Most of you already know I have just restarted prednisone a few weeks ago in addition to last year's March-December dosages. I started getting pains in my bones like I did 3 years ago but not as bad. Of course I know the drill, but this time I went out on Saturday night, April 5th with friends and this time...the problem happened when it was time to go home....(of course in public instead of at home like usual) The only person that wasn't scared was me because I've gone through this many times. Well...everyone around me started to panic because they only see me hopping around and having to hold onto the wall. Eventually, I lost my balance and fell to the ground. Somebody called 911 to get me an ambulance... I screamed out, "NOOOOO! It's not necessary!" They insisted. Within minutes a paramedic told me it's best to go, just in case. I finally gave in because I didn't feel like arguing, I wanted to go home but how do I when I can't stand up?? I know you shouldn't drink alcohol when you're on medication but I was smart about it and didn't get drunk. Would you believe they tried to convince me that I was plastered drunk and that's why I fell?!?! They totally ignored the fact that I already had a hip replacement caused by prednisone in 2011. I even wore my medical bracelet which clearly indicates, Wegener's granulomatosis, immunosuppressed, total hip replacement & thalassemia trait carrier. They believe that once you had a drink of alcohol is the problem and everything else is eliminated. When it was time to leave, I asked the clinician..."What did you find wrong?" He said, "Nothing, you're free to go home now". Isn't that what I said before they called 911?? Geez!!! I'm checking the mail everyday for a bill for an ambulance service that I didn't want.

What lesson did I learn? When you don't know what you don't know, that's when you panic the most. When you're educated about things, your panic meter slowly goes down.