New member w/questions

[Guest guest]

Hi, everyone...

I recently joined your group, although I'm not formally diagnosed yet with RA.

This story is a bit roundabout, so bear with me.

This begins three years ago. Within three months, my mother, father and my

former fiance all died. I went to a dr., who diagnosed me with depression and

put me on an anti-depressant called Effexor.

I was on Effexor a little over a year, and had a horrible time with it. Part

of the problem was getting off it, which is extremely difficult. One of the

problems I developed on Effexor was this horrible joint pain. I couldn't sleep

because the pain was overwhelming - an achy, hot pain in my elbows and behind

my knees and in my legs, and a worse pain in my back.

I finally weened myself off Effexor, and the aches still hung in there. I

figured it was because I was so out of shape, or just getting old (I was 35 when

it happened.)

A few months after the Effexor thing, I work up with the most horrible pain

in my eye, like someone had driven a spike through my head. The first

opthamologist diagnosed it as Posner Schlossman Syndrome, a rare form of

glaucoma that

usually only happens in one eye.

He wasn't doing anything for me, and the drops weren't working. I recently

went to another opthamologist, who thought RA might be my problem.

About a month ago, I started developing this weird pins-and-needles sensation

in my toes. It wasn't going away, and spread to the outsides of my feet. I

then felt it in my knees, and went to a dr. who was giving me all these tests,

trying to figure out what it was.

About two weeks ago, I suddenly couldn't walk. I was in absolute agony, and

nothing was working. The dr. told me to go to the ER, where they took a bunch

of tests.

I seem to be perfectly normal in every department - except for the RA factor.

It came back as a weak positive.

I have yet another appointment with my regular dr. today, and an appointment

with a RA dr. in a month (that's how my insurance works; you can't get any

appointments quickly unless you're in the hospital.)

I'm not on any drugs, just the eye drops and some painkiller as a stopgap. My

own regular dr. knows zilch about RA, so I guess all I'm going to get until

I see the RA dr. is a painkiller.

I've been out of work for two weeks, and I have to go back in a few days. I

still walk like an old lady, but at least I'm walking!

I'd love any suggestions anyone might have. I don't know what I'm dealing

with, I still have to work, and I need to be able to GET to work and not want to

die from the pain.

Thanks for any help...

Debby

[Guest guest]

Debby, I'm sorry to hear of your losing both parents and a fiance in such a short time. Depression after that is easily understood. I don't know anything about depression medicines so I can't help you there.

You're doing the right thing by having an appointment with a rheumatologist. You might check with your regular doctor to see if he/she can get the appointment moved up. In the meantime you might ask your regular doctor about Prednisone. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory that acts much faster than drugs that slow down or stop RA but it only helps the symptoms. If you have an inflammatory disease like RA Prednisone should help fairly quickly, but you still need to get to a rheumatologist for a more accurate diagnosis and treatment to stop the progress of your disease.

You should get copies for yourself of all your blood work so you can take it to any new doctor and also keep track of things for yourself. Sometimes doctors just check to see if results are near normal limits and don't pay attention to trends. Good luck and God bless.

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

From: rightgirl@...

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2003 7:52 AM

Subject: New member w/questions

Hi, everyone...I recently joined your group, although I'm not formally diagnosed yet with RA.This story is a bit roundabout, so bear with me.This begins three years ago. Within three months, my mother, father and my former fiance all died. I went to a dr., who diagnosed me with depression and put me on an anti-depressant called Effexor.I was on Effexor a little over a year, and had a horrible time with it. Part of the problem was getting off it, which is extremely difficult. One of the problems I developed on Effexor was this horrible joint pain. I couldn't sleep because the pain was overwhelming - an achy, hot pain in my elbows and behind my knees and in my legs, and a worse pain in my back.I finally weened myself off Effexor, and the aches still hung in there. I figured it was because I was so out of shape, or just getting old (I was 35 when it happened.)A few months after the Effexor thing, I work up with the most horrible pain in my eye, like someone had driven a spike through my head. The first opthamologist diagnosed it as Posner Schlossman Syndrome, a rare form of glaucoma that usually only happens in one eye. He wasn't doing anything for me, and the drops weren't working. I recently went to another opthamologist, who thought RA might be my problem.About a month ago, I started developing this weird pins-and-needles sensation in my toes. It wasn't going away, and spread to the outsides of my feet. I then felt it in my knees, and went to a dr. who was giving me all these tests, trying to figure out what it was.About two weeks ago, I suddenly couldn't walk. I was in absolute agony, and nothing was working. The dr. told me to go to the ER, where they took a bunch of tests.I seem to be perfectly normal in every department - except for the RA factor. It came back as a weak positive.I have yet another appointment with my regular dr. today, and an appointment with a RA dr. in a month (that's how my insurance works; you can't get any appointments quickly unless you're in the hospital.)I'm not on any drugs, just the eye drops and some painkiller as a stopgap. My own regular dr. knows zilch about RA, so I guess all I'm going to get until I see the RA dr. is a painkiller.I've been out of work for two weeks, and I have to go back in a few days. I still walk like an old lady, but at least I'm walking! I'd love any suggestions anyone might have. I don't know what I'm dealing with, I still have to work, and I need to be able to GET to work and not want to die from the pain.Thanks for any help...Debby

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Harold, for your advice. I appreciate it.

Debby