Life with a Flare

Yesterday afternoon I went to the rheumatologist, then today I had x-rays, then OS, then the PT from HSS. I will start with the rheumy appointment. It was actually pretty uneventful because I am doing pretty well right now finally. The one thing we discussed was lowering the dose of Voltaren because of some GI issues. I am pretty reluctant to mess with the Voltaren at the moment, between my internship at a preschool, my nannying job, and prom coming up I really do not have the time/energy for a flare (not that it makes a difference). Since I have to stop 2 weeks before my hip surgery anyway I am waiting until after then to change anything. I was also given copies of my blood work from a week ago to give to the OS, so with any luck I could not have to get more pre-op blood test. Apparently they need blood tests from 30 or less before surgery, so the last test misses the window, but it was worth a try. At my OS appointment appointment we talked about the issues I had with the last ...

Before I had hip surgery I had been taking Relafen with is a prescription NSAID and it had a helped a little bit, definitely with my knees (along with the euflexxa). However I had to stop it two weeks before surgery. After surgery I was put on Naproxen, another NSAID, which is basically prescription aleve. While Naproxen does just as good of a job as Relafen, it can be harder on the stomach and more likely to cause problems. About a week after starting it I realized if I did not drink a full glass of water after taking it my throat would start burning, and starting a couple days ago I would drink two cups of water and eat food and my throat would still burn, even though I was even taking a prescription antacid with it. And I don't mean burn for a few minutes, it would for a few hours. After e-mailing with my OS's PA I was told to stop taking the Naproxen and I could take regular aleve if I wanted instead. Of course I have a really big debate tournament ...