This week I had an appointment with the rheumatoligist at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. Previously I have been under the care of the rheumatologists at Southmead Hospital (think of an airport terminal but with less parking) because when last summer my knee and ankle started to swell and become very painful (see picture) the earliest appointment was there rather than at the BRI.

I was given a new drug- Methotrexate – and I wrote about it at the time in my post ‘I did not know the bottom of your feet could ache’ . It worked really well for me (although it did lead to more frequent abscesses.) I was already going to need the pouch removal, and that has now happened. So I now no longer have any small bowel or rectum for my ulcerative colitis to attack. However, there is a chance that it could attack my joints. It is just a waiting game to see what happens.

It was a reminder for me that there is no cure – just treatment, be it medication or surgery.