Patience is a virtue...

I am not particularly an impatient person. I hate waiting for buses, waiting in line at the checkouts and queuing for the latest ride at the theme park (not that I’ve done that for a while). But it seriously annoys me having to wait around when it comes to having your health sorted. Recent evidence has been gathered to support the theory that immediate treatment for symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis is required in order to slow the progression of the disease. I strongly agree with the ‘nip it in the bud’ approach. However, in my experience, the NHS just can’t seem to pull their finger out of their rear ends. I have been quite lucky that up until now my treatment has been reasonably prompt. When the first port of call failed, Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drugs, I was referred for round two of treatment, Anti TNF drugs (Tumour Neurosis Factor).When, again, this failed to work I was referred for further Biologic treatment, a drug given by infusion every 6-12 months called Rituximab. I have only received one round of Rituximab so far and when I went to see my Rheumatologist earlier this week she suggested I have my second lot as soon as possible, due to the very annoying flare up I am having at present.
So it has taken me about 19 months to get to this point. What is frustrating me is that I have tried to get hold of someone at the hospital where I will be having my treatment to find out when I will be going in. After all, I do have a life, which because of the nature of the treatment and the fact it made me unwell previously, I have to plan around my admission. It means I will probably be out of action and extremely tired for about four weeks, if it was anything like the last infusion I had. So, when the hospital and Rheumatology department fail to return my calls, inevitably I become very impatient. I am suffering, and isn’t it the main purpose of the NHS that people are not left to suffer in this country? I read an article recently that suggested the NHS treat Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis as seriously as cancer. This is because people with RA, on average, die 10 years younger than a healthy person. So if our lives are being cut short by a decade already, our healthcare providers should be doing all they can to ensure early treatment to effectively control this disease. I want to live a healthy, long life but imagine that this waiting around will be a common occurrence with the NHS. I wonder how quickly I would be treated if I had the money to afford private care?
I am still waiting for someone to get back to me about my treatment. Maybe in the meantime you would like to share your stories of timings between diagnosis and treatment, so I have something to read while I wait… and wait….