Huh?

I may have mentioned this before but I am so confuuuuuused!

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the huge strides I've made since beginning Humira. My condition is 100 times better since I started the treatments in September. I'm just not 100% better and I have so many questions.

At this point I still don't feel comfortable eating lunch at work. I eat a small breakfast and a couple of safe snacks throughout the day. This, thus far, seems to make for a reasonably comfortable commute home in the evening. The problem is that I'm usually starving by the time I get home which causes me to eat more than I need to. This is probably also the reason I haven't lost weight - about which I am torn, but that is an entirely different post.

During the week I do ok. Better than ok. I do pretty well. The only complaint I have is my morning gut. My hour-long train ride is still a test to my sanity on a daily basis. Invariably I wake up nauseous and my stomach is uneasy at least until I am safely seated in my office. Some mornings I have heart burn that will not quit. Over the last three weeks, there were a handful of days where I was running for the bathroom by the time I got to work but I only got off the train once to use a bathroom. I am just never quite sure whether or not I have to get off.

The weekends seem to be worse. I have a milk-heavy cup of coffee in the morning (same as any weekday) and then an actual meal for (I guess you could call it) brunch. This is usually when the diarrhea starts and continues throughout the day. Maybe two meals is too much? I should try to have a very light breakfast as I do during the week and see if that helps but it's hard to resist a lazy, Saturday morning breakfast.

I'm not sure where to go from here. Today I filled out a survey for the Humira case study. I realized this process is probably as helpful for me as it is for those conducting the study - if not more so. Having to quantify the severity of the pain and other symptoms as well as how much those symptoms are affecting my life is helpful in gauging how far I've come and what I need to discuss with my doctor.

I'm having a pretty good week as far as my digestive function goes but I am realizing that my biggest problem is the arthritis in my feet, ankles and knees (also in my hands and elbows but less so). If my arthritis is connected to the inflammation in my intestines, why would I still have arthritis symptoms if I am in remission? Does this mean the arthritis and Crohn's are unrelated?

So many unanswered questions.

I also had one of my quarterly blood tests today so I should hear from the doctor soon. Hopefully he will have answers to my questions. In the meantime I am looking forward to a long weekend of rest (and some fun).