Mistakes And Regrets
Last year in May I made a terrible mistake that will be with me for the rest of my life. We all do it, none of us is safe from making the same error it's just for some of us the repercussions will be worse than for others.
What was it I did? I injured my foot and didn't take time to take care of me. This mistake will now haunt me forever. Our basement had a flooded caused by an open water tap and we were all rushing around trying to clean it up. I was in a real hurry since I needed to get to the hospital to feed Mom her dinner. I was bare footed and just before leaving I bashed my foot on a table leg. At the time it seemed like just a bruise, nothing serious although it hurt like the dickens and turned every color of the rainbow. Even though walking on it hurt it took me almost three weeks to seek medical attention and that was the mistake and regret.
Almost everyone gets injured in life, it's just the nature of the beast but for some of us with Rheumatoid arthritis any type of injury is long lasting. It has been described to me thus by my doctor...
"when the immune system senses an injury it sends out it's little soldiers to deal with the injury, except they don't know when to pull back and causes more joint damage".Last August before our trip to Greece I did get a cortisone shot in the joint and it worked. I was pretty pain free and I thought that the problem was solved so I was pretty shocked when one morning a few weeks ago I couldn't even put my foot down for pain. After struggling with the pain for the last month, taking Prednisone, anti inflammatory drugs and having more x rays it seems that really there is not much more more to be done. The last resort now is a chemotherapy drug called Methotrexate.
The information sheet given to me about this drug and further information I received from my pharmacist makes this a very difficult choice for me. This drug comes with a host of side effects from skin rashes at it's most benign and liver damage at it's worst. And the alternative is? Not walking or walking with great pain. Not much of a choice is there.
So I guess if there is anything to be learned from this is that I will now think about everything I do and make sure I never fall again and most importantly, seek medical attention right away...
posted by Rositta @ Tuesday, March 11, 2008
13 Comments:
i am really sorry to read this. getting older is not for sissies i say. hope you don't have any side effects honey...
smiles, bee
xxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo
Oh dear... It sounds just awful :( There's not much advice to give you of course, but listen to your body and do what you think is best for you.
I agree, it sounds awful! That is really bad luck. Perhaps there will some better medication in the near future.
Not much of a choice, indeed! I hope it all goes well for you.
I have decided to try two more things first, orthotics may help and one more course of high dose Prednisone for 6 days. If none of that helps I guess it's the big drug for me. I can't not walk...hugs to you all and thank you for your kind words...
Good advice.
Hey, what about a Naturopath?
Have you tried some non mainstream ideas out? It might be good just to look around.
My sister in law is a Naturopath, and my FIL visits one as well, he has had to do a lot of life changes, but he can bend his fingers again.
I'm going to try acupuncture as well...
You were really unlucky Rositta, because how were you to know this would happen? It could have healed just as easily. I wish you luck with the alternate treatments. Hope they work for you.
Hey Rositta,
Glad you are going to try the acupuncture. There is also a way to get acupunture spots with a laser. I had a whole series done when I was going through a bout of Trigeminal Neuralgia. It took a while, but it did help. I was very skeptical at first, and then started noticing differences.
Hey, I hate raisins too (from your comment). I went to the best bakery last week, and bought some doughnuts, and some buns. In one of the buns was a blasted raisin. Yick. But, if you are ever in the Goderich area, you should check out the bakery, it is fantastic. Culbert's, it's the best. :)
Oh that's terrible :( We think we're made of iron, don't we?
Well, the best thing is not to dwell on it eventhough you ask yourself what if I'd gone to the doctor earlier...no point now.
Unfortunately sometimes the remedy is worse than the disease. Cortisone is also terrible for the bones, especially to women.
I hope it gets better soon. Hopefully now that the weather is warmer it won't hurt so much.
What's done is done. Please don't beat yourself up over it. It is a good lesson for all of us though. Seek treatment and make sure if it isn't better in a couple of days after an injury. Hope you will feel better soon.
oh my, i have twisted my right foot again two weeks ago and I am still suffering from pain! thanks for reminding me with this post. need to see a doctor i guess. :)
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