Guest guest Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Very well explained !!!!!!!! mary backs <haveyarn2crochet@...> wrote: a lot lately about people worrying about the possible side effects of medications given for RA and I remembered something . If you actually weigh out the possibility of a side effect versus the almost guaranteed negatives of not treating your disease, it becomes obvious which way you should go. Worried about the possibility of weight gain? How about not being able to get out of bed on your own?Possibility of liver damage? Remember that your liver is capable of repairing itself with time in most cases and the is why your liver counts are monitored by the doctor. Wouldn't it be worse not to be able to button your own clothes?Possibility of TB? How about not being able to pick up your child or grandchild?The possible side effects are scary but the negative of not treating the disease is even worse. I have had to go off the meds for certain problems, and I have even forgotten to take them on occasion, but I promise you I am reminded soon enough. I have had to quit taking them when I had a problem, but I was always happy to go back on them. At this time I am worried about more about not being able to take care of my autistic son and not being able to play with the greatest grandchild in the world than I am about the possible side effects of my medication. It takes me more exercise to try to lose some weight, but at least with my medications I am able to exercise with out as much pain. With my medications, at least I can get up on my own and not have to call someone to help me get out of the bed, or even more embarrassing having to call someone in to help me finish using the toilet. My hands hurt, but I have learned to deal with the pain. My fingers are beginning to twist some, but that has slowed down due to the medications. I have to figure it would be a lot worse with out the medication. ( I have proof of it with a brother that doesn't take any of medication, he was diagnosed after I was and he is in considerably worse shape physically). I will take the possible side effects over the sure problems any day. Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make your homepage. Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make your homepage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Thank You you all for your response on the side effects of meds. Thank You for reminding me of how worse it could be without the meds, I was diagnosed in April of this year and it went from nothing to severe, my pain is so bad, that I tell my husband I would whether die. Thank you for making me realize how important it is to take the medication. Ann Salinas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 --- In Rheumatoid Arthritis , SALINAS <503salinas@...> wrote: > I was also diagnosed in April this year, and I am just starting to turn the corner regarding my pain. Previously I could not even lift a cup or feed myself. Never known pain like it - felt like a million bee stings all over my body. Because I received a diagnosis so late on in my life it now appears that my major joints are permanely damaged and I will never regain the movements I had before, but at least I can get ththrough the day now, albeit with assistance. I know of the possible side effects, and the worst I am suffering at the moment is total fatigue. Yes, side effects are a danger, but toal disabling pain will finish you off just as quick because you are unable to function at all as a human being. Lynda > Thank You you all for your response on the side effects of meds. > Thank You for reminding me of how worse it could be without the meds, I was diagnosed in April of this year and it went from nothing to severe, my pain is so bad, that I tell my husband I would whether die. > Thank you for making me realize how important it is to take the medication. > > > Ann Salinas > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 As I wrote in my post. One attitude towards treatment and the path they choose is based on a lot of facts....AGE being one of them. SEVERITY of disease being the other and let me add PAIN tolerance. Judging from your post that you have suffered for 34 years....that would be over three quarters of my life. So again it depends on ones situation. I might have a different no holds bar, I will do whatever if I was lets say 60, 70 or 80 and knew most of my life has passed...so not much to loose now. But again...I am NOT. I am young and I can function with out being drugged out my head....or sicker than a dog with side effects. I achieve long periods of remission on my own. Which leave my doctors scratching their heads. As far as not knowing pain. I know pain well as I have suffered with another disease. Fibromyalgia as well as chronic pain from near fatal injuries that happened in a car accident many years ago. However, I am not walking around drugged out my head either. I refuse pain meds unless absolutely necessary. So my family knows if I am taking a pain medication then Mom really is NOT feeling well....leave her alone. I can not function on pain medication on a daily basis. If you have been smoking 42 years and all you can say is that you have lung damage from pneumonia and chronic bronchitis. Well chronic bronchitis cause COPD...chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. You know those little old ladies you see huffing and puffing in the stores wearing there oxygen generators. TB does not always do damage if its being controlled by the immune system. You need to go back and re-read what I wrote....or better yet...go to the internet and do some research for yourself. Oh and 50 lbs is NOT enough for any reputable weight loss surgeon to do surgery. You need to be at least 100 lbs or more over weight or have many co-morbidities in order for any good weight loss surgeon to even consider surgery. I am a surgical weight loss patient so I know first hand. Yes there are other drugs that can cause liver damage. I run from those too. Or take with extreme caution. Diet and exercise are the best for issue with blood fats....for those that can control diet and participate in exercise. Docs run for the drugs quick cause they know patients will not follow the diet and exercise plan as prescribed...they want the quick fix....give me a pill. The really sad thing is that there are so many new drugs on the market and doctors are pressure by drug reps to use these drugs...no one has studied what happens when you start mixing all this stuff up together what the side effects or outcomes with be. Heck even the pharmacists are struggling to keep up in order to properly advise patients. Its reached a point now when we must allow computers to compute if the cocktail of drugs one is taking poses any risks. Now I prefer to NOT put myself into that situation. US patients in a report I read a long time ago take the most medication of any developed country in the world. Now that is sad!! I do believe that. When I talk to friends they run to the doctor for EVERYTHING...and leave with yet a new prescription for whatever ails them....and this pill is suppose to be the newest and the best. I have also seen more drugs pulled from the market lately than lets say 10 yrs ago. That also is telling me something. Not enough research before releasing to the public. As far as side effects are concerned. I am a member of another online RA support group. It its a very large and active group and has a lady there that does research when one asks a topic. There are two women there that have lost a chuck of flesh out of there thighs from Humira injections. I have tried the drug myself and after it burned like acid in my flesh for hours after taking it and left a large hard red lump. I determined that it was obvious this was not a medication I was to take. These two women had similar experiences like me...but they listened to their doctors...took benedryl and did other things as the doctor says its a local skin reaction. Then the skin turn dark, got hard like a big scab. Then they found out it was necrotic tissue. The both ended up needing would care and one lady even needed a skin graft to close the gapping wound. They were warning others not to continue this medication if you are reacting or you could end up with the same result. To make it worst the company that makes humira has very little data as the drug is too new! Enbrel, there is a lady that lost her eye sight as a result of a rare side effect of Enbrel called optic neuritis. I know these things are rare...but you do not feel so rare when it happens to you. Yes I agree...attitude does play a big part in how a patient does as well as being a good patient advocate for yourself helps determine if you are getting your needs met. I also say stay active. I lost my job and went on disability messing around with MTX and trying to follow doctors orders...but it was a blessing. I have been traveling, volunteering at my childrens' schools and in general slowing down to really enjoy life. I am now returning back to the work force outside the home and looking forward to it. I have been working from home for the past year. Sorry but I am not in my granny rocking chair years yet. Toni Re: I have been reading Posted by: "beth haven" mayfrog1963@... mayfrog1963 Wed Nov 28, 2007 7:32 pm (PST) hi i like what you had to say. cause that is me sometimes,but you have to over come.those who say things like about you or about what you write. like very disturbing. bet she don't have the pain like i or you have....i don't write a lot cause no one seen to know the pain iam every day of my life....have a good day Bethmary backs <haveyarn2crochet > wrote:I have been fighting RA for over 35 years. I have had episodes where I actually considered either amputating the offending limb, or splitting my skin open to relieve the pressure. I will gladly take the risks if it means I can have one minute without the pain. I have gained 50 pounds over time and I am still trying to figure out how to get rid of it. I have tried all the diets out there and even thought about stomach stapling even after I was told it was the medication.Almost all medications can cause liver damage, my cholesterol meds can do as much, if not more damage to my liver, but then again so can alcohol abuse. That isn't enough to make most people quit drinking. At least my liver functions are monitored closely and if the doctor sees dangerous levels, she changes my medications.As for the risk of TB, well I have been smoking 42 years and I am able to say that my lungs are clear of damage except for what has been caused by pneumonia and chronic bronchitis which I have had since childhood. I have been exposed to TB before and it wasn't God's will that I contract it. I risk more lung damage daily by just breathing. I saw a young cousin die from lung cancer even though she had never smoked or been exposed to cigarette smoke her whole life.This year I have had to go to 2 funerals for family members, one, a niece who was killed in a car wreck while heading to Wal-Mart and the other my oldest sister. Honestly I would rather go the way my niece did because she wasn't aware that she was dying and wasn't forced to live with pain. You see my sister was in pain. I don't know how long she was aware of the pancreatic cancer that was taking her life. I do know that she preferred to live what she called a few quality weeks with her family than to have a surgery that might not give her any more time and would cause her more pain. She was on so much pain medication that she admitted to not knowing which was was up, but she felt that was the only way she could spend what time she had left with her family, time she used to tell all of us that she loved us and would rather we remember her laughing than suffering. She said that if it was a choice between pain or being able to be pain free for even a minute that shewould take that minute any time she could. I am not willing to give in to the pain and plan on continuing to fight this old body of mine and trying to find ways to do the things I love. I think personally that attitude plays a big part in how I am able to cope with what I have, and I make it a point to try to find something good to think about everyday. I try to spend as much time as I have pain free doing something enjoyable to me, whether it is reading a book or just sitting with my cat on my lap while wrapped in ice packs. I am sorry you feel that the risks aren't worth it but to me they are. Check out AOL Money Finance's list of the hottest products and top money wasters of 2007. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.