I’ve been working with my dermatologist on my autoimmune condition since the beginning of this year. It’s not the first time I’ve worked on it, but it’s the first time I’ve had a doctor who understands the condition and is really working on a plan with me. And while I’m so grateful to have someone working with me on it, it’s frustrating when it’s not a simple solution. You don’t just take one medication to make it get better. It’s not even one type of medication. It’s testing out a lot of different options that can improve things, but not necessarily cure them. And I know it can be a long process, but I still wish it wasn’t like this.
So far, I have tried one medication I’ve been on a lot that is usually used as an antibiotic and I actually took after getting cellulitis. Then at my last appointment, another medication was added that can help make things better and is usually prescribed for blood pressure issues. The antibiotic one does bother my stomach, but it’s not that bad and I have figured out ways to make it more tolerable. So I was fine with that one. But the new one that was added last time was a bit of a wild card. I naturally have low blood pressure, so taking something that could lower it more had the potential to cause some side effects.
And it did do just that. I stuck it out for the past 2 months, but I’ve been dealing with having lightheadedness and some dizziness. And I would usually feel it more when I was working out. There are other things that I thought could be side effects, but I wasn’t too bothered by them. But I really wanted to try this new medication out the entire time to see if it got better.
So when I had my follow-up with my dermatologist this week, I told him what I was experiencing and he wanted me to stop taking it. He actually said I probably should have emailed in and he would have told me to stop sooner, but I really wanted to give it a chance. But I’m also glad to be no longer taking it since it was annoying to have side effects that felt so similar to the vertigo that I had a few months ago.
Since the new medication didn’t work, I’m now trying another one. This one is usually given to regulate blood sugar (something I don’t need to worry about) but it has shown to also help the condition I have. Just like any other medication, it does have side effects, but most of them seem to be things I already deal with such as nausea. I just have to be careful with timing when I take the medication so that I’m taking it with food. Not too hard of a thing to do and I’m already decent at doing that with the other medication I take.
But then, I got some news I wasn’t expecting at my appointment. The antibiotic that I’ve been on (that I do see helping now) can’t be taken for a long time. I’m already close to the limit of taking it and when I go for my next follow-up, I will need to stop. While I knew the medication wasn’t a permanent fix, I guess I didn’t think about when I would have to stop taking it. And there is a chance that this new medication will work (and it can be something I take for a long time) so it won’t matter. Or maybe I’ll hit a level of remission and I’ll be fine in a few months. You never know.
Before I left my appointment, my dermatologist went over a few of the other issues we discussed last time (everything is fine and I’m looking like I’m having progress). And we discussed a bit about the surgery I can get for my autoimmune condition. Right now, I don’t want to do surgery. There are still other medications I can try and surgery would have a long recovery time. It is the only permanent solution, but if I can be in remission that works for me too. I just have to see if that’s possible. So I have to continue testing out medications until I’m out of options, then I’ll think more about surgery.
I guess I’ll see in about 3 months what the new plan is. The only thing I know for sure is that the plan I’m doing now will be changing then since it has to. But as long as I’m working on it and have a doctor who is willing to do that too, then I’m finding ways to be ok with this frustration in not having answers just yet.
You Might Also Like
A Dermatologist Follow-Up (or I’m Not Always The Best Judge Of Progress)
Going In For A Doctor Appointment (or Making A Plan With My Dermatologist)
Pushing Through Feeling Off (or Hopefully This Doesn’t Last For 3 Months)
Some New Medication Side Effects (or At Least I Know How To Handle This)
A Good Therapy Check In (or Focus On The Good)
Another Therapy Check In (or Someone Sees Progress)
