Ok well here goes... I've been doing well but a few weird things are happening. First is, my hair is falling out! I've always had a thick head of hair so it isn't like I'm at risk of going bald, but it is enough that my hairdresser commented on it. She probably noticed handfuls of the stuff in the sink. I brought it up to my rhuematologist and he mentioned folic acid deficiency (sulfasalazine depletes it) but I'm already taking oodles of it. I see the rheumy again on Monday for a follow up with my knee and he should have blood test results.

Other thought is thryoid. I think my thyroid was headed south... or rather, my replacement dosage wasn't working. But I realized I was taking it with calcium at the same time and that is a no-no. Calicium keeps you from utilizing it or absorbing, not sure which.

So I stopped that, then I had a terrible spell of insomnia which I think was my body reacting to the sudden influx of thyroid.

I'm still losing a lot of hair and it looks crispy and dry. That isn't normal for me. I am 48 and thinking menopause could kick in here at any time. It was 50 for my Mom and sister, 55 for my grandmother. Any ideas out there?

Ok, then I had a binge on popcorn -- it does terrible things to my intestines usually, although it seems to be taking awhile to kick in this time. Then I caught a cold -- I haven't had one in years and years. Now about 5 days into the cold and I'm feeling slightly feverish and very congested but the obvious cold symptoms are abated. Perhaps it is a sinus infection? And my intestines are terrible today. I made a special trip to the store to get more L-glutamine and just took 4 grams. I hope this will put a stop to that. Maybe it is a delayed reaction to the pop corn.

Healthwise this week has been absolutely awful. My face looks puffy, my hair is crispy. Crud, things were going so well for awhile.