hello

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone I'm new to this group and just wanted to take a minute to introduce

myself. My name is I'm from Ohio, have 2 boys 16, and 13, and an 18 year

old daughter. I began getting sick the beginning of January ironically I started

the new year by getting a membership to a rec center where the kids and I could

go work out play raquet ball, and just find a way to stay active through the

winter, and start taking better care of myself. I started getting sick pretty

much the very next day, and I still haven't managed to get back to normal yet.

For me I started breaking out in hives at work one day I went to the hospital

they said it was a food allergy and sent me home with benadryl. I would wake up

in the mornings fine then in the afternoons I would break out again, I followed

up with a doctor in my primary care practice, who said give it more time, when

that didn't help I seen another doctor who gave me a steroid shot and see an

allergist. I seen the allergist who prescribed a ton of meds, the next day my

hives turned into a different kind of rash, I called the allergist who told me

to double up on the already high doses of allergy meds, when that didn't work I

went back to the allergist who then said I had strep throat and scarlet fever

(at thus point I had began nightly fevers of 102.4) During these weeks everytime

I seen a doctor I mentioned joint pain that seemed to get be getting worse and

started at the time the rash started. After a couple days I went to see my pcp

who ran a bunch of blood work, but I ended up getting so bad unable to drive,

brush my hair, or even hold a fork to feed myself so she put me in the hospital

and after a week they sent me home with no diagnosis. I foolowed up with a

rhuematologist who diagnosised me in Feb with Stills. I have been on 60mg

prednisone for over a month, and now methotrexate as well. He is trying to wean

me off the prednisone but my joints start flaring up so it's not going well. I

still haven't been able to get back to work, I have trouble walking sometimes

even standing. I'm 34 years old and summer is coming which is when I love to go

hiking, and camping with the kids, I'm having a hard time with acceptance. Ok

I'll stop rambling for the night, but want to let you know I'm really glad to be

a part of this group, so far I've found it very informative, as I'm finding the

rest of the world is very uninformed.