Pain...

[Baybreeze]

Wow! OMG, I wonder if you hold the record around here for most amount of
x-ray's! Well, at least your doc seems to be very thorough in all the testing he's sent you for. I really do hope that a reason is found somewhere for your pain, maybe in all the blood tests.

My rheumy used to always take me in right away when I called in alot of pain...either that same day or the next day. I just have to sit there & wait awhile until he squeezed me in between some people. Though all of a sudden the last time I had to wait 3 weeks to get in, even on the cancellation list.

I hope the new med helps you somewhat & gives you some pain relief and I wish you luck in finding the source of your pain.

[davidzzz]

Hey all...
Well tomorrow is the big day - after all those x-rays and blood work. I guess my Dr. will tell me what kind of arthritis I have and get me on some med's. I'm really nervous about this... I don't know why, but I am.
Also, the Ketoprofen - 75mg twice daily, doesn't really help much. A couple of times I took it 3 times a day and that seemed to help some, but not much. I'm also nervous about asking for stronger pain med's. I don't want him to think I'm a druggie or just want to get high. In the past I have noticed that I have a high tolorance for pain med's and need something stronger. Should I tell my Dr. this ? I also have a high threshold for pain. So when I complain about pain - it's usually severe. Should I also tell him this ? Any suggestions ? I'll let you all know the out come of my visit tomorrow.
Bye for now...

[davidzzz]

Hi all...
Well I went to my rheumy Appt. on Friday the 28th. And he said "yep you have RA" What a relief ! - Not that I have RA, but that I have the diagnosis. It's like a weight being lifted off my shoulders being able to finally know whats wrong with me, to cause all this pain. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about.
So... here's the med's he put me on... Humira - self injections - every other week. Hydroxychloroquine 200mg - take 2 once a day. Prednisone 5mg once a day - after I finish the intro pack. ( He said he was only going to have me on Prednisone until the Humira and Hydroxychloroquine kicks in. Which he says in about 2 months. ) And he wants me to stay on the Ketoprofen 75mg - 2 times a day.
Does all this sound about right to you all ? I told him I really didn't want to take the Prednisone, because I didn't want to gain a lot of weight, but he said not to worry, just eat more carrot sticks and less buttered popcorn and pizza and I'd be fine. He said it wasn't the drug that make you gain weight. It's what you eat. It makes you more hungry. He also said to watch my salt intake.
It's amazing what those drugs have done for me in just 2 days ! Almost no pain. And I was even able to finally sleep for more than 2 hours last night. I got 6 hours ! Now I know this is probly just temporary and that these drugs will probly stop working for me after awhile, but for now it feels good. Compaired to the way I was... anything is better.
Have any of you had any experience with any of these med's ? If so I'd like to hear your comments. Or for that matter any comments on anything I've had to say. That's why I'm writing here... to share with others and to get feedback.
Bye for now...

[Baybreeze]

Hi, yes I know all too well what a relief it is to finally have a diagnosis for something. I got diagnosed with my spine problems right away after having an MRI. But I still have other inflammatory issues and joint pains, etc that I thought were diagnosed, but now it seems not. Lupus was suspected for me about 18 yrs ago due to facial rash & the dermatologist asked all sorts of other questions like other symptoms I might have been having, which I was. He suspected lupus, but I couldnt really follow up due to no health insurance. So over the years I've had flare ups of joint pains, swelling, rashes, visual problems, headaches, hives, angiodaema, muscle pains, major fatigue, etc..
In 2004 I finally got health insurance thru a job and finally saw a rheumy for the first time. He gave me Bextra first , but a few weeks later it was taken off the market. And of course the Bextra was working pretty good. He had me try Mobic & relafen (both of which cause my eyes to swell shut), then I went down fast. I got so bad he finally put me on Prednisone. I took 40mg per day for about 1 or 2 months, then tapered off slowly over 8 months. I tell you this Prednisone is like a miracle drug, I hadnt felt that good in years! Every symptom disappeared, including in areas I didnt realize were bothering me. I did gain some weight, which was mostly bloat and moon face...but I was able to exercise again so I guess that helped to keep me from gaining too much. He also had me start Plaquenil (200mg twice per day) at the same time. Plaquenil takes many months to build up in your system so the doc gave this at the same time so that it would be built up enough when the steroids were stopped. So I've been on the same dose of Plaquenil for several years now without any side effects or anything. It seemed to keep my flares more under control...either they were less severe or didnt last as long. Sorry I do not have any experience with Humira but Im sure others will post about that.

One strange thing...I didnt gain too much weight from the oral prednisone, but I did gain alot (and massive moon face) from all the spinal epidural steroid injections i've had. But then again I had developed severe spine problems so therefore could not exercise at all. I also had one ankle act up on me again. However, I did watch what I ate (I seem to completely lose my appetite while on any steroids)..so I ate even less than before and that did not prevent me from gaining steroid weight and bloat. The good thing is, the steroid weight will gradually come off once the med is stopped. For me it takes a while (5 to 6 months) but at least it does go away.

Again, I'm really happy that you are being treated & that the treatments are working for you. I hope it stays that way and you are able to get back to a more normal life!

[davidzzz]

Thanks for the comment Baybreeze.