November 07

After seven weeks at home my progress has been steady and my condition has improved. I am now taking 20mg of Prednisolone daily, the Anakinra is still being tolerated and appears to be working well. I am still taking the maximum amounts of paracetamol and Codeine Phosphate. I have managed to reduce my tramadol intake to one tablet per day. I am swimming one day a week and doing some physio exercises once a week. The previous problems I had with my skin has returned. They are not as severe as the last time however.

I attended the National Amyloidosis clinic in London on the 15th for a test. This involved the injection of a radioactive isotope (Iodine123) and an Echocardiogram on the first day. Some blood was taken for some basic tests. I was then allowed to go to my hotel overnight and return the next day. On the second day the scan was carried out, this involved lying on a scanner similar to an CAT scanner for around 45 minutes. After this the consltant talked me through the results which were fortunately negative. So due to the excellent care of the health professionals I see, and my medication the symptoms are curently manageable. However my hands still have evidence of inflammation and some joint deformation. We plan to reduce the anount of steroid I am taking in the coming weeks.