Re: Help Please! RA questions!

[Guest guest]

:

Everyone has such different reactions to drugs - it sounds as though your

wife is particularly sensitive. But perhaps one of the other drugs like the

methotrexate will not affect her as severely and she might be able to get

some relief from it. I have been on every drug known to man it seems in

trying to control my RA. Luckily I am pretty resistant to all of the side

effects. I have also done some alternative things, but not consistently

enough to find them helpful. Has she thought about something like

acupuncture? I have heard that some find relief through that. I also try and

control my diet by not eating wheat, sugar or dairy - I'm not very

successful, but some also find that helpful in controlling the symptoms.

Has anyone suggested Enbrel or Remicade to her? Those drugs work on a

different level than the methotrexate or the steroids.

Good luck to you.

gloria

[Guest guest]

Hi , I agree with Gloria that your wife seems particularly sensitive to the meds. My side effects from the methotrexate include hair loss and nausea. Many people have less side effects if they get the injection of metho instead of pills. Gold salts are rarely used anymore since there are so many better meds.

I have been on Prednisone since I was diagnosed in 1999. I started at 40 mg and have been slowly weaned to 4 mg/day, although I'm temporarily on a higher dose to calm my bursitis.

What NSAIDS has your wife tried? I'm on Remicade now, plus other meds, which has been great for me. Like Gloria, I strongly advise her to talk to her doctor about Enbrel or Remicade.

Also, I find massage helps me as complementary therapy, as well as light yoga and ballet when my body can handle it.

Take care,

, age 25

Sero-negative arthritis/ Reiter's Syndrome

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[Guest guest]

I FOR ONE WOULD NEVER GO ON GOLD SALTS......THEY EAT BONES JUST LIKE ALL THE SCRIPTS ENDING IN SONE....IFUSED FOR ANY LENGHT OF TIME....FIRST OFF SHE IS GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP HERSELF BALANCED....MEANING RELAX MORE AND TRY TO ELEVIATE STRESS...THAT ONLY MAKES THE RA FLARE UP...THIS IS NOT GOOD.....I AM ON ARAVA AND VIOXX...BOTH HAVED HELPED ME VERY MUCH....METHALTREXATE MADE ME VERY ILL AND SEEMED TO DO THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSSED TO DO....THE VERY MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IS FOR HER TO TRY TO SETTLE DOWN...I REALIZE THAT THIS CAN BE HARD....I HAVE BEN THERE AND DONE THAT MANY TIMES...YOU ARE PRONE TO DEPRESSION 'CAUSE OF WHAT THE DISEASE DOES TO YOUR BODY........BUT....TRY TO KEEP HER UNSTRESSED....MY MAIN THING IS THAT I AM GLAD THAT THERE ARE THINGS OUT THERE TO HELP....JUST THE RIGHT COMBINATION HAS TO BE FOUND FOR HER.......SHE WILL HAVE TO GET A POSITIVE ATTITUDE ABOUT THIS....THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT......TELL HER TO FOCUS MORE ON THE GOOD IN HER LIFE AND PUSH THE WORRIES INTO THE CORNER....THIS DOES TAKE TIME ....BUT...IT DOES WORK

NORMA

----- Original Message -----

From: Enzweiler <enzweiler@...>

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 9:46 PM

Subject: Help Please! RA questions!

My wife, who is 48 was diagnosed with RA when she was 38. Since thenshe has tried several doctors and several treatments. The NSAIDSeither did nothing at all or caused severe rashes. It seems that anydrug that MIGHT cause a rash will have her in head to toe hives everytime. For this reason, and because of the hideous list of otherpossible side affects, she is terrified of trying the more traditionaldrugs like methaltrexate or gold salts. What seems to have workedsomewhat for her is a low dose (5mg/day) of prednisone, a corticalsteroid. Unfortunately, it too has its risks over time, even at lowdoses. Every doctor she goes to immediately tries to put her on thethings she's afraid of, which has her in tears. To make mattersworse, recent family problems (her family, not ours) have caused herfamily doctor to begin prescribing a pain killer, a muscle relaxantAND valium. I am afraid that she is becoming physically and/oremotionally addicted to them, but she claims they help her deal withher RA. I guess I'm just looking for someone who can either allay ourfears about the treatments, or offer a safer alternative. Thanks inadvance.