Ankles, Knees, Brain and Healthline

First of all thank you to Healthline for selecting my blog as one of the best arthritis blogs of 2016, and congrats to my online (and in Carla's case actually met in person) friends who also achieved one. Good to see so many old friends listed, as well as Carla, Wren,  Cathy, Andrew, Amanda, Kelly and …

Two steps forward, one step back…

Well, yes, the knee flare was completely over ... for a few days. I was just getting back into the swing of things, gradually building back up the length of my lunchtime walks from a few hundred yards to half a mile, to three-quarters of a mile ... thinking I'd soon be back to the …

Knee flare over!

Hurrah - I finished my week's worth of prednisolone last night and I'm glad to say the knee is better! Oh ... and the helpline phoned me back ... on Monday ... so five days after I phoned them. Yeah, like I said, they really are NOT for emergencies! I didn't actually get to speak …

The frustrations of not having a relationship with your doctor

Thanks to the state of the NHS today (which, if you read this blog often you will know I harp on about endlessly) it is simply not possible to have a relationship with your GP these days (unless you're incredibly lucky or live on some tiny island that actually has its own GP or something!) …

Wow – where did that come from?

I haven't posted for a while because I haven't really had much to post about - health-wise I've been good. I've been a bit stiff in the mornings for the last few days, but nothing to write home (or indeed blog) about. Then today I woke up stiff and tired, having had a migraine try …

Cloudy with a Chance of Pain

Isn't that a fantastic title for a study of chronic pain to see if it is/might be related to the weather? Well, if you're in the UK and have arthritis or chronic pain and  smart phone you can do more than just enjoy the great name - you can be part of the study! All …

Gluten Free UPdate

So I did gluten free for a month before we went on holiday to Barcelona - where we had a FABULOUS TIME and ate all sorts of wheat-related products! I can safely say, I think, that it made absolutely no difference to my arthritis, which carried on being mild to moderate and twinging and whinging …

Unexpected Hospital Invoice

I got an invoice in the post yesterday from the hospital, 'Charge for prescription fee'. I haven't had a prescription fro the hospital - what the heck are they on about? Then I thought, 'Aha - it's probably for my appointment on 8th Feb - the injection' so I phoned finance and pointed out that I …

Really hoping to get a full day’s work in

Well the knee is certainly a whole lot better and I'm now tapering off the steroids - I ended up with 11 days on 40 mg and then a taper down to nothing. The bad news is, not surprisingly, it's not 100% better yet, and so far I haven't managed a full day's work since …

The bit at the end of a flare that I always forget about!

Yay - the swelling has pretty much all gone and so has the inflammation - I have pretty much full 'bendability' back in my left knee - woohoo ... but yes, I'm still being careful! Of course if you have an injury, swelling and inflammation happens for a reason - to take more blood to …