My Miracle Drug

My doctor gave me two options for drugs, one being Enbrel, and the other being Humira.  He said they were just different brands, but worked the same and cost the same.  I chose Enbrel, and looked forward to getting my prescription filled so I could be pain free again.

Doctor Gremillion said Enbrel is a shot that should do myself and weekly, then after a few months when I felt like it to stop taking it until the pain came back.  He said this way I could see how long a shot would last me.

Hearing this was a shot mortified me.  I hate shots, and have a very low tolerance to pain.  I almost would rather be in pain than to have a shot.  I sucked it up and decided all the pain being gone would be worth a 30 second shot.  Once I was home I tried to give it to myself and couldn't do it.  My sister in-law, bless her soul, would come over and give me the shot in my arm every week.  Finally after my husband watched her give me a shot, I was comfortable with him doing it for me.

The pain was gone the next day!  It was truly a miracle drug for me.  I slept great, and walked as if there was never any pain to begin with.

My Beginning Symptoms of Reiter's

Twelve years ago I had been happily married for 7 years, and did not have kids yet.  I was working and going to school full time.  We had a great life, I believe some people call it DINK (double income no kids).  We traveled and played often.

I started having what  I called hip pain, but now I know it was connective tissue pain.  I limped when ever moving, and hurt really bad.  I figured it was due to working out, or that I had put some kind of strain on it.

I started seeing chiropractors, and doctors, and any natural healer I could find.  No one seemed to find anything wrong with me.  I had blood tests, x-rays, cortisone shots, and whatever else they threw at me.

This went on for 2 years before I got pregnant.  Once pregnant for about 12 weeks, the pain was gone! I hadn't linked the two, but I was just happy to be pain free.  I had a great pregnancy, no sickness, no pain, no problems.  I did request from my doctor to let me take progesterone during my first trimester.  I had had three miscarriages prior and was told that this might help.  I took it and held onto the baby without any problem.

After by baby was born, I breast fed for about 8 weeks and gave up due to everything I ate caused her to SCREAM.  I never went on a all vegetable diet, but I know pretty much every time she nursed about 10 minutes later I paid for it.  Anyhow, about 12 weeks after she was born all my pain came back.  I thought it was because I had quit breast feeding, and I was sure that on my next kid I would keep nursing as long as possible to keep the pain gone.

I started my journey for a cure again, and got no where.  I lived on VIOXX which in my head was a miracle drug.  Anything that took the pain away was great.  Soon it was off the market and I had to result to Ibuprofen (which hardly worked) and what ever drugs the doctors thought would help.  I had muscle relaxers for sleeping because my back would tighten up so bad I would toss and turn, and cry nightly.  I had Loratab and helped me sleep a little.  Sleeping was miserable for me, I would sleep in our recliner often, or take hot bathes in the middle of the night and just cry and cry due to all  my pain.  I couldn't find anything that worked.

WOW just thinking back is making me cry.  All the pain I went through and nothing to fix it.  I contemplated shooting my self many, many, many times.  I thought about taking lots and lots of pills, but worried they would just make me sick and not work.  The only thing that kept me from killing myself was my sweet little baby, my mom and family, and husband who was so good with  me but knew he couldn't help.  My baby didn't deserve for me to be so selfish.  what would she do without a mom.  How selfish could I be to take that away from her.  Here I sit crying, just thinking back on how bad it was.

Diagnosis of Reiter's Syndrome

After three more miscarriages, we finally got pregnant and started back on the Progesterone pills, and we were able to carry our second baby to full term.  Again the pain left while pregnant, and I slept great, and walked as if nothing was wrong with me.

Auto immune diseases go away while pregnant, now I know, and gets worse after each pregnancy.  I nursed my baby past 12 weeks, but the pain came back pretty much to the day.  It came on slow, and quickly got worse than it had been.  My right hip hurt so bad, I wanted to cry every time I moved.  My left knee started to swell, and had a lot of pain.  My middle toe on my right foot was swollen and looked oddly huge, and the bottom of my feet hurt so bad to stand on.  Any pressure on them was agonizing.    

The doctors in my home town took blood tests and saw that my inflammation levels were extremely high, and I was showing positive for Lupus which I clearly did not have.  I knew someone with Lupus and I did not have any of her symptoms.  They also thought I had Rheumatoid Arthritis, yet all my signs proved it wrong.  My joints never hurt once.  There was not a Rheumatalogist in my home town, so I made an appointment with one 5 hours away that my doctor had recommended, Dr. Gremillion.

Finally a breakthrough!  This doctor took my blood and examined my symptoms, and put it all in a computer data base, and lone behold my diagnosis popped up.  

Reiter's Syndrome is a rare form of Rheumatoid Arthritis that attacks the connective tissue, and is only found in the lower part of the body, and zig zags across the body like mine did.  I guess I needed every symptom in order for it to be diagnosed.