Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Feeling a bit lost

I felt the same way as you, Joe, when my CRP and ESR hit 100 as it provided solid evidence of how serious my inflammation was. I have seronegative RA so at first the rheumies I saw did not take my RA very seriously. My treatment was delayed until my CRP and ESR became so elevated that at last they took action.

Best of luck when you see your docs.

Another update for anyone who has been following my post. Just been to the Rheumy today, at first I saw the nurse specialist who I dont have a lot of confidence in, and when she checked my bloods which showed my CRP at 80 she asked the Registrar on clinic if she could see me. I must say the Registrar was excellent, she listened to me, examined me and seemed to genuinely care. She has switched me over to infliximab infusions monthly, and she arranged for me to have a steroid injecton to ease my inflammation. She has also reffered me back to physio and agreed that I need assistance rather than being sent away and given exercises that I am unable to do alone.

My blood pressure when I arrived at the clinic was 190/130 and after a while it came down to 170/120. The registrar was concerned and said if I had any chest pains or blurred vision then I would have to be admitted to one of the wards. She reccomended I goto my GP for some medication to get the blood pressure under control. I went to GP straight after and was seen straight away, he too was very good, he prescribed me ramipril and took a urine sample which had protein in, not sure what this means. He has also reffered me to the local heart and chest hospital as he feels the blood pressure over a long period of time as it has been raised may have had an affect on my heart, he said this was more of a precaution. He also said he is not happy me being in work at the moment while my health is the way it is, and strongly advised me to take some time off. He has now signed me off for 2 weeks, I feel like I am letting people down in work as I have only just returned, but the GP said i need to put myself first, relax and get back to 100% before I return to work.

Everything that has happened today has really given me a lift. I feel like writing a letter to the rheumatology department at my hospital to praise the Registrar I saw today as I was so happy with the appointment.

Thanks for reading

Joe

Great news, Joe! In terms of you getting the help you need. Not so great that your symptoms are so severe.