Today JP had his check-up. His ankle, as I've mentioned has continued to stay swollen. His knee comes and goes, but seems to respond to the Motrin, whereas the ankle hasn't. We've only been doing the Motrin as needed for pain, but it's something we needed to be doing daily for the swelling. I asked him if that was a long term solution since it can be bad on your stomach. He told me that in his case he'd have to be taking some kind of daily medication and actually even though Motrin can sometimes cause gastric problems, it's nothing compared to side effects from other medications. He asked if we wanted him to have an injection in the ankle today or if we'd like to try the Motrin daily for 3 weeks. We opted to try that since we haven't been doing it consistently. So he'll take it 3 times a day until then. JP kept asking what an injection was and after the doctor left we finally told him. You would've thought we'd stuck him right then. He started saying how his ankle was ruining his life and it would make his leg bad forever. He definitely does NOT want the shot option. I talked to the office at school about bringing in some Motrin for him to take after lunch in class daily. He also said that it's too early to re-test for rheumatoid, but at some point that would be something we'd do. I also asked what we were looking at long term and he said a lot of the times with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis it's a life long thing. At this point, I'd really just like to get the swelling down so he can put his shoes on without it hurting and also so he can play baseball this season.

In response to yesterday's post-thanks so much for the caring and supportive words. It really means a lot when you're venting to have people validate your feelings. And my sweet SILs don't worry about sounding like a mom about my headache issues. You're both moms so you have that wonderful compassion that comes with the territory. Actually I've gone to the doctor before and he gave me a prescription for ibuprofen which seems to work better than over the counter, but that was just as needed, and I wasn't having them daily. I finished that up awhile ago, but I don't want to go back to him anymore. We knew him in our old ward several years ago so he's very casual with us in the office. Which means he sees us for a second and writes a prescription. He's never very concerned with whatever we see him for. He even told me once that I was too young to have arthritis when I told him about pain I was having in my hands. Well, we know that's not true! So anyway, I asked around to see if anyone has a good doctor for me. I've also gone to the chiropractor before for them. The problem is that we also knew him from our old ward. He's a bit of a fruitcake when it comes to fixing your back. Well, I mean he's just really in to how it can solve all of your other health problems and other all natural healing stuff. There's nothing wrong with that, I just don't have the money for him to treat me on a regular basis for preventative care. The kids and I actually saw him several times a week for that while I was pregnant with both Peanut and Jo Jo. It helped while I was pregnant, but then after having Jo Jo and B leaving his old job, money got tight so I quit going. Guess what? My back stopped hurting. So now we only go if we need a quick fix. Which brings me to why I can't go right now. B saw him a little while ago because he couldn't move his neck for several days and was in severe pain. He didn't charge us what he used to (which was a monthly fee and you see him as much as you want in that month). So now we still owe him money because he never figured out how to bill our old insurance. Long story short-I think I might go get a massage. I've done it before in this case and it really helped. I didn't even think about it though until you guys gave me your great ideas, so thanks. I actually haven't had a headache today! But that won't keep me from getting a massage. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for your love, concern and friendship.