Re: When you're not in remission?

[Guest guest]

My doctor says I'm in remission, with the exception of the joints

next to my achilles tendon. I laugh because I don't think a drug

induced remission is really remission. I am for a good portion of

the time, symptomless. I don't have visible swelling or redness, I

can get up and function well right away, I don't have to limp

around. I still have some mornings with some stiffness for 1/2 hour

or less. If I over do it, you can bet I will be in pain; and it is

very easy to over do it. I still have a lot of fatigue and would

benefit from taking a nap every day if I could manage the time for

it.

Before I was in " remission " I was stiff every morning for 2-4 hours

and in some sort of pain most of the time, and had visible swelling.

It is possible for medication to get your RA more under control than

yours is right now. A lot of people experience some benefit from MTX

but not complete " drug induced remission " as I call it. There are

some who do though, and that is one of the reasons that insurance

companies require that we all try MTX or plaquinil before the really

expensive biological drugs.

I don't think the medication will get rid of everything we experience

with RA, but it should do two things: 1) make us functional so we can

live our daily lives (even though we can't always do what we used to

be able to do) and 2) keep us from having joint destruction that

leads to disability. You need to let your rheumy know how the MTX is

doing for you, so he/she can decide if you need to stick with it or

try something else.

Jennie

> When you're not in remission are you always sore and stiff? Or is

> medication supposed to help get rid of all of that? I have been

taking

> MTX, started out with 4 a week and three weeks ago started on 6 a

> week.It has been about 2 1/2 months now since I started on MTX. I

know

> it has helped some. I only take one hydrocodone, for pain a day, at

> night when I go to bed. It is the lowest dose.

> I am pretty new here and try to read all the entries everyday. I

don't

> get a chance to write often because I read this at work. I don't

have

> the net at home yet.

> Thanks for any info that will help.

>

> Beth

[Guest guest]

Beth, I'm in pretty much the same shape as Jennie. I have minor

stiffness in the morning that usually goes away by the time I get out

of the shower. I have just enough little aches and pains during the

day to remind me that the RA is still lurking around out there, even

though the meds seem to have it under control for the moment. The

only thing that keeps me from feeling like my old self is the

fatigue. It's not overwhelming, but I do run out of energy a lot

faster than before.

The MTX made a huge difference for me. I got results from it almost

immediately, but I think that's very unusual. From what I've read

here, it takes most people several weeks or even months. Before

that, I had stiffness and a lot more pain everyday, and I thought the

same thing as you: Maybe this is just the way it's going to be? But

it is much better now. Just keep talking to your doctor, and

hopefully you'll be able to find the right combination of meds to

help you feel better.

> > When you're not in remission are you always sore and stiff? Or is

> > medication supposed to help get rid of all of that? I have been

> taking

> > MTX, started out with 4 a week and three weeks ago started on 6 a

> > week.It has been about 2 1/2 months now since I started on MTX. I

> know

> > it has helped some. I only take one hydrocodone, for pain a day,

at

> > night when I go to bed. It is the lowest dose.

> > I am pretty new here and try to read all the entries everyday. I

> don't

> > get a chance to write often because I read this at work. I don't

> have

> > the net at home yet.

> > Thanks for any info that will help.

> >

> > Beth

[Guest guest]

I was extremely ill for 2 years with mine, I was nearly totally bedridden and

dependant most of that time, (I had no insurance, I was unable to get treatement

and all my toes, ankles, knees, fingers and wrists were " sausage-like "

excruciatingly painful, even a spot in my throat was affected. Finally my

Medicare kicked in and I started mtx. I started it in Feb and slowly I was able

to walk around and be up and about some. I no longer screamed nonstop. I still

needed help with most tasks, but- I was happy to be up at all. Slowly slowly I

got more and more mobility, and I decided to take our first ever vacation. By

June we were out east and by the ocean etc. I noticed while I was there- in

June that I no longer cried from pain at all. Ever. I was getting around,

alone, oh I was slow, VERY slow and weak, BUT I was doing things by myself! It

took from first week of Feb till 2nd week of June to reach this point, but let

me tell you, I was SO very excited!

Maybe it was the mtx, maybe vacation had something to do with it? Before my RA

hit me so hard I had been working 2 full time jobs for over 20 years.

(waitressing and nursing)

DUmmy me even forgot to take my mtx last week. GRRR I took it last nite and

today I noticed my fingers already are swelling again, my wrists are getting

back nodules that had disappeared and my toes hurt badly. Is it from missing my

dose last week? Is it from being back hom in the midst of chaos again?

I will say before mtx I slept as much as I could in between screaming- and since

the mtx I nap every single day and sleep more at nite than I ever did in my

life, (but truth is I did not sleep much before, so any sleep is almost more

than I used to get, LOL)

I never did have pain meds.....not until May of this year, but by then, I no

longer really needed them. My doc gave them to me when he realized he had never

given me any all along, yeesh. Before the mtx I survived and risked my body by

taking enormous amounts of ibuprofen.

That was the only thing I could get that gave any semblance of relief.

Yes, I consider June and July remission here....absolutely. I do not care what

brought it on, it felt GREAT!

- In , " " <dumbblondejogger@y...> wrote:

> Beth, I'm in pretty much the same shape as Jennie. I have minor

> stiffness in the morning that usually goes away by the time I get out

> of the shower. I have just enough little aches and pains during the

> day to remind me that the RA is still lurking around out there, even

> though the meds seem to have it under control for the moment. The

> only thing that keeps me from feeling like my old self is the

> fatigue. It's not overwhelming, but I do run out of energy a lot

> faster than before.

>

> The MTX made a huge difference for me. I got results from it almost

> immediately, but I think that's very unusual. From what I've read

> here, it takes most people several weeks or even months. Before

> that, I had stiffness and a lot more pain everyday, and I thought the

> same thing as you: Maybe this is just the way it's going to be? But

> it is much better now. Just keep talking to your doctor, and

> hopefully you'll be able to find the right combination of meds to

> help you feel better.

>

>

>

>

>

> > > When you're not in remission are you always sore and stiff? Or is

> > > medication supposed to help get rid of all of that? I have been

> > taking

> > > MTX, started out with 4 a week and three weeks ago started on 6 a

> > > week.It has been about 2 1/2 months now since I started on MTX. I

> > know

> > > it has helped some. I only take one hydrocodone, for pain a day,

> at

> > > night when I go to bed. It is the lowest dose.

> > > I am pretty new here and try to read all the entries everyday. I

> > don't

> > > get a chance to write often because I read this at work. I don't

> > have

> > > the net at home yet.

> > > Thanks for any info that will help.

> > >

> > > Beth