So, it’s been about two years since I woke up one morning, when I woke up with what I thought was a foot spur, which then progressed into what doctors thought was rheumatoid arthritis and then diagnosed as lymphoma before finally identifying as sarcoidosis.

For maybe 18 months now, I’ve been taking a combo pack of 1000 milligrams of (generic) Aleve a day to lower the swelling in my joints and Prevacid to undo the damage that the Aleve was doing to my gut.

Yesterday, I was informed my monthly prescription couldn’t be refilled without another visit to the doctor, which is certainly overdue. Sarcoidosis is something that most people’s immune systems will eventually get over (it’s an auto-immune disorder where the body mistakenly discovers non-existent problems in the body and then overreacts to them), and I’ve tried to lower my Aleve intake a few times just to test over the past year or so.

Well, I’m still needing my drugs, it seems. My fever has come back — eyes, tongue and other bits are swollen and hot — and my left wrist, both hands and left knee are swollen, stiff and making as much noise as a large bowl of Rice Krispies.

The saga continues.