So you will remember that last week I wrote about how
I still felt like poo. And I brought up one more instance of me being too lazy to take my medical status seriously. And you'll remember that because you then encouraged me to get in touch with my doctors, explain my situation, and get myself back on track.
Act 1: It's not you, it's me!
It's funny how when you tell your doctor that you haven't been taking the medication they prescribed, they act as if you don't have any idea how bad for you that could be.
So I prefaced the discussions with each of them by saying that I knew I had been an awful patient — fallen off of the wagon, so to speak — but that I knew it, and that I am trying to put that behind me and get back to normal. Truth be told, I have been horrible about taking my meds since we got back from Ireland in September. I've felt pretty darn great, thanks mostly to the Remicade. And it's one of those "out of sight, out of mind" deals — certainly not intentional.
I'm back on Fosamax for
my Osteoporosis – no reason not to just jump right back in according to the Nurse Practitioner at my PCP's office. Still on 1800mg of Calcium and 1400iu of Vitamin D a day, too. I'd drink milk like it was going out of style, if it didn't disagree with my stomach so much.
I spoke with Dr. R about my concerns over my last Remicade treatment, and he explained the tremendous set of checks and balances that they use to make sure that every patient gets the right meds, and that they use to inventory remaining medication every day. He even had someone check that the refrigerator they keep the meds in was still functioning while I was on the phone with him. He was very reassuring that I got my meds, and that they were actually
my meds. He also said he understands my skepticism and even though there's nothing he can do with it, ordered blood work to check the level of Remicade in my blood, just to make me feel better.
Dr. R also said that there is a small possibility that the vials used to mix my meds were not properly refrigerated during delivery — something they have no way to know before administering it to a patient — which would make the medication inactive, and explain how I've been feeling. If that is the case, I am more or less S.O.L. until my next treatment (on Feb 18th)! Since
NSAIDS can cause Crohn's flair ups, the only OTC pain medication I can take is Tylenol. Which let me tell you: Doesn't help an arthritic condition that much, if at all. So, to help me deal with the pain until my next treatment, he prescribed a very low dose of Prednisone — the same steroid that gave me Osteoporosis to begin with — for a few weeks. I told him how I was worried about it setting me back, how I was on Fosamax, Calcium, and D, and he explained that the dosage is so low and the period is so short (3 weeks @ 10mg, then 1 week @ 5mg) that there is virtually no chance of harm from it. Just to be sure, I ran this past the NP at my PCP's office and she confirmed that it should be fine to take.
Act 2: Billy-who?
While I was in the waiting room, waiting for my appointment with my PCP's NP, I got a call from Dr. L. He called because he had received some of my recent blood work results, and was concerned about my elevated levels of
Bilirubin. Dr. R. had already brought this to my attention when we met before my last Remicade treatment, and he ordered another round of blood work to check on the level again to see if it was fluctuating, and in what direction. He said that even if I had the syndrome he was checking for (whose name escapes me), there is no treatment for it, but luckily no adverse affects, either. Even though I explained all of this to Dr. L., he insisted that I get an ultrasound of my liver. So I have that to look forward to.
Originally, Dr. L. thought that the increased levels of Bilirubin were attributable to the Azasan he had prescribed me, but since I haven't taken it since September he did some (admittedly deserved) finger waving and concluded that it couldn't have been the Azasan. He did say that I could discontinue the Azasan, since I didn't feel it was helping and he was somewhat concerned about Billy.
Act 3: Take 22,000 of these and call me in the morning.
Pills, pills, pills. I wish medicine were an exact science. I guess I'll settle for being able to take stairs 2 at a time without wincing in pain.
Upgraded the
Nerd Blog to
Wordpress 2.3.2 today… might take a shot at upgrading this one tonight. Cross your fingers. :-X
