Wow Becky! Thank u so much! Unless u have this u dont understand how awful it is. My faith is what's helped me get thru the hardest times. Prednisone will take my pain away and give me tons of energy but I've gained 60 pounds in 3 years. Was on it 18 months straight. My necklaces didnt fit! Thats when u know u gained weight 😂. I did a 90 day course of doxycycline April 24 for a tick bite. Wiped out a lot of my RA symptoms. No longer need ankle injections, no fatigue, muscles came back to life including grip strength. Dr Brown wrote a book and treated people for RA with it I think in the 50s. But my ankles, wrists, hands, neck and jaw were damaged from when I first got RA. I understand the neck pain and I pray u get relief from the epidural. I had one in August for sciatica and it helped. It also seemed to have a systemic effect so everything felt better for a few days. The RA nodules in my wrist werent sore at all. I kept trying to get off prednisone for a while and couldn't take the pain. I read that there can be an adjustment period for adrenals to kick in so I suffered a few days and it gradually got better. Now I take it as needed but having sciatica for 4 months I did several medrol packs and then stayed on low dose until epidural. I want to be able to do so many things I cant. Especially with the grandkids. That shirt is funny! I make shirts and tumblers so I'll have to make myself one! Please let me know how your epidural goes. I had neck pain and it hurt to even touch the base of my skull. I dont like chiropractors cracking my neck so I just dealt with it. Well apparently they tilt u back and have your head in a weird position to remove adenoids. I woke up and for the first time in 3 years no neck pain. They must have heard one heck of a pop. Unfortunately its back again but it was nice while it lasted. Hope u have a great evening!

On a lighter note.. have you seen the t-shirt that says ra... Because the only thing tough enough to kick my ass is me 😝

Man oh man ... Most of us do know how you're feeling.. I think you're
really blessed if the hcq is helping.. I know exactly how you feel about
taking medicine.. I feel like my ra is letting up.. and now my neck is
jacked up and no matter what I do to help it it's gotten worse.. I get some
sort of epidural injection Thursday and I can't wait because I've been a
month being more miserable than my normal miserable.. it's really weird
when I look back and I didn't know I had ra at 40 but I did and it lasted
about 4 years with no meds... This time going through the meds and they're
not working and hell getting off the prednisone.. it's going on for years
and I feel something letting up except the neck.. I too would like to give
up the leflumonide and sulfasalazine.. I'm down to the last 2 mg of
prednisone I tried this last week to go down one more half and I'm just not
able to do that yet and Chase grandkids around and all the other things I
have to do.. it's not hard to fake feeling good for the babies because just
looking at them run around the corner smiling and hugging me.. I just
cannot not watch them... Anytime that I quit the medicine for any length of
time it was always the prednisone that I felt like all the pain was going
back.. what I'd like to be sneaky and try is when I get that injection in
my neck get off the last 2 mg of prednisone.. I've always gotten too much
sun anyway and the prednisone has dried my skin so bad and made me more
prone to injuries.. and then where the injuries are it leaves a scab that
ends up creating milia that I can't get rid of.. but of all the medicines I
think the prednisone is going to do a number on you even though it's a low
amount.. and it does have a cumulative effect it builds up in your body
your adrenal glands take time to heal.. and are a really effing sucks!!
You're not alone sister hang in there.. the one thing that I found most
useful is..for being grateful.. I like that song says sometimes it's easy
and sometimes it's so damn hard when everything in your body is being
ripped away from you.. I am grateful I can walk.. it does take me longer to
do chores but I realize that my life don't fall apart when my car is not
washed or my windows need cleaned I'll get to it when I can get to it.. and
damn those things used to be so important to me.. honestly they still are
and it gets frustrating.. and you know what when my times up it's going to
be okay cuz I'm not having a good time anyway LOL!.. it really is true as
you know Dawn.. God's grace is sufficient and I think that's just another
way of saying it could be worse lol! And then the top all the misery off is
no one understanding.. but me and you both know if they got in our bodies
... They would forever cry for telling us to just let the pain float away
rub some oil on your skin! Just got to try to forgive them and move on and
daily take your thoughts captive and think the way God wants us to..
thinking of you and praying right now