My joint pain and swelling, which for a while was only on the right side (unilateral), soon spread to the left side. In addition, my right foot swelled to the size of a football. It hurt my feet to stand, and my knees to sit. I had to buy larger and larger shoes. Eventually my left foot swelled, but never as large as the the right. I kept blaming the hard floors at work and the slab floor in Tom's new home.I discovered that Sketchers were making shoes lined with memory foam, which really helped.
I couldn't believe that my health had deteriorated so quickly. Does arthritis really happen this fast? One day you are fine, then practically crippled? I questioned my doctor about that. She said that the virus that I had in February probably triggered the Rheumatoid arthritis. I had a nagging feeling and kept researching arthritis online. I compared my symptoms to Lyme disease. They seemed so much like Lyme disease. The illustrations of a Lyme patient's knees looked exactly like mine on the center for Disease Control's web pages. I even printed it out and handed it to my arthritis doctor. She shook her head. "No. I don't believe in Lyme disease. Not long term Lyme disease." I let the subject drop.
I asked about cortisone injections for the pain and swelling. I did not know how much longer that I could continue to work. She agreed to give me the injections right away. She only gave me a topical anesthetic. What happened next, was the most painful experience of my life.Unfortunately, the shots did not work.
She gave me a refill for my methotrexate and sent me hobbling to spend the rest of the afternoon to my teaching job in even more pain than before.
The weather was getting colder. I couldn't tolerate the cold weather. It seemed to make the pain worse. Tom set the thermostat at 71 degrees and it still felt cold. I switched from wearing shoes to boots with three layers of socks.
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