Re: flares and that time of the month

[Guest guest]

I definitely have flares just before that time of the month!! Is there anything we can do about it besides up the prednisone?

)

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

From: Sherry Dreier

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2004 7:41 AM

Subject: flares and "that time of the month"

Good morning all. My name is Sherry, I have had RA since 1985. I am currently on Enbrel which is working relatively well but I have been having surgeries to eliminate pain in my wrists and so have not been able to take the enbrel for a while. My rheumy says two weeks before and two weeks after surgery. My last synovectomy was on May 10 so I have to wait a little while to bet back on it.I have a very angry case of RA. I have had my left ankle fused, my right wrist fused, carple tunnel surgery and the joints in my feet have been removed. All in all, I feel I have been lucky with the wonderful drugs on the market today. Speaking of what causes flares I was wondering if anyone could give me their experiences as to if they have a flare before their menstral period. I am 52 and of course am getting intoo the menopause stage. My General Practioner and I have been trying to get my hormones straightened out. If I take progesterone, which is the hormone that is the highest before the cycle, i hurt like crazy. Does anyone have flares before their period? I have always had this. I'd love to hear from you all and what you have found to be the cause. Is it the lack of estrogen and uptake of progesterone or is it just in my head.Enjoy all the info on this sight.Take care all.Sherry

[Guest guest]

Hi Sherry!

Yes, I thought it was all in my head too..having " flares " before my

period!..not sure which hormone it is that is causing it..is it the

prog. or the lack of estrogen??..I am 45 and perimenopausal but have

noticed more of an upkick in these flare things before my period..

maybe it is the fluid retention that causes the joints to become just

a tad bit stiffer, hence, more painful..heck..I have not been to see

my ob/gyn in over 3 yrs (yes, i know I hsould go..sigh)...

I just have a rheumy but he is in and out of that office so quickly..I

am serously thinking bout changing docs..I find that I am at my " least

pain free " time from about Day 3 or so of my cycle to about a week

before..then things go cuckoo...very frustrating for moi!

HOpe this feedback helps ya...you are not imaginging this..

Take care

Lindy

P.S. Thank you to all the super folks who responded to my post

regarding " which meds are the best " ..seems like we all have a motley

of choices out there whereas 20 some odd years ago there were NONE..so

I guess now it is a " trial and error " game..

Take care, again..

> Good morning all.

> My name is Sherry, I have had RA since 1985. I am currently on

> Enbrel which is working relatively well but I have been having

> surgeries to eliminate pain in my wrists and so have not been able

to

> take the enbrel for a while. My rheumy says two weeks before and

two

> weeks after surgery. My last synovectomy was on May 10 so I have to

> wait a little while to bet back on it.

>

> I have a very angry case of RA. I have had my left ankle fused, my

> right wrist fused, carple tunnel surgery and the joints in my feet

> have been removed. All in all, I feel I have been lucky with the

> wonderful drugs on the market today.

>

> Speaking of what causes flares I was wondering if anyone could give

> me their experiences as to if they have a flare before their

menstral

> period. I am 52 and of course am getting intoo the menopause stage.

> My General Practioner and I have been trying to get my hormones

> straightened out. If I take progesterone, which is the hormone that

> is the highest before the cycle, i hurt like crazy. Does anyone

have

> flares before their period? I have always had this.

>

> I'd love to hear from you all and what you have found to be the

> cause. Is it the lack of estrogen and uptake of progesterone or is

> it just in my head.

>

> Enjoy all the info on this sight.

>

> Take care all.

>

> Sherry

[Guest guest]

Hi

I am 44 and in menopause too. I get flares everytime

a period is due whether I have it or not. They are so

irregular mostly spotting. I notice a big difference

in how tired I am at that time too. I alway feel more

drained and my joints are all so sore. I have the

same problems when the weather changes too.

=====

BOXER DOGS ARE BEAUTIFUL maryrue@...

Web Pages:

http://www.geocities.com/bmtboxers/

http://www.angelfire.com/ms/beamartonsboxers

http://briefcase./maryrue

boxerlovers

beamartonraylynn

[Guest guest]

Your describing me!! Wouldn't it be nice if there was something we could do about it.

)

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

From: Rue

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 5:27 PM

Subject: Re: flares and "that time of the month"

HiI am 44 and in menopause too. I get flares everytimea period is due whether I have it or not. They are soirregular mostly spotting. I notice a big differencein how tired I am at that time too. I alway feel moredrained and my joints are all so sore. I have thesame problems when the weather changes too.=====BOXER DOGS ARE BEAUTIFUL maryrue@... Web Pages: http://www.geocities.com/bmtboxers/ http://www.angelfire.com/ms/beamartonsboxers http://briefcase./maryrue boxerloversbeamartonraylynn

[Guest guest]

Sigh, I wish there were......Somewhere I have read in some RA

journals etc that women tend to have more of a " flare up " of their

symptoms when they are due at that time of the month..especially, in

those perimenopausal years...I HATE ITTTTTTTT!!!!!!...growl!! Yes,

the weather and that " drained feeling " hit here as well..

I am wondering if flare ups tend to " diminish " in severity AFTER true

menopause??..Any ladies out there wish to share on that notion??...

Were symptoms much worse when you were having your periods versus

AFTER?...

Just a thought from this hypothesizing " armchair " doctor..

Gentle hugs to all..

Lindy Lou:)

--- In Rheumatoid Arthritis , <blair.family@v...>

wrote:

> Your describing me!! Wouldn't it be nice if there was something we

could do about it.

>

> )

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: Rue

> Rheumatoid Arthritis

> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 5:27 PM

> Subject: Re: flares and " that time of the

month "

>

>

> Hi

> I am 44 and in menopause too. I get flares everytime

> a period is due whether I have it or not. They are so

> irregular mostly spotting. I notice a big difference

> in how tired I am at that time too. I alway feel more

> drained and my joints are all so sore. I have the

> same problems when the weather changes too.

>

>

> =====

> BOXER DOGS ARE BEAUTIFUL maryrue@y...

> Web Pages:

> http://www.geocities.com/bmtboxers/

> http://www.angelfire.com/ms/beamartonsboxers

> http://briefcase./maryrue

> boxerlovers

> beamartonraylynn

>

>

>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

--------

>

[Guest guest]

Good Morning Sherry,

My Name is Lucy and was on Enbrel and I had hand surgery in Dec and I was off Enbrel for two week before the surgery & the they told me to go back on Enbrel two after the surgery and I did & I got a bad rash in my body so then I stop Enbrel and I was looking for other RA DR and still haven't found one, Then My knee was hurting real bad so I went back on Enbrel and the rash came back so I make an appointment with My old DR cuz I need something else, but before all the surgery I was fine with Enbrel,This I can't understand why the change.

Take care and my prayers for you ..

When is ur surgery?

Lucy

Good morning all. My name is Sherry, I have had RA since 1985. I am currently on Enbrel which is working relatively well but I have been having surgeries to eliminate pain in my wrists and so have not been able to take the enbrel for a while. My rheumy says two weeks before and two weeks after surgery. My last synovectomy was on May 10 so I have to wait a little while to bet back on it.I have a very angry case of RA. I have had my left ankle fused, my right wrist fused, carple tunnel surgery and the joints in my feet have been removed. All in all, I feel I have been lucky with the wonderful drugs on the market today. Speaking of what causes flares I was wondering if anyone could give me their experiences as to if they have a flare before their menstral period. I am 52 and of course am getting intoo the menopause stage. My General Practioner and I have been trying to get my hormones straightened out. If I take progesterone, which is the hormone that is the highest before the cycle, i hurt like crazy. Does anyone have flares before their period? I have always had this. I'd love to hear from you all and what you have found to be the cause. Is it the lack of estrogen and uptake of progesterone or is it just in my head.Enjoy all the info on this sight.Take care all.Sherry

[Guest guest]

Unfortunately, everyone is different in how they react to RA medicines.

Biologics (Enbrel, Remicade, Humira, Kineret) are the newer medicines and often

the most effective but also the most expensive. Many people get by with milder

medicines such as Sulfasalazine and Plaquenil but most are on Methotrexate.

Arava is a newer drug similar to Methotrexate and it works for some when

Methotrexate fails. If you can afford the biologics, give them a try.

Some people get relief from acupuncture and Chinese medicine, others get relief

from controlled diet and/or antibiotic therapy, but most still rely on Western

medicine. There are some people who post on the Arthritis Insight RA message

board who use alternative medicine but most of them use conventional

medications.

>

> From: " Sherry Dreier " <rssmith@...>

> Date: 2004/05/16 Sun AM 11:41:38 GMT

> Rheumatoid Arthritis

> Subject: flares and " that time of the month "

>

>

[Guest guest]

and, some people are on combinations! I'm on Enbrel (started last week),

methotrexate, sulfasalazine and prednisone and celexa.

Question about Enbrel, how long does it take and do you notice wear-off between

shots? I had my third shot today and do seem to feel better-- it's rainy and I

was very stiff this morning. but I had a shot Sunday and by yesterday it seemed

not to be noticably working. anyone?

> Unfortunately, everyone is different in how they react to RA medicines.

> Biologics (Enbrel, Remicade, Humira, Kineret) are the newer medicines and

often

> the most effective but also the most expensive. Many people get by with

milder

> medicines such as Sulfasalazine and Plaquenil but most are on Methotrexate.

> Arava is a newer drug similar to Methotrexate and it works for some when

> Methotrexate fails. If you can afford the biologics, give them a try.

>

> Some people get relief from acupuncture and Chinese medicine, others get

relief

> from controlled diet and/or antibiotic therapy, but most still rely on Western

> medicine. There are some people who post on the Arthritis Insight RA message

> board who use alternative medicine but most of them use conventional

> medications.

> >

> > From: " Sherry Dreier " <rssmith@...>

> > Date: 2004/05/16 Sun AM 11:41:38 GMT

> > Rheumatoid Arthritis

> > Subject: flares and " that time of the month "

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Kay:

Wanted to ask you about the progesterone creme - is it an OTC thing at a health food store? And I hate to ask this, but, where exactly do you put it? I have always noticed that I start feeling worse around my period. I'm also 46 and dealing with fibroids - so anything that will help just calm all my systems down is something I want to try. The black cohosh sounds interesting too.

gloria

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/21/04 9:13:48 PM, Siwelyak@... writes:

is,

     I definitely feel there is HUGE correlation between our hormones and this dreaded RA.  My alternative doc advised me to get off birth control pills

I doubled my estrogen dose and it really helped my RA.

I guess for me it is the opposite.....

Pris

Teach tricks the EASY way!

Beginning, medium difficulty, and advanced.

"Potbellied Pig Behavior and Training" book

www.valentinesperformingpigs.com

[Guest guest]

I just saw my primary care doc this week for my annual exam. I'm

somewhere in the perimenopausal state, and have not had good success

with any type of hormones or birth control pills over the years (I'm

almost 48). She recommended phytoestrogens (from plants), soy, red

clover and black cohash along with at least 600 i.u. of vitamin E.

She did warn me to add only one new thing at a time and make sure

that it doesn't interfere with anything else I'm taking, which makes

sense. It makes it easier to figure out which thing is causing any

problems.

There have been some reports of people developing severe liver

problems including liver failure with black cohash, so any of us

should probably check with our rheumies to see if they have any

concerns with us taking it (I plan to when I go in next week). It

seems like most if not all of our meds can be hard on the liver.

Beth

> Kay:

>

> Wanted to ask you about the progesterone creme - is it an OTC

thing at a

> health food store? And I hate to ask this, but, where exactly do

you put it? I

> have always noticed that I start feeling worse around my period.

I'm also 46 and

> dealing with fibroids - so anything that will help just calm all

my systems

> down is something I want to try. The black cohosh sounds

interesting too.

>

> gloria

[Guest guest]

Gloria,

Creme I rub on inside of arms or neck or behind knees or upper chest just under neck. I don't think health food store stuff is strong enough but that's just my personal opinion. I got mine from naturopathic doc in the mail. I have seen website with it, too. Look at www.feelgoodprogesterone.com

Best of luck,

Kay

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

From: gloriarex@...

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 10:56 PM

Subject: Re: Re: flares and "that time of the month"

Kay:

Wanted to ask you about the progesterone creme - is it an OTC thing at a health food store? And I hate to ask this, but, where exactly do you put it? I have always noticed that I start feeling worse around my period. I'm also 46 and dealing with fibroids - so anything that will help just calm all my systems down is something I want to try. The black cohosh sounds interesting too.

gloria

[Guest guest]

Pris,

I am still trying to get things balanced in my system. Progesterone cream helped the hot flashes but don't think my hormones are balanced yet. I just started some estriol cream yesterday and having hormones checked again.

Kay

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

From: NELLIESTAR@...

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 11:23 PM

Subject: Re: Re: flares and "that time of the month"

In a message dated 5/21/04 9:13:48 PM, Siwelyak@... writes:

is, I definitely feel there is HUGE correlation between our hormones and this dreaded RA. My alternative doc advised me to get off birth control pillsI doubled my estrogen dose and it really helped my RA.I guess for me it is the opposite.....PrisTeach tricks the EASY way!Beginning, medium difficulty, and advanced."Potbellied Pig Behavior and Training" bookwww.valentinesperformingpigs.com