Around the age of 50, I woke up in the morning and could hardly move; everything was swollen and it hurt.
I went to my GP and he said its arthritis and gave me 1 pill a day of Celebrex. I tried that for about 3 months and I was not getting any better and in this timeframe I lost 50 LBS and felt really disheartened.
I went back to my GP and he told me to take 2 pills a day. I said ok and tried this for another 3 months. Still not any better, so I went back to my GP he then gave me Methotrexate in pills; tried this for 3 months. Still no results, so I went back again. I also noticed aside from the swelling and lethargy that I was starting to have breathing problems.
Then, I woke up one morning unable to hear from my left ear. So I went back to my GP. He said I guess we should send you to a rheumatologist. We spent a bit of time figuring out what it was causing all these symptoms. In the long run, my rheumatologist figured out it was Psoriatic Arthritis.
So on to biologics and I’ve basically done them all. Some didn’t help, one I was really allergic to, and 2 just stopped working after a couple of years. It seems the hearing loss was also from Psoriatic Arthritis but Prednisone gave me back about 75% of my hearing.
Now on the Biosimilar for Enbrel, called Erelzy. But in the last year, breathing has become a lot more difficult. Walking too fast or carrying heavy items or going up stairs stresses my lungs a lot. Coughing is constant, but when my lungs get stressed it gets a lot worse. However, if I catch it in time, my inhaler helps alleviate the really bad coughing and bad breathing.
I am still working, so oxygen is not possible right now. Therefore, I have just slowed down a lot and became really careful. Hopefully in 13 months, when my car is paid for, I can retire, but I really do love my job. I drive for a living and it is just my zen place, so maybe not.
– F