So what about the hydroxychloroquine?

In posh medical terms I'm on a combined therapy of hydroxychloroquine and methotrexate and so far I've assumed the second is the bad guy, despite the tiny, tiny pills.  Hydroxychloroquine on the other hand is a two-tablet daily bind. The tablets are bigger and leave an incredibly bitter aftertaste.  Maybe time to look into its side effects?

The drug is a widely used anti-malarial and you're recommended not to take it for too long because it can damage the retina.  Good idea to get a baseline check with the optician!

Tiny, tiny pills

After an age of faffing while my private rheumatologist referred me back to the NHS I finally embark on a course of treatment.

A few learnings:

- the normal NHS route is for the hospital to start patients on methotrexate.  My flip into private and  back was causing some confusion

- methotrexate is so toxic that you want to approach it gingerly edging up the dose while monitoring blood markers for any adverse reaction, the dose is stablized over a period of a three months

- information is lost at interfaces, for example what dose, which drugs?  Details, details.  As a scientist I'd welcome a bit pf precision here, otherwise it might blow the placebo effect!


Methotrexate is so toxic it's motivated me to reduce my alcohol intake down to 2 units a week - effectively I've swapped one toxin for another.

Somehow, my dentist knows all about this

I thought I'd better check out the pain in my jaw. After tapping a few of my teeth with a hammer, the verdict was that rather than a tooth problem, it was bruxism or arthritis, yet again. My dentist has psoriasis and most probably knows more than your average dentist about arthritis, since there's a form of arthritis closely associated with the skin disease.

She suggested an anti-depressant to moderate the pain???

Soaked muesli for me - no more grinding through gravel in the morning.