Questions?

At the appt the other day I asked the nurse practitioner if my SED rate would be lower since I have been on an anti inflammatory for a month now and she said no.  the anti inflammatory just controls the pain.  Now I feel at some point I was told that since the Sed rate measures the amount of inflammation and anti inflammatories decrease inflammation that ones sed rate would be lower.... isn't that right??  I just worry that my number might be low enough to be considered normal that they pull meds or decide I don't need further treatment and that scares me.  This fear only comes from past experience.  It is not unfounded. 

Also, I have the bone scan scheduled for the 18th.  I have decided for myself that I am stopping the medication until that date.  That I feel may have been a mistake, but I am going to tough it out for a few days.  I want things to show up.  I don't have money to go and nothing show up because I was on medication to decrease it so much to make it look minimal or enough for them to say it isnt so bad.  I would rather it all be full blown which by they way I am starting to feel now I figure I should be flaring well by Thursday dont you think?  Am I wrong to do it this way?  The doc didn't suggest it?  They said they wanted to be sure it was inflammatory vs mechanical.  If my joints are hot they are now and sed rate is elevated as it has been in the past isn't that inflammatory???

bloo

hey bloo,

i can say that if you have articular damage of any sort or any degeneration or deformtiy....no matter how many NSAIDs you've taken, it will still show up on a bone scan.  NSAIDs really do not help stop the progression of any disease state, it just helps control inflammation.

NSAIDs have short life spans too, so you should be well cleared of everything if you go through with your plan.

i do not disagree with it.

in neurology, they make patients stop taking their medications days before say an EEG or some epilepsy testings...so why not?

will it make a real difference?  who's to say. but heck, worth a shot right?  if you were a new patient & this was being ordered, you'de most likely wouldn't be on any meds anyway. so, no harm no foul.

the dye will take to any areas of bone hypertrophy and inflammation....so even if you were still taking nsaids at the time and there is a problem, the nsaids would be traveling to the same place...so i am thinking that even while on medications if there are problems areas, medications would not cause a "negative reading" so to speak.

now, for bloodwork!...if you're on immunosuppressants and steroids and ya get the flu or an infection...your bloodwrok can show up NORMAL!! isn't that a kicker!!  the steroids and immunomodulators actually "cover-up" fevers and infections many times.  very tricky. interesting stuff eh.

good luck.