Sometimes I feel like going to the doctor has become a second job for me. So today I went for my every 2 month visit with my rheumy. We discussed my problems, and I stuck out my tongue at her. No really. My mouth is now in bad shape, due to extreme dry mouth. So she gave me a prescription for something (sorry, can't remember what it was) and I'll start taking it just in the evenings for now. Hopefully I'll be able to breathe again at night. My nose and mouth are so ridiculously dry, that the are both sore, cut up, etc. And yes, I'm using a humidifier in the bedroom.
I asked the rheumy about whether remission would be likely ever. She said 10-15% of patients will experience a remission, but since I was diagnosed over 5 years ago and have never had a remission, it is extremely unlikely.
Then, just to complete my day, I went to a sports med doctor to talk about my hips. He took x-rays and said that they looked like the hips of a 41 yr old (my age), but said it's possible there is inflammation in there that's not showing up on x-ray. He didn't ban running, but told me to wait until the pain is gone, and to stick to tracks and treadmills. Boo. He also wants me to do 4 weeks of PT for the hips, and see where that brings us. He brought up cortisone shots if need be, and I told him that they don't seem to work for me. He did mention possibly doing lidocaine shots at a later point as a diagnostic tool.
Next week, I'll be seeing the hand surgeon again. Where I discovered already that cortisone shots really truly don't work for me. When I go there, I'm hoping to schedule trigger finger surgery for 2 fingers on my left hand, and to discuss an OT referral, possibly for a custom splint, for osteo-arthritis at the base of my thumb on my right hand.
What really bothers me is that my doctor doesn't even consider my PsA that severe, and I know that she is right. This takes up a lot of time.