Marydean, we've been working on the prednisone for a while. I stubbornly refused to go higher than 20mg (although with the amount of nurofen plus and panadeine I was going through I could easily have been on twice that amount or more). The drop to 10mg through 15mg was easy... Getting below 10mg just didn't happen at all until I got the 1mg tablets and started going 1mg at a time. I'd need two weeks before I could take the next drop, but now that I'm below 5mg and the weather is warmer, I'm trialling a one week reduction. Even if I can do alternate days of 3mg/4mg for a while, I'd be happy. You are right, it is a complete ***** of a drug to get off. I did wonder if it was a PBS thing - he also mentioned biologics but said that before I could go to them I'd have to try arava. Perhaps it's a similar situation. The issue with trying arava short term is that it's a slow-acting drug. We're talking 3 months before we start to get the full effect, and the MTX was very similar. There's no quick fix for auto-immune problems.

Ruf, thank you. I think I would really like to catch up, I'm feeling rather isolated as nobody around me really understands what it's like.

Jennifer, thank you.

So, if you were and IVF doctor, would you think it strange if a patient walked through your door not wanting to have a baby just now but asking for advice on managing a condition completely removed from what you treat? I just don't want to waste my time and money tracking him down and going to see him if he's just going to laugh at me.

BW