Howdy everyone,
Sorry I dissappeared for a little while there. I've been really busy with both jobs, and also feeling under the weather, making me sleep a lot. Just wanted to give everyone an update after my last vening session. I finally got in to see my shrink, and they upped my dose of zoloft to 150mg/day. Unfortinatly, I am going to have to find a new one, because my mew insurance doesn't cover his office, and one visit cost me $95! Oh, well, I hope I find a good replacement. I also went to my appointment with the 'pain specialist,' which turned out to be a physical therapy/rehabilitation doctor, but I was suprised to find out that he knew quite a lot about AS. He seems to be more willing to be proactive instead of reactive like my PCP and Rhumie. He switched me from Ultracet to ultram so I could take more if necessary without having to worry about damage to the liver. He started me on indomethacin, which has worked well so far, even though I'm a little worried after reading about it in the pharmacy forum. Lastly, he gave me a script for vicoden to have around the house for bad flares, instead of having to go into the ER every time. I must say, the problems of life are proving easier to cope with ad handle when I'm not on the verge of needing to go into the ER 24/7.
Most improtantly, though, I have gotten wonderfull support from my friend here at KICKAS.
Through the forums, chat and PMs, you guys have really helped me keep on keeping on. It has been, and still is, a tough time, but there is light at the end of the tunnel now, and I know that I will make it out into the daylight.
I also found an excelent massage therapist that I plan on seeing every week. She was a med student prior to this, and knows A LOT about AS. I have had a lot of massages, and they are great, but this therapist knows exactly how to make AS symptoms go away for precious hours. If only I could get my doctor to prescribe massages 1-2 every 4-6 hours, I wouldn't need any meds.
Take care my friends
Daniel
Keep on keepin on Kicking some AS
