Quote Originally Posted by vkai View Post
I lost my job during the summer and started a new one recently, so I have insurance again, but I don't want to go to the doc til the new year so everything I spend goes toward my new deductible. . . and it's not a waste. I'll find a doc in January and see what they say. I recently got off of about 6 months of prednisone and my rheumatologist wanted me to start some immunosuppressant for folks who've had transplants, but I was hesitant to start and then lost my job, so I didn't.
1. I'd suggest you go ahead an call some rheumatologists and see how long their wait is. In some areas (like where I live now), it can be 6 months to a year, even with a referral from another rheumatologist.
2. The immunosuppressants aren't that bad. methotrexate is probably the most common one for autoimmune diseases--it's a chemo drug. It's got some icky side effects like mouth sores, nausea, fatigue. But the doses for autoimmune diseases are VERY low compared to anti-rejection and chemo doses. Imuran is another used pretty commonly, but I have no experience with it.
The main thing with immunosuppressants is that you have to be careful about exposure to illness--infections in particular. I pick up every little bug that goes around my office if I'm not hypervigilant about cleanliness. I've been known to spray people with Lysol if they cough in my cube

Anyway, feel free to PM me if you want to talk offline about this. I've been through a lot of drugs and 12 or so years of treatment for autoimmune issues. It sucks sometimes, but life goes on.

Good luck. Keep riding. You just might find it does you major good.