The reason for my absence this past few months...

You may - or may not - have noticed that I've been absent from Twitter as well as my other usual online haunts for the past few months and that if you've emailed/PM'ed during that time you haven't yet had a reply back. I'm sorry for the latter but I've got a good reason for it which I'm going to explain below.

I wish I could say I've been off doing something exciting or that I've just been super busy but, unfortunately, I can't and the reason is that I've been pretty ill since around mid-March when my left knee swelled up as did the fingers of both of my hands. In regard to my knee, I brushed it off at first thinking that maybe I'd pulled something or strained a muscle whilst playing with my nephew and that it would end up sorting itself out if I just rested it.

The whole time my family kept telling me to go and see our doctor but being the medical-phobe that I am I refused until the pain became so unbearable that I could barely walk and doing simple tasks such as showering became a real effort. A quick five minute shower left me so exhausted to the point where I'd have to sit down on the corner of the bath and rest for a bit before I could do anything else.

On the 1st May, I finally went to see my GP who examined my knee and then ordered a blood test. She prescribed me some antibiotics and painkillers and made an appointment for me to see her the following week. I'd been taking regular painkillers to try and numb the pain but they didn't do anything so I was desperately hoping what she was giving me would do the trick but no such luck. They didn't even touch the pain and I was still in agony while I waited for the results to come through.

On the 9th May, I went back to receive my diagnosis. The blood test showed that I have a condition called Rheumatoid Arthritis. I'll admit, arthritis had crossed my mind since it's on my both sides of my family but I wasn't expecting it to be Rheumatoid, though maybe I should have since my dad suffered with it pretty badly when I was a kid and, from what I've read/been told, there is an hereditary link. While the diagnosis shocked me, to be honest, it was more of a relief knowing it wasn't what I'd scared myself into thinking it would be. I've had some seriously dark thoughts going through my head.

My doctor prescribed me some anti-inflammatory medication, which thankfully has made such a massive difference, and she also referred me to see a Rheumatologist at the local hospital and I had my first appointment with him last Friday.

I was really nervous beforehand, not knowing what to expect, but he was really nice and put me at ease straightaway. I had X-rays taken of my hands, feet and chest (which apparently is standard) and I also had more blood taken. I've got an appointment to see him again this coming Friday where he said he wants to start me on "proper" arthritis medication as the anti-inflammatory meds are only a temporary measure. I'm really hoping I'll start feeling the benefits immediately so I can start getting back to some semblance of normality because even though the anti-inflammatory meds are helping, my joints are still pretty swollen and sore. My family - especially my mum - have been amazing and I don't know what I would've done without them looking after me.

So, there you have it... the reason for my absence online. It's been a hard few months and I've felt so low, not to mention isolated. Being online, as you can probably appreciate, was the last thing I felt like doing and most of the time that I've been laid up I just watched TV or slept (one of the symptoms of RA, I've discovered, is tiredness).

I owe a ton of replies to those of you who have been in contact either via email, PM or Twitter and, I promise, I will get around to replying as soon as I can. Typing isn't the easiest thing to do at the moment since my fingers and wrists are so sore and tender so please just bear with me.

Writing-wise, I'm not sure what's going to happen. I'm not going to give up since I love it so much but it may take longer for me to work on stories and updates.

Please feel free to post any questions or comments you may have and I'll do my best to reply as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading!


Diane x