16:36
Side effects
I want to apologise for not updating sooner, this has always been my problem with blogs. I never seem to find the time (despite doing very little other than work) to update. I also haven’t been feeling particularly unwell this past week and have wanted to do little beyond lying down and going to sleep. There is a possibility it may be entirely unrelated to starting cimzia, but I highly doubt it.
The nurse said I may suffer some side effects after initial taking the drug. I thought was doing alright during the evening but the later it got, the worse and worse I began to feel. Around 9/10pm, I began to suffer a horrendous migraine. I had already emailed my boss to explain the potential side effects. I can't stress how understanding my work has been with my condition and I can imagine how much stressful this process could be if someone had employment where you couldn't regularly go for appointments, work from home or phone in sick short notice.
I didn't make it in to work the following day and opted instead to work from home (I had sent work home in advance in case of the eventuality) after waking up at 6am with a pounding migraine. I used to experience migraines regularly the last few years, attributed to my severe vitamin D deficiency. My vitamin D levels were as low as around 6, apparently anything less than 16 is very worrying. Some more information here. Increasing the vitamin D (prescribed 800IU 4 times a day) levels seemed to keep the migraines at bay for a while. Until now, where I woke feeling like I wanted to drill a hole in my face to relieve pressure. It felt like something wanted to burst out of my face from behind my eyes. Most of the rest of the morning was spent going back to sleep after making the room as dark, as quiet and as cold as possible.
It has been much the same feeling for the rest of last week and most of this week. I'm yet to see any difference in my levels of pain and range of movement (but I'm only 2 weeks into 3 months before it's due to work) but I have generally felt awful all week. In addition to my regular arthritic pain, I feel a constant feeling of general un-wellness. I've had a sore head and nausea since starting the drug. Apparently these are common side effects and 1 in 10 people will suffer them. My guts also haven't been right for more than a week now; with stomach cramps, an increased sense of urgency and little to no structure in...well, you know. According to my MRI results, my small bowel is 'essentially normal'. I'm guessing it's that tiny bit that is 'essentially not normal' that is causing all the bother.
I'm hoping that the more I take the drug, the more my body will get used to it and hopefully the intensity of these side effects should disappear. Here's hoping. I'm due to take the next two syringes on tuesdy, so we'll see this time if I suffer the same problems.
Robyn x
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