Weird

Scorecard(0-10)
Legs:0
Shoulders:0
Wrists & Thumbs:0
Ankles & Toes:0
Nausea:3
Lethargy: 1

Very strange start to the day. Almost completely pain free. First time in ages. Since January maybe. Able to rotate both shoulders, no pain in the knee and the swelling almost gone as well. With arthritis you get used to having some pain all the time so this is cause for celebration. I can generate slight twinges in the bicep areas of my arms if I strain them by lifting or stretching but I quickly learned how to avoid that.

Wonder what the cause of this sudden relief might be? I've stepped up the gym to four times a week. I'm not doing any arm work but there is some incidental working of the arms in the likes of the rowing machine and the cross trainer. Still, I think this is unlikely to account for a general improvement.

More likely is that the sulfasalazine might be fully kicking in now. Every silver lining has a cloud and my new pain free state is accompanied by a raised level of nausea so I suspect the two events are connected. Again, nothing I can't live with.

I've put this to the test by dropping the morning dose of diclofenac today. I've read so many horror stories about this drug and it ulcerating the bowel that I can't wait to either get off it altogether or get it swapped for the more benign Ponstan, even at a higher dose. If my theory is wrong then I'll have a familiar return of the grips in my shoulders by tea time.

Such is life!