Cimzia Day 4

I have been away from my wifi so it's taking me a bit to get connected.  I have been writing as I go so I can give you as accurate responses to Cimzia as possible.  We all know my brain is not so good at remembering things anymore lol.

So far no major side effects that would cause me to call the Rheumatologist to cry.  The nausea is getting a little worse, but that is a pretty constant part of my life due to Arava already so that it is mildly increased is more of a tedium of irritation than a reason to stop (not that stopping at this point is an option that would improve anything immediately).  I am having some neurological issues, but I have that frequently with starting any new medicine.  My nervous system seems to rebel at the smallest encouragement anymore.  Shakiness, mild increase in brain fog and increased headaches are also not an unusual part of my life, but definitely increased since starting the Cimzia.  I get these symptoms from a bad flare as well so calling foul on Cimzia at this point seems pre mature.  I have noticed the last 24 hours or so my need to take narcotic pain meds has lessened.  As I get tired later in the day my pain is increasing, but I don’t feel enough pain to resort to pain meds till afternoon or early evening and even then it’s just beginning to build to a distracting level.  I tried to go without last night and was woken up several times in severe pain so today I think I will take my meds as a preventative measure before bed and see if that stops the rise in cringing, tear producing pain.  My skin continues to get worse.  I was already starting to have a pustular psoriasis flare on my feet and hands before I took the Cimzia so at this point it’s probably just the natural progression of that flare.  I had little hope of any improvement anywhere with this drug, but if it helps with my joints and doesn’t worsen my skin I’d be ok with it.  Summer will be here soon and we will all be complaining about the stifling heat and staggering electric bills from our AC, but for those of us with skin psoriasis summer is when we have hope of healing to some degree.  For me it means days in the pool and sun and usually a huge improvement in my skin.  Another 2 months of being asked if I’ve been street fighting and hitting walls and I’ll be able to get some healing from good ole mother nature.  I have started making up stories about a fighting club for middle aged housewives as an explanation for my cracking knuckles when people ask me if I’ve been beating people up.  I’m top ranked in the fight club of course.  It’s my story, don’t judge.

Overall I’ve really got nothing major to report.  Side effects minimal, improvement too early to tell or also known as not a damn thing.  Ok I’ll admit my Lortab intake has decreased which is an improvement, but it just tells me that my inflammation which last week was out of control has reduced a lot not putting as much strain on my damaged and mangled joints.  I’m not convinced that there is any slowing in the damage my body is doing to itself yet.  Right now it’s a trade off of pain; less all over body daggers to the joints for more headaches, skin splitting and frustration because I can’t hold a fork steady.  10 days to go until I shove 2 more needles in my belly fat.  At least it hasn’t been the nightmare of Humira and Simponi.

As always please remember that all of us have such a unique chemistry.  My experiences with any of these medications will not be what anyone else will experience.  My successes won’t be the same or at the same levels as anyone else’s experience.  I felt that since Cimzia was newly approved for PsA that giving my perspective as it happens to me was needed as not many of us have had this option until recently.  Every medication for Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (Psoriatic Disease) has the potential for great reward and great peril.  Remember that if your specialist has decided it’s time to try these powerful medications it is because the potential reward outweighs the potential risk and the continuing damage of not being treated.  I do not share my experiences to scare or encourage, but to educate.  The mystery of what could happen because of others announcing the extremes in positives AND negatives is often much more damning than an opinion that is purposefully dry and to the point.  It’s scary enough with out hearing how your brother’s cousin’s best friend’s girlfriend’s sister almost died because of such and such drug, or grasping at the hope of that same person who had the opposite miracle of total healing from it.  The reality is that most will have some where in the middle with a little disaster and a little triumph.  It all comes down to how much terror we are willing to live with for a little bit of heaven.  I for one will and have tried everything and anything that I could wrap my head around logically because I am a person who needs facts.