The persistent rash...

My rash was gone. Then it came back. Story of my life, honestly. Hahaha. When I drop below 2.5-3 mg prednisone, the rash on my shin returns with a vengeance. I'm really not even supposed to be on prednisone right now (meaning, my current doctor did not prescribe it for me, it's just leftover from 2009 treating myself Dr. Ashley style. Yes, I know you aren't supposed to mess around with prednisone. Yes, I'm aware of the dangers.). I don't have insurance and cannot afford to go see the doc whenever this rash rears its ugly head.

Anyways, I've read extensively about the link between thyroid antibodies and rashes and the connection is clear. When I see the doc next I might see what he thinks about treating euthyroid Hashimoto's. Not many docs are keen on the idea but it's worth a shot. I'm thinking... lowest dose of Armour thyroid, which is a combination of T4 and T3.

Ended medrol pack - increased Minocin

Well the Medrol pack is now finished and I'm on 2.5mg prednisone, hopefully tapering to none by the end of next week. The rash on my shin is now gone, but I still have some small spots on my upper back.

Yesterday I increased my minocin dosage from 100mg to my normal 200mg per day. I was taking 200mg of the generic stuff from December 2011 until the beginning of April, then switched over to brand name and it seems to be stronger so I lowered the dose to 100mg. Not sure if I'm ready to handle the 200mg yet, especially since I'm still on a small amount of prednisone, but we'll see. I'm a bit anxious to try out the Zithromax to see if it has any effect, but I think it would be best to wait a little bit and give the brand name minocin a chance to do its thang.

As far as today goes, I've noticed a significant increase in muscle pain and sacroiliac joint soreness along with that damn left knee pain that is almost a constant nowadays (as it was in pre-plaquenil days). 200mg ibuprofen earlier in the day didn't do a whole lot for the pain.