Well, just got bloodwork this week and my inflammation levels are up, which goes along with how I've been feeling... increased fatigue and need to sleep, more mucus and coughing, more blood in mucus, night sweats and low fevers, some headaches, 3 little dots of typical WG rash on my forearm, and loss of appetite. So my MTX is being increased from 10mg./wk to 15mg/wk, which maybe is where it should have been in the first place. My kidney indicators are fine and no liver issues from the MTX. I think my lungs are OK, xrays have all been OK, and the coughing is from sinus drainage and dry tissues.

This is not a big flare or a big deal, just thought I'd mention it..... I'm at a point where I can get lots of rest and have a lot of flexibility in my activities. In fact, I'm feeling good about it, because it validates that I do indeed recognize the signs and am able to interpret what is going on in my own body. The doctor is the one who has to listen to ME on this, and he can order the tests and prescribe the drugs, but this should give me some credibility in his eyes that I know what I'm talking about. Yay! Of course it is largely due to this forum that I even have a CLUE what I'm talking about!

In addition to the 15mg./wk of MTX, I'm on 10mg./day of prednisone and Bactrim 3X/wk., plus folic acid, alendronate, and generic Mucinex. My doc hadn't yet suggested trying to start tapering the pred from where it's been at for a long time, and now, that seems pretty well off the table, which is fine with me until I feel better.