I hate the Pred

I've been a week steroid-free but not feeling any relief from my last infusion. Luckily my doctor is very keen on e-mail and super fast to respond. So I emailed him about this situation, knowing in the back of my mind he briefly mentioned trying Cimzia or tripling my Remicade dosage next month. I was hoping something could be done right away. You know, like a magic wand being waved to make me feel as good as I did for those three weeks after the first infusion. No such luck.

So the plan is to go back to 20 MG of Prednisone, which I've actually come to not mind too much since I don't suffer from moon face, weight gain, and the overall puffiness that comes along with it. But it is still a very dangerous drug, albeit one whose benefits I often take for granted until weeks like this week when I am steroid-free and feeling like SHIT.

Next Tuesday I'll be going to Penn to get my small bowel follow through done. Part of me actually hopes they find something, like a fistula. It would be much better knowing my case isn't simply some fluke that no one can seem to figure out. Although, I will be very mad at myself for not sucking it up and getting this test done months ago.

And I still need to get the MRI and a bone scan done. But I just wanna get the SBFT done first because it is the one I dread the most, and also the test that will tell me the most about what the hell is going on inside.

Side note; I just saw the most recent US News and World Report hospital rankings. Let me just say, I hate that shit. You can have shitty doctors at good hospitals and good doctors at shitty hospitals. Everyone has their own experience that is affected by so many factors. And I realize they are considering a lot of varying criteria in their judgments, but it's still all bull. It's just like anything in life, you dabble here and there, try a few places out, and eventually you find something that works for you and your circumstances.