No thanks to the NHS I've finally got a diagnosis. The good news is that it's one of the less worse possible outcomes.
I have been diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis. This is a lifelong condition but is hopefully quite controllable with medication. I think that it's a plus that it seems to have attacked my tendons rather than my joints. For now I've had some steroid injections into the tendons on my left hand. It's now just a waiting game to see what effect they have. I still have no idea when I'll be back playing guitar but it could potentially be a couple of weeks or even a matter of days.
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteJust been reading about your diagnosis and how hard it was to get one. I was diagnosed in my early twenties (1997) and it took ages for anyone to work out what was up with me. I just had a very sore heel and was limping around for ages. It then started to affect my ribs and I had incredible fatigue. After walking for 30 mins, I would fall asleep in my seat! Finally after many blood and scans, they found that my RF was through the roof. I've been on Meloxicam and Salysopyrine (intermittently) ever since. I have changed my career, as I couldn't keep up my full time job as a primary school teacher. Things were bleak for a time, but luckily I am in a position where I can work part-time and have lots of time to rest as well.
It's so sad that you couldn't keep up your job as a teacher. If anything I'm going the opposite way to you. Being a guitarist is almost part-time hours but the hours that you are on are pretty demanding. A regular full-time office job far better suits my position. I just need to regain a bit of stability.
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