Stefanie

July 10, 2002

Stefanie, don't feel guilty about not posting. The majority of our

members do not routinely post. But we're always happy to hear from

anyone who feels up to writing or who wishes to ask a question or

contribute. I often wonder and worry about those who never say a word. I

hope nobody fears jumping right in.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I hope you continue to feel better

than you did in Ireland.

Here are some links on RA and pregnancy that may be of interest:

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3259.htm

http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eobgyn/mfm/PatientEd/Arthritis.html

http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/1680.50442

http://www.ama-assn.org/special/womh/library/scan/vol_5/no_17/barrett.htm

Whether the rheumatoid factor (RF) is positive or negative, you can have

RA. Truth be told, the usefulness of the test is terribly limited. The

diagnosis is largely a clinical one and can be made without a positive

RF. Up to 30% of RA patients don't have a positive RF. And people who

don't have RA can have a positive RF.

I have never seen anything definitive about the value of the RF before,

during, and after pregnancy. I'm not sure they have much data on that,

but, if I find anything, I'll post it. Once an RA diagnosis has been

established, most rheumatologists don't routinely repeat the RF test;

however, it is understandable if a physician reruns the test when the

diagnosis is still in question, especially in those with a consistently

negative RF.

Could it have been something other than RA? Yes. Misdiagnosis in the

realm of rheumatic disease happens very often. And the early symptoms of

RA are common to many other conditions.

Yes, remission can occur with or without meds, but, I always wonder:

Remission from what exactly? Was the diagnosis correct in the first

place?

[ ] question....

> I feel bad for never posting to this group but I have

> a question and was wondering if anyone could help me.

>

> I was diagnosed with RA last year (after waiting the

> suitable time for transient arthritis) and had a

> pretty bad time with it at first. After going on

> Vioxx and preds (7.5 pretty low dose), I was better

> but still had some pain, low-grade fever, etc.

>

> I moved back to Texas (from Ireland) and started

> feeling much better. I ran out of my pred and Vioxx

> prescription and it took such a long time for a Rheum

> Dr to see me that I ended up on no meds for quite a

> while. Even with that, I felt much better than I had

> while in Ireland and on 2 meds. I still had pain and

> redness once in a while but not like it was before.

> Is it possible to go into such a remission even with

> no meds...or do you think it was something other than

> RA all along?

>

> Now I am pregnant and feeling fine (the Ob said that

> it is common with RA patients to go into remission

> with pg). I was tested for the RA factor and it is

> still negative (has been ever since diagnosed). How

> many of you are still sero - after a long time? How

> long does it take for this to usually show up as + in

> the blood? Also, would pregnancy cause you to be -

> when you were + before?

>

> Thanks very much for your help and I hope everyone is

> having a good and pain free day :-)

>

> Stef

January 26, 2010

Deb is right .. the true message is that you need to get help..

if you need assistance finding it, please let the group know because

despite our silly bantering we do have a wealth of information

In a message dated 1/26/2010 8:52:00 A.M. Mountain Standard Time,

agapeangel9@... writes:

You folks got very distracted from your origional goal of trying to help

Stefani; Ihope she is ok as we haven't heard from her.

Deb Babcock

Being the best " me " I can be

________________________________

From: rosedragon <_rosedragon@chartermrosed_

(mailto:rosedragon@...) >

_PainInTheNeck-PainInTheNeck-<WPain_

(mailto:neck pain )

Sent: Tue, January 26, 2010 9:36:34 AM

Subject: Re: [PainInTheNeck-Subject: Re: [PainInTheNeck-<WBR>Back]

Annie...going with that line of thinking there should be no

capital punishment, no one should kill another person in

self defense or war, and no one should hunt or kill an

animal, right?

It says Thou shalt not kill. It does not say " except in

this or that circumstance " .

See how " interpretive " the Bible can be?

Re: [PainInTheNeck- Back] pain i my back

At 09:11 PM 1/23/2010, you wrote:

>

>I have a therapest but all she wants me to do is voulnter for work.

>I tell Her my back is fired and I can not do any kind of work. If I

>could work I would not need to be on insurance disablity Right. She

>just doesn't get it....

your right, but I also agree it sounds like deep depression. I've

been there. I was seriously considering walking in front of a train.

I've been on many anti-depressants. The one that has done the most

good for me is the one I'm currently on, Pristiq. Before that I was

basically bed-ridden at age 47. I just turned 49 last month. I went

into a deep depression when I finally got my SSI disability. I

thought I would be celibrating in the streets after fighting for it

for so many years. But it finally hit me that at age 47 my life as I

knew it was over. My wife and I had owned and operated our own Photo

Studio for 15 years. We worked close together for that whole time.

Now I don't work, I'm in chronic pain, chronic insomnia, and I'm home

alone 80% of the time.

I've got a lot of help from this forum and the good people here. It

also helped me to get a laptop, it's my connection to the world. and

finally I recent got some hope with some relief given by seeing a

Medical Massage Therapist. He has reduced my pain more than any other

treatment or medicine in the past 10 years. I'm still on 24x7 pain

relievers, but he has given me some hope. So hang in there, try

different options. Having contact with people you can relate to

really helps, so does a pet. I'd be lost without my cat and Bunny. Dave

January 26, 2010