Re: Sun

[Guest guest]

Hello /everyone:

I am usually a lurkerk but wanted to comment on this discussion.

I am the owner of a small medical transcription company, so I work inside at home a lot. It is sometimes days/weeks until I am in the sun, which I love to be in, incidently. I actually feel better emotionally and physically when I get some sun, so maybe I am the usual one here.

I just started taking Embrel a few months ago and I don't know if this is just coincidence or not, but hair has started falling out in handfuls. I have long hair and used to have very thick hair (it used to take an effort to get a big ponytail holder around my hair, now I can easily wrap it 5 and sometimes 6 times and it still slides out) I have no idea what is causing this, but I am not happy about it, that is for sure.

As far the sexual desire/sex drive issue that brings up - I have absolutely no sex drive for the time in my life - zilch! I am in my late 30s and I used to have a healthy sex drive, but not anymore and not for about the past 2 years.

I am also dealing with debilitating fatigue...so much, to the point of me considering applying for SSI/disability. I can barely make it through the day and when I work, I can only do about 1/5th of what I used to do and that just wipes me out. As a single mother to a 7-year-old little boy, it's not good when I work and then I cannot do anything the rest of the day and then I spend all day Saturday resting/sleeping to get over the week and Sunday I am or may not feel better. Then along comes Monday and the whole process starts over again....I just hate my life due to this pain, but worse because of the fatigue.

Well gang, sorry so long....I never talk and then when I do, I write a little novel.

Hugs to you all,

Meredith

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

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2003 02:43:57 PM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: Sun

Hello all,

I have been lurking here for a bit but this caught my attention. I only have

my hands and wrists affected at the moment but I have noticed that on hot,

sunny days my hands are worse. As a natural red-head I avoid the sun as much

as possible to limit the freckles and thought that this was coincidence

until I read the posts here about it. Is there anywhere with more

information about this?

I also have a couple of other questions; I have noticed since I started

taking Plaquenil that I am extremely fatiqued and sleeping a lot more (I

have been on it a month now), I have been having problems with excema, and

my gums are cintinuallt bleeding. None of this was happening until I started

the Plaquenil. Could there be any connection?? My other question is, well to

put it bluntly a bit embarassing, but does anyone else have problems with

lowered sex-drive? Since I started with this whole RA thing I seem to be

less interested in that much to my husband's and my disappointment - anyone

have any hints??

Thanks in advance