Re: I see my doctor tomorrow.

June 11, 2002

Debbie,

Sorry about the diagnoses, but it¹s better to know what it is and deal with

it. The only pep talk I can give about mtx is knowing it is the oldest used

RA medication and it¹s one that they know the long term effects of. The

newer medications have no long term safety record so basically we¹re guinea

pigs. I hope your doctor has ordered a chest x-ray before starting mtx. If

not, it would be a good idea to ask for one. I feel like crap the day I

take mtx, so I take it at bedtime and I¹ll sleep though the side effects

(mostly nausea).

Let us know how it goes.

a

On 6/10/02 9:37 PM, " Debbie Mc " <angelrose@...> wrote:

> Well, I got the word from my doctor finally that my Rheumy has confirmed the

> diagnosis of RA. I have to go for more x-rays of my hands again in 3

> months to see how the enchondroma is looking. I see my doctor tomorrow for

> a prescription for Methotrexate. Ok, now I'm scared. I can't be in denial

> any longer. That's that. Now, anyone got any pep talk " ish " kind of advise

> for me?

>

> Debbie Mc

>

June 11, 2002

Hi Debbie -

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. As far as pep talks go, I can tell

you that I always tell myself that a diagnosis is no big deal. Its not like

you get the illness because its been diagnosed, its always been there, now

they just have a name for it and can help you treat it appropriately. As

far as the mtx is concerned, I just tell myself that it will help me in the

long run. Right now its kind of crappy and I'm not seeing any real benefit,

but eventually it will probably help. I'm not sure if it was the mental pep

talks or the Celexa that helped, but I seem to be coping a little better

now. My doctor prescribed Celexa, an anti-depressant, because I was so

completely overwhelmed after I was diagnosed and decided to take the mtx.

If the pep talks don't help, its another good option. Take care - in

virginia

>From: " Debbie Mc " <angelrose@...>

>Reply-

>< >

>Subject: [ ] I see my doctor tomorrow.

>Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 18:37:40 -0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)

>

>Well, I got the word from my doctor finally that my Rheumy has confirmed

>the

>diagnosis of RA. I have to go for more x-rays of my hands again in 3

>months to see how the enchondroma is looking. I see my doctor tomorrow for

>a prescription for Methotrexate. Ok, now I'm scared. I can't be in denial

>any longer. That's that. Now, anyone got any pep talk " ish " kind of advise

>for me?

>

>Debbie Mc

>

June 11, 2002

Hi Debbie - I go to my first rheumotologist appt. this week and I too am

scared. I have such mixed feelings inside. I both need and want help

as I have recently had no quality of life at all. I am dealing with both

pain & depression. And yet I am scard to go to my appt. and find out that

there really is something there. It will be difficult to deal with for me.

I have been thru this with my son who has special needs and multiple dx's.

Even though he has been receiving dx's since two years old, everytime we get

a new one, it can feel like starting over again. This means for me that I

have to do research on his new dx and learn everything I can about it so I

can help him.

There is a part of me that wants to be in denial right now & I'm afraid my

eyes will be opened this week. At the same time I worked hard to get my

appt. moved up from August to June - so go figure.

I guess I cant have it both ways. I think for me the unknown can be worse

than knowing what I am dealing with -as I find knowledge to be empowering.

Uncertainty can be really scary!!

I wish you the best!

Blessings,

C.

>From: " Schmidt " <karenanne_71@...>

>Reply-

>

>Subject: Re: [ ] I see my doctor tomorrow.

>Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 07:25:04 -0400

>

>Hi Debbie -

>

>I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. As far as pep talks go, I can tell

>you that I always tell myself that a diagnosis is no big deal. Its not

>like

>you get the illness because its been diagnosed, its always been there, now

>they just have a name for it and can help you treat it appropriately. As

>far as the mtx is concerned, I just tell myself that it will help me in the

>long run. Right now its kind of crappy and I'm not seeing any real

>benefit,

>but eventually it will probably help. I'm not sure if it was the mental

>pep

>talks or the Celexa that helped, but I seem to be coping a little better

>now. My doctor prescribed Celexa, an anti-depressant, because I was so

>completely overwhelmed after I was diagnosed and decided to take the mtx.

>If the pep talks don't help, its another good option. Take care - in

>virginia

>

> >From: " Debbie Mc " <angelrose@...>

> >Reply-

> >< >

> >Subject: [ ] I see my doctor tomorrow.

> >Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 18:37:40 -0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)

> >

> >Well, I got the word from my doctor finally that my Rheumy has confirmed

> >the

> >diagnosis of RA. I have to go for more x-rays of my hands again in 3

> >months to see how the enchondroma is looking. I see my doctor tomorrow

>for

> >a prescription for Methotrexate. Ok, now I'm scared. I can't be in

>denial

> >any longer. That's that. Now, anyone got any pep talk " ish " kind of

>advise

> >for me?

> >

> >Debbie Mc

> >

June 12, 2002

Hi Debbie,

I have been reading most of today and not posting too much, but I just wanted

to throw my 2 cents in too.

When I was first diagnosed with RA some 8 years ago, they put me on MTX. I

was scared to death of the long term possibilities. I had every side effect

mentioned to the max. I had terrible mouth sores, explosive diarrhea, severe

nausea, the whole gamut. Well, finally I complained enough about my fears to

the doctor and she took me off of it. At the time, I was very relieved, or

so I thought. For a very long two years, I suffered with major pain and

bounced around from rheumy to rheumy. When I went to this rheumy, it was

kinda a last ditch effort and now I have been with him for several years.

When they put me on Enbrel, it was also a tough decision given the long list

of possible side effects and other things. However, I don't think I ever

experienced any of the side effects and it worked pretty well for me for

about two years.

I guess the bottom line is that understanding and possible side effects and

possible long term problems is all a part of this disease. Your doctor seems

to " listen " to you and not just " hear " you, which is very important. When

the time is right, you will make the decision that is right for you. We all

have our own little " demons " to overcome. Unfortunately,

with most diseases that require medicinal intervention there is a trade off

with relief and side effects.

I wish I was more knowledgeable in this category, all I can offer is my own

personal opinion. Hope the prednisone gives you some much needed relief.

Gentle, tender, angel hugs,

Debs in FL

June 12, 2002

and Debbie,

It really is better to know than be in the dark, in pain, and untreated.

Debbie, I started methotrexate in late January of this year. I too was

scared to death to take it. The prednisone was working, I felt good, why

take another potent drug with scary side effects?

a is right. It is an old standby drug of choice. Doctors know alot

about it and it is well tolerated by many.

At my appointment yesterday, my rheumy was telling me that 1/3 of patients

given methotrexate have great results, get better and go on. Another 1/3 get

about a 50 percent improvement while the last 1/3 gain no benefit at all. So

he knows going in with a new patient that the chances are the patient has a

2/3's chance of having a beneficial experience with mtx. I would put myself

somewhere between the " get better and go on " and the " 50 percent

improvement " groups.

Like a, I take it at night, in my case on Friday night, so it won't

interfere with a work day. I've never really had a bad reaction that I know

of. A coworker recommended Equate brand Imodium AD to control nausea, but I

never experienced nausea so haven't tried it to see if it works. She went

through radiation and chemo and she swears the Imodium works.

Are you taking anything now to help with pain and stiffness, or will mtx be

your only treatment? In my case, it took 3 months or so to kick in and we

had to increase the dosage from 7.5 mg. to 10 mg. for better effect.

Good luck, and let us know how you are doing.

Suzanne

[ ] I see my doctor tomorrow.

> Well, I got the word from my doctor finally that my Rheumy has confirmed

the

> diagnosis of RA. I have to go for more x-rays of my hands again in 3

> months to see how the enchondroma is looking. I see my doctor tomorrow

for

> a prescription for Methotrexate. Ok, now I'm scared. I can't be in

denial

> any longer. That's that. Now, anyone got any pep talk " ish " kind of

advise

> for me?

June 12, 2002

Hi Suzanne,

Well, I chickened out on the Metho. Instead he is giving me low dose

prednisone to make me feel better rite away, and then I see him again in 3

weeks. I told him I was scared to try the Metho, so he offered me this as a

short turn alternative. He said that he won't keep me on it for long cause

of risk of Ostioperosis. I also had a bone scan done today too so he can

monitor how I'm doing.

I'm really mad at myself for chickening out. And after reading your reply,

it is encouraging that it has such a good likelyhood of having it help.

Debbie Mc

-- Re: [ ] I see my doctor tomorrow.