Much has changed since I last posted, so here’s a quick attempt to catch you up:

• Xeljanz is officially out. After a few months of testing, my rheumatologist and I came to the conclusion late last year that it was, in fact, the source of my rapid weight gain, so I had to stop taking it. This was a bittersweet day, as you can imagine. I was happy to finally know the source of the weight gain, but sad to say goodbye to the biologic that was finally working to slow the damage from RA.
• Rituxan is in. In late December/early January, I had my first set of Rituxan infusions. Mostly, they went fine, and took me back to a manageable disease level from approaching near constant use of my walker and breaking out the wheelchair for longer excursions. I experienced some tachycardia, a wicked headache, and a few other symptoms sporadically for 48 hours after the first infusion. For those of you who have taken Rituxan, or researched it, you know that the 6-8 hour, then 3-4 hour infusion processes are time-consuming. Of course, it’s worth it to get some relief. I’m hoping it’s really working, because after this, I’m officially out of biologic options.
• I’ve added Eastern medicine to the mix. In February, I started seeing a Doctor of Chinese Medicine/Homeopath/Kineseologist/Acupuncturist. Yes, she has lots of degrees and lots of expertise in Eastern medicine. It’s a whole different approach than what I’ve used before, and I love it. She’s helped me with my continuing digestion problems by finding another food intolerance, this time to dairy. She’s helped me work through the chronic fatigue, both resulting from my autoimmune issues and from the side effects of my Western medicines. I have acupuncture sessions every other week, and even while I continue to struggle with RA, I notice my general physical and mental health improving. I am even losing some of the Xeljanz weight, despite my continued use of Medrol.
• My RA is more active than ever. Despite the positive effects of Rituxan and my progress with Eastern medicine, my disease is extremely active. My most recent blood work
  

  Waiting for Rituxan….3 weeks to go!

  showed high CRP and SED rates, even 2.5 months after Rituxan. Of course, I don’t need blood work to tell me that my disease is active. My joints tell me every day when I can barely move them. My body tells me every day when it begs to go back to bed. So, I wait. Generally, Rituxan infusions occur every 4-6 months. My next one is scheduled 3 weeks from now (5 months after my first). Tick tock, tick tock.

I feel grateful that, over the past few months, I’ve learned much more about my body through my experiences with Eastern medicine. Now that I have so many of my tertiary issues under control (food intolerances, digestion, even some of the fatigue unrelated to RA), I feel hopeful that I’ll see the full effects of Rituxan when I get my next set of infusions in a few weeks. Spring is a new season; a time of rebirth following the long winter. After almost 5 years with this disease, I’m ready for mine.

Wishing you a spring full of new discoveries and a rebirth of your own…