CF Happens

I have been having arthritis pain for a very long time. The pain got much worse when I was finally able to stop needing Prednisone all the time back around October, I believe. It took a while to get into the rheumatologist for a new patient appointment but today was the day!

I liked the doctor. While he was examining me, he was squeezing my joints in my hands, wrists, knees, shoulders, etc. (ouch!), he noted joint swelling as well as tenderness/soreness. He was able to make a quick diagnosis. I do, in fact, have Cystic Fibrosis Related Arthopathy (Arthritis). It mimics rheumatoid arthritis but it’s not really labeled as rheumatoid arthritis. It does have the same joint pain and swelling, etc. Due to it being related to CF, it makes this a different class of arthritis in a sense but mimics and looks like rheumatoid arthritis.

Here is the treatment plan…He prescribed a medicine called hydroxychloroquin (Plaquenil) 300mg once a day. This is a rheumatoid arthritis medicine. Unfortunately, this medicine doesn’t start to work right when I start taking it. It can take up to 3-6 months to start to feel the full effects of it. So fingers crossed that it does in fact help and I don’t have any of the noted side effects. As you know, my body doesn’t like to play nice or by the rules, so here’s to hoping that my body accepts it and it helps! What’s another 3-6 months of pain, right? I mean, I’m in some sort of pain all the time anyway.

He also prescribed a different anti inflammatory medicine called nabumetone (Relafen) 500mg twice a day as needed for the arthritis pain. I am stopping the anti inflammatory, Meloxicam, that I was taking for the arthritis pain. It’s not doing much anyway.

I have an appointment to see him again in 3 months to see how I’m doing on both medicines. Obviously, If I have any issues before then, I will call and get an appointment before the 3 months.

Until next time…