The Irony

It’s been an eventful few weeks in the world of me. I successfully moved house, thanks to the help of my super boyfriend and family, my business is starting to build up nicely and I am very happy in my new home. It’s amazing how much more independent I feel living away from home again. Don’t get me wrong I loved being at home with mum but there comes a time when everyone just needs their own space and the ability to feel a bit more ‘grown up’. I certainly do feel like a grown up, I forgot how thrilling washing, hovering and food shopping is...

But seriously, with the support of my boyfriend we have become a tight little unit in just a short space of time. We work well together, he understands my need for support with things like shopping and gives me a break by doing his fair share of household chores. He even cooks which I know is a bonus! (not that I mind cooking but having someone cook for you or with you is kinda special don’t you think?) The new house works well with my condition too, having an en suite means it’s not too far to the bathroom when morning arrives and I struggle to get out of bed.  It’s amazing that I didn’t even think of that being an issue but it really helps! The house is easy maintenance cleaning wise, meaning less effort required from moi! And the sofa is super comfy (for those ‘can’t quite get off the couch’ days).

So with all this loveliness, sods law saw an opportunity and struck me down in my prime. I have mentioned on the facebook page about my ridiculous ‘granny hip’ giving me grief the past couple of weeks. It started with a bit of an ache and has quickly progressed into a full on, excruciating nightmare. I haven’t slept properly in days, I feel nauseas, dizzy, unable to walk and pretty much at a loss of what to do.  I can honestly say this is the worst pain I have felt since diagnosis. Being convinced it was due to my RA, I got on the phone to my specialist and she squeezed me in for an appointment today (for which I am incredibly grateful).

To my surprise, the pain I am experiencing may not be my RA flaring after all. Nope, something entirely different and a potential new one to add to the list. Turns out long term or overuse of steroids can cause something called Osteonecrosis. Yeh, I was stumped too. I know the dangers of using steroids long term and have been warned blah blah but the reality is I was in so much pain when they were prescribed that I would have tried anything to get better, and the steroids actually seemed to help. I hoped I wouldn’t be on them forever and was reassured that as my condition came under control I could gradually come off the darn things.

All has been going well with the decreasing of the dose, no added pain as such (touch wood this continues) until the damn hip started giving me jip. It’s a complicated condition (look it up) but Osteonecrosis is a disease of the bones which can cause death of the bone. Blood flow and tissue are affected around the hip joint causing the pain and if left untreated the bone can collapse. Bloody brilliant. I should have expected that the pain I had been feeling was slightly different to the usual RA flare. It’s not for certain that I have the necrosis-thingy yet; I am having tests urgently to determine if this is the case, however I am slightly concerned that treatment for the condition is none other than surgery. Now you can probably imagine that hip surgery and running your own business don’t mix well but I am terrified that I will have to be treated in this way if what the specialist suspects is correct.

So how ironic then that the very treatments that have made my RA improve drastically over the past year have ultimately messed up another part of my body that now may need fixing! I can’t comprehend the hilarious time my body is having right now trying to sort stuff out. My brain probably doesn’t know where to start. All I can hope is for the relief of this pain because it is literally driving me insane. I need sleep to function and I am starting to lose the plot for lack of it.

So, as we throw a new one into the mix, stay tuned for the results of Necrosis Factor 2011... In the mean time ill be hobbling around with a wooden stick. Yes, you read it right, a wooden stick. I am so bloody cool.