"it" has a name...sort of

I saw the rheumatologist today, I was glad I had an appointment because I stopped taking the Prednisone on Sunday and each day that I wasn't taking the steroid I got more sore and stiff. I am amazed at how quickly the soreness and stiffness return. On Tuesday I went to Relief Society after work, as I was getting ready to leave my house I looked in the mirror and it looked like I had a black eye, it was just the dark circles under my eyes. The first thing I learned from the doctor is he hadn't intended for me to stop taking the Prednisone, I started back on that as soon as I got home from the doctor. The second thing I learned from the doctor is my auto-immune inflammatory arthritis has a name, sort of...the doctor said he would call my condition either "seronegative rheumatoid arthritis" or "undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy." Both of those names just roll off the tongue. Dr. Rozelle said we are on the right track but we have a ways to go, he's increasing the amount of Methotrexate I take each week and decreasing the Prednisone. The Methotrexate is working, that is evident in the increased range of motion in my shoulders. Some good news on the test results from the fluid removed from my shoulder on my last visit to the doctor, it's negative for gout and crystals.

After I saw the doctor I stopped at the lab where they took blood to test my liver and inflammation levels, these tests will be a monthly event in my life.