Persistent Piranha

By now, I had hoped to be beyond their reach, fortified behind rest, exercise, vitamins or some lovely pharmaceutical. Those pesky little creatures that I envision chasing one another through my body; scratching, hitting, gnawing at my joints. They've returned, but it's not the first time. I see them as little piranha.

Sitting still, I can feel their sudden gnawing, as if they are simply famished. The smallest little joint will expel an enormous throb of pain, and repeat, repeat...until it's gone and moving on to the next feeding station. The tip of a finger, any knuckle, the top of a foot, the bottom of a foot, the heel, a hip, the middle of my chest, my ribs--there's no ethical code among these monsters.

Chewing on me from within is what they like do to. Hell, they revel in it and have done so for years. I do fight. They've met Methotrexate, Humira and now Azathioprine head on. I hunt them down and assault their positions with DepoMedrol, Celestone, Prednisone pills. But, they have defeated me. Nothing really works. They have me as they like. My good days are apparently only at their pleasure; my bad days--their revenge.

My latest companion: Barrett's Esophagus

After enjoying a few months of stability with my health, my biggest long-term issue (after arthritis damage or infection) seems to be my most recent diagnosis of Barrett's Esophagus. I can't feel it. Years of acid reflix, gastritis, ulcers and other stomach complaints may have likely caused it, but even that seems questionable to some degree.

The treatment for Barrett's is seemingly a life of daily Nexium or some other related drugs to prevent it from growing. There are also clinical studies available through Mayo Clinic, where your case can be tracked and experimental treatments are available. I am willing to take the drugs, join the studies, cut NSAIDs from my life and eat less chocolate...with the latter being the most difficult (if it's dark chocolate, that is).

What I am not too happy about doing is having an endoscopic procedure every two years. Yikes. Although I have had an endoscopic procedure before which found the Barrett's, it is still hard. You do a preparation, devote a day at the center waiting and it requires you to be anesthetized. All that is better than esophageal cancer, so doing it is a no-brainer. I will.