I ended my last health update post with, "because of going off Rinvoq for six weeks and not improving after getting back on, we'll see how I'm doing in two weeks."
Two weeks later, I was doing okay. The week after however, not so much. It's not that I was doing badly, but I was definitely going downhill.
And here we are, a month later. I'm not seeing improvement. I've had a few days where I've gone to the bathroom three times. That is not bad and still MUCH better than when I was really awful, but it is two more times than normal. I'm passing more gas and my stomach is more growly. My stool is worse and is one step away from diarrhea, although I have had a couple bouts. I had one small accident.
This past week my stomach has been achy. On a scale of one to ten, the achiness has been between one and four. Three days ago I experienced some stabbing pain.
Then there's the fatigue. I'm tired most of the time, but the last couple of weeks have been worse. Overall, I just haven't felt good. I've lost a few pounds.
Keep in mind, this is not food related. It is 100 percent medicine caused.
I've now been back on Rinvoq for six weeks. I tapered off of the budesonide completely four days ago. I don't know if it is related, but I felt the stabbing pain the day after I stopped the budesonide.
I admit, I'm in discouragement mode right now. When you have a chronic illness, discouragement is a familiar, but thankfully not constant, companion. But it does step next to you and walk along when your condition starts going backwards. Part of it is you don't know how far back you're going to go. Just a little? A lot? A WHOLE lot?
It is also frustrating that this is the third holiday season where I've been on the worse side or heading that way. Someone told me it must be the stress of the holidays, but one, my holidays are not that stressful, and two, stress doesn't seem to affect my condition. And that has been tested.
On the good side, I'm still able to eat, drink, and sleep, things I used to take for granted.
So . . . and I know I end a lot of my health update posts with this, but nevertheless . . . here we are again, waiting. Because it is the holiday season, if I start getting bad I will jump right back on the prednisone before you can say pass the turkey and gravy.
But let's hope it doesn't come to that.
Next update: December 2023, Back Up Again, Inch By Inch
Previous update: October 2023, My Brain Melts But My Body Stands
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