The month after I was released from the hospital, I noticed that my teeth were getting more sensitive to temperature. I mentioned it to both my rheumie and my dentist in that same month. I had been taking 60mg of prednisone up to that point. I suggested to my rheumie that it was a side effect of the steroids; he said no. My dentist didn’t think it was the steroids either. She said she could give me a treatment for the sensitivity. Sigh… I saw my dentist 6 months later and mentioned to her that I still had some tooth sensitivity, but it wasn’t as bad as before. I mentioned this to her in hopes of starting a discussion about the possible effects of prednisone. I told her that I noticed that my tooth sensitivity decreased as my prednisone dosage decreased.

When I first mentioned my sensitive teeth to my dentist, she recommended that Continue reading →

“…and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.” —John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

Even though I have had to make significant changes in my lifestyle because of my disease, I do try to maintain my social and intellectual circles as best I can. One of the ways I do this is through my book club. We just finished reading John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath for our book club. Whoa was that book heavy. There were many messages in this novel, but as I was reading it, I noticed that my foodie feelers perked up each time Steinbeck Continue reading →