yikes!

[Guest guest]

Hi all. I woke up yesterday to realize that I can't straighten my

left arm all the way. The elbow seems stuck in about a 15 degree

angle. Usually with joint pain, it hurts me to bend but not to

extend and even with the pain I can " force " it bent or straight.

With my elbow... it literally cannot straighten. I'm on day 2 of this

with no improvement. Is this a normal " flare up " or has anyone else

experienced this?? Also I am somewhat in between rheumatologists as

my former one said he wouldn't even think about putting me on any

other drug than methotrexate unless I had better insurance. The

funny thing is... my insurance really is not that bad. I wasn't

willing to stay with any doctor who wasn't willing to entertain all

the options for treatment. I'm worried that my RA is somewhat

aggressive and am worried about holding back in the first two years.

So anyway, if this new symptom is somewhat normal, I'll hold off

until I have an appointment with my new doc... Any advice?

Also Jay, I've been thinking about you and hope that your symptoms

are getting better... 7.5mg of prednisone really isn't very high... I

was started off on 10mg and noticed results but when I tapered off to

7.5 the pain started coming back. I know everyone is different and I

don't assume to be a Dr., but just a thought. Good luck!

I hope everyone is having a good holiday and getting some chances to

relax.