Thanks, Marydean... I'm down to 3mg of prednisone, and really suffering with the freakish Sydney weather at the moment. It's times like this that being bone-headed and stubborn help. I absolutely refuse to increase the dose again, no matter how bad the pain is. It will still be a few more weeks before I get the benefit of increasing the methotrexate, but the only concession I am making to being in pain is that I'm not taking the next dose reduction when it's due. I'm also starting to consume more nurofen, and needing to rest more (there goes the weight loss), but I've just been on the prednisone for too long and it's just way too important to me (and my doctors) that I get off it once and for all. I shudder to think what it may have done to my bone density!

Littlelara, now that you mention it... As soon as you put FS and "auto-immune" in the same sentence, there's only one doctor that comes to mind. I've actually been a little nervous about going to see my old FS as he told me to stop taking metformin as soon as I was pregnant and I stayed on it until I was 17 weeks pregnant (when a dose reduction coincided with my first miscarriage, there was no way in hell I was taking that risk again!), but this other doctor told me to stay on it (only until 12 weeks, but hey, what's five weeks, really?). I was also told that I shouldn't take aspirin, but we (on the advice of my acupuncture lady) added aspirin into the mix and that's when we got Sam... So perhaps the amazingly awesome Dr S should be the one I go see. I've been tossing the idea around lately, just because he's someone who won't yell at me for sticking with the metformin!

I haven't made an appointment with my GP to get a referral yet... still thinking about things... like the discovery that if the arava wash out process doesn't work, it's up to two YEARS before we can go again... But I'm starting to think that Dr S could be my man, rather than the old FS.

BW