(No subject)

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am new to the group. I actually came across this group as a part of an " intro

to the Internet " class. We had to join a ListServ. I found and joined a group

of them (most of them had little or no activity). The class is over and I

unsubscribed to all but this one.

I was initially diagnosed with RA in 1995, but was then told I didn't have RA,

but did have a strep infection in my joints and was put on Penicillin for 30

days. The infection and pain in my joints all went away.

Then in 1999 all of the pain and problems came back (with a vengeance). My

doctor ran the usual tests and decided that I had Lupus.... " the blood tests

indicated " that I had Lupus. So, my Dr. put me on prednisone. Four days after

my initial dose, I woke up, jumped out of bed and fell over and hit the wall

(literally)....I had lost all of my equilibrium. I was in such pain that I was

put on ketoprofen 50 mg. three times a day just so I could get some sleep

Then I started seeing " bumps " on my wrists and forearms, next my fingers on both

hands were starting to tingle and feel numb (RA induced carpal tunnel). My Dr.

sent me to a Rheumatologist. By this time I was in real bad shape, I could

hardly get up and it took me about five minutes to walk 50 feet. (If I sat on

the floor, my job sometimes requires me to get there, it was extremely painful

to get there, it took me about 5 minutes to get up) I walked into the examining

room (about three minutes after the nurse). The rheumatologist took one look at

me and asked about my symptoms, when I got to the bumps, he said RA and by the

way, those are called nodules.

He put me on mtx, plaquanil, and sulfasalizine. That was in Sept. of 1999 and I

have been doing fairly well since then, the nodules went away, the carpal tunnel

is pretty much non-existent (a little tingle occasionally in my right hand).

About the only side affects are a little hair lose, dry mouth/skin/eyes, and IF

I take the sulfasalizine too late I get heart burn (ranitidine for that).

I have read alot of postings and have found comfort in the fact that I'm not

alone. Thank you all so very much for giving me that.

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