at the Water's Edge


Living life and learning all I can along the way!

We'll See - The Art of Waiting


A friend of mine once told me that the motto of the #rheum-mates seems to be “we’ll see.”  It’s true.  There are a lot of unknowns with RAD--including how your body and disease will respond to medications--which often coincide with periods of simply waiting.  Wait and see if the treatment works.  Wait and see if your symptoms wane.  Wait and see if your lab results change.  Wait and see.



“We’ll see” has been my response to numerous inquiries from friends and family over the past couple months as I’ve gone through a change in medications.  Do you think it will work?  We’ll see.  Are you feeling any better?  Hard to tell…I guess we’ll see.  Will you be adding another drug or changing again?  I have to give it some time yet - we’ll see.

Today will be my sixth Humira injection.  The first three I took on an every other week basis – so one off week in between.  Since then, my doctor had me switch to weekly injections, because there was no change in my symptoms or sed rate (inflammation).  I would say that so far, I have had three really good days where I didn’t have much in the way of symptoms.  Otherwise, my wrists and hands have been sore on most days, with weakness and limited range of motion also in my wrists.  The second most bothersome area is a semi-new one for me: my ankles.  They never bothered me until the past several months, but apparently RAD has found a new home.  This has not been every day, and has been more of a symptom that appears after a stretch of inactivity (e.g. in the morning when I first wake up).  I do think that other joints that were bothering me previously have mostly cleared up: my knees, elbows and feet have been largely unaffected during the past month.

Here’s the dilemma: I have only another week or so before I’m supposed to call my doctor if I’m not feeling better.  He will then want to see me sooner than the early March appointment I currently have scheduled and he’ll want to look at trying a new class of drugs.  That’s a bit scary for me.  I know that the TNF inhibitors help me significantly, and I feel pretty good most days, despite my wrist issues.  So, it’s hard for me to want to take the risk of trying something new.  On the other hand, I know that RAD is working hard to do some permanent damage to my wrists, and I don’t want that.  So, the question is: am I feeling better?  A little bit?  Maybe?  We’ll see in a week?  Yes, we’ll see.

I think I’ll give it another week and half to give my next shot a chance to take effect, and then decide if I need to call my doctor.  We’ll see what happens.

I’m not normally a very patient person.  I am a planner by nature and having my disease status and treatment plan kind of up in the air like this is not an easy thing for me to handle.  But I am learning.  I am learning the art of waiting and being content in that.  I’m learning to trust in God, no matter what happens.  I’m learning that worry has no value, so there’s no sense in letting it consume me.  I’m learning (again) to simply let go and make the best of each day.

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ABOUTME

Hi there! My name is Dana and I live in West Michigan with my husband, Tom and our dog Copernicus. I created this space as a place to share the things I learn along this journey I call life. I work in marketing and I'm a sort of Jane of All Trades, interested in all things nature, gardening, cooking, exploring and learning new things. This blog is a conglomeration of my interests, hobbies, life and life lessons. Thanks for stopping by!

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