One-sided throat pain

This pain in my throat has been on-going for a whole month now. The antibiotics had not helped at all.  I think I have low grade fevers too. Am not sure what's the problem and have called up my specialist.  Apparently he is busy and can only return my call on Thursday.  

I've done some google searches on the side effects of sulfasalazine, which I take a dose of 3000mg a day.  One of the websites www.arthritisresearchuk.org has a brochure on sulfasalazine, and it is indicated that I should tell my doctor immediately if I experience any of the following while on this medication:

- a sore throat

- a fever

- any other symptom of infection 

- unexplained bruising

Right now I'm still in the dark about wht could be the issue, but I'm really looking forward to the call from my doctor.  Hopefully, he has an answer for me.

P is for Pain?

That time of the month and the pain in my upper back accompanies it.  My neck is a little stiff too.  And I've been down with throat inflammation for 2 weeks now.  Saw the GP yesterday, who thinks that my auto-immune condition impacts my immunity too.  My throat inflammation is caused by a bacterial infection that my body seems incapable of fighting and getting rid off.  So I'm on a 7 day course of antibiotics.  Let's see if that works.

Shopping

I went shopping yesterday. Walked around for hours, bought lots of stuff and carried heavy bags around. 

Woke up with intense stiffness and pain.

I think that's the trigger? Carrying heavy stuff.

Also, I've been having a painful inflamed throat for 2 weeks, with no accompanying symptoms of cold, cough, flu. Wonder if it could be something? Hmm...

Off Arcoxia

Today is my third day off Arcoxia.

"ARCOXIA belongs to a group of medicines called Coxibs. It works in a similar way to traditional anti-inflammatory medicines, known as Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), by blocking the production of substances that cause pain and inflammation."

Source: http://www.news-medical.net/drugs/Arcoxia.

aspx

The aches and pains came back slowly throughout the day. If I had to describe it, it is almost like a flower of pain blooming and blossoming from the middle of my back and slowly spreading out to the outer parts of my back.

I didn't realize how bad it was till I was in Yoga Therapy class this evening and the happy baby pose reduced me to tears from pain.

Can't decide if I should get back on it, since I did some research online and discovered this drug isn't even approved for use in the US.

"Note: Arcoxia has not been approved by the FDA for the U.S. market. The manufacturer of Arcoxia received a non-approvalable letter from the FDA in April of 2007. This non-approvable letter was due to safety concerns of an increased risk of cardiovascular events (including heart attack and stroke) and questions on the benefit-risk ratio in patients taking Arcoxia. Merck will continue to market Arcoxia outside the United States."

Source: http://www.drugs.com/arcoxia.html

On the bright side, I hadn't been watching my diet since I was pain-free on Arcoxia.  This pain gives me the discipline to make a real lifestyle change. 

How Great is my God

Sunday, 1st December, saw me run my first half marathon of my life.  I hadn't trained since my flare up and I was completely out of shape.  My muscles ached a whole week since the 10km run I did on the previous Monday.

I met Team Sunrise, my training group from Wesley Methodist Church, at 6am at Vivocity.  I was pumped up because I have been pain free for a few weeks now and really looking forward to a good and successful run.

Throughout the run, I kept upbeat and each time I felt weary and wanted to give up, I remember the days that I could barely walk, my body wrecked with pain. That gave me new strength to keep going, because I am now blessed with mobility.  The song "Great is Thy Faithfulness" rings over and over in my head and I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  God's mercies for me are truly new every morning.  I don't think I can explain enough how grateful I am to be able to be mobile and pain-free.  And to think, I could even complete 21km with relatively good timing of 2hours 39mins!  (Never in my life did I ever think that I can run for more than 2 hours non-stop! We breach our own limits and defy our own expectations all the time!)

To God be the glory, great things He has done!