Day 1: Things they don't tell you in the leaflet

I am currently sat on ward 8 of Chapel Allerton Hospital, with a drip in my arm, almost three hours into the miracle joint juice regime. So far so good... except the shop downstairs is rubbish and they don’t have any puzzle books. So now I’m bored, and have eaten all the doughnuts that Cochrane (my friend and taxi for the day) had bought me. 

The staff are all very friendly and I am offered a cup of tea approximately once every seven minutes. I haven't experienced any side effects except for feeling either really dizzy or really drowsy - I haven't worked out which yet. Before the infusion was started I was given intravenous steroids to kick start the treatment which is undoubtedly going to make me feel great over the next couple of days (steroids are my crappy immune system's worst nightmare). I have been warned not to let this lull me into a false sense of security and over do things - apparently I will crash when the steroids lose their effect at the weekend. 

I am by far the youngest person receiving treatment on the ward today. In fact, when I arrived the staff all gave me a look as if to say, "What are you doing here?" If it's a surprise for the staff then no bloody wonder it's a surprise for the rest of the population too - more proof if any was needed that we need to educate the world about arthritis in young people. 

For now, for anyone about to embark on a similar journey to mine, I leave you with my top Rituximab tips of the day (the things they don’t tell you in the leaflet):

1) Don’t ask about potential side effects unless you have a particular desire to scare the living crap out of yourself.

2) Go to the toilet before you start treatment; navigating a drip stand into a toilet cubicle is harder than it looks.

3) Don’t sit in the nurse’s chair by accident. It doesn’t go down well. 

Aren't you a bit young for that?

Well, obviously not.

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 14 and since then I have been at war with my body doing everything in my power to not let it stop me living a 'normal' life. With two failed treatments and a hip replacement behind me I am about to embark on a new treatment - Rituximab. If successful I could be symptom free for up to a year - a dream come true for someone who has been in pain every day for over nine years.

So I have decided to turn to the world of blogging to share my journey over the next 365 days to see if this so called 'miracle drug' will transform my life. I plan to update this as much as possible - whether it be to vent my frustration or to educate the world about what it is like to be me right now and suffer from a crippling disease that has, as yet, no cure. And to all you other young sufferers out there I hope to show you that yes, it sucks, but arthritis does not have to ruin your life or stop you achieving your goals.

Plus hopefully along the way I can raise awareness of the disease in young people and get the message across that it is not just an 'old person's disease'. After all, if one more person says 'aren't you a bit young for that?' I'll... well, if my hands weren't so crippled I'd punch them in the face.