, i am so pleased .. then went back to his work .. i thought i were gettting another long list of questions ... but it seems all he wanted were to say hello .. im so lucky .. ive got the rheumy team ever ...
i know the anti tnf , can just stop working at any point , and knock you straight back to square one and all the risks involved taking fairly new drugs .. but anyone whos being offered or thinking about anti tnf . go for it !!! .. its worked amazing for me ,, so far ...
Appointment with Rheumy..
Can anyone offer info about the anti tnf Cimzia please?
anti-inflammatory meds with anti-tnf injections?
