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.

Fire Breather

The regulation mechanism for the flame thrower in my throat has gone awry. It activates at will. No schedule, no warning--just whooosh, and the invisible flames. After years of taking anti-inflammatories, Methotrexate and other medications; the regulation of acid from my stomach north seems to have gone haywire.

It's not so much a new problem--ulcers have been a reality for me since my late teens. The late night burning is nothing new. What is new, now, is the escalation of that burning. It rises up from my stomach as I would imagine a toilet overflowing. Sometimes in my minds-eye, I foresee a gush of blood perhaps appearing. Flames at the least. Nothing but acid so far, but in time, I'm afraid it will get the better of me.

With a stomach like mine, Nexium is a close friend, but not a saving grace. I've been told that age is no friend as it relates to stomach problems and acid reflux; so I'll think of that as a downer. I do wonder what role auto-immune disease plays in this process. I'm hoping for a cure--or at least some significant relief.

Bibliography
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/GERD-Acid-Reflux/Autoimmune-disease-and-acid-reflux/show/586218
http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/understanding-heartburn-basics

Borborygmus

I felt like a tiger who hadn't eaten in days. From 10 a.m. on--hungry. Borborygmus belly. Craving salt, craving garlic, craving vegetables. The nausea and salt go together--always have. Whenever I get nausea, which is a lot, I want something salty. In those cases, it really doesn't matter if I'm hungry. But today, two needs to be met.

So, I had a bowl of macaroni and cheese at lunch time. Then, a lovely mid-day swim in the bright sunshine. It was great. Later, some pretzels. Then, a veggie sub with tons of salt and garlic salt. It's finally satisfied. Hopefully it will last.

Outside of my hunger pangs today, I have been consistently exhausted. You know how you feel when you've had a great work out and just feel weighted. That's me, minus the workout. I also keep getting hot at night and am now having pain in my left leg. I'm also having a headache and abdominal pain today and it's difficult to walk.

Sorry to Jack the dog, who didn't get his walk today. To appease him, I shared the bread from my sandwich. He loved it. So, my borborygmus belly indirectly brought him a little pleasure, at least.