Good news, Noreen!

[Guest guest]

Noreen, it's great to hear that you are doing well. Please don't feel as

if you need to keep good news to yourself. People here need to know that

it is realistic to hope for improvement and that they do not have to

fear the meds.

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[ ] Re: New members

> Wow, there seems to be a bunch of new people lately. I hope this

doesn't

> mean there's an epidemic of new RA patients.

> Anyway, hi to all the new members.

>

> To , on the meds.

>

> I'm new to RA myself, but lived with my Dad suffering for years. The

best

> they could offer him, was gold shots,. and that never seemed to do

much

> good. I saw his hands and feet twist, watched him unable to turn his

head,

> and pretty much be housebound for the last 10 years of his life. He

was

> complicated by emphysema, which may or may not have been made worse by

the

> RA, which can cause lung problems too.

>

> I want to be able to live and do things as long as I can. It's a

matter of

> quality of life. I would make the best of it, no matter what my

health

> turns out like, but if there is something out there that has a chance

of

> making my life better, why not take it? Side effects always have to be

> weighed, but I know for sure what the effects of RA are. If I have to

try

> different things before one works, OK, but it's worth trying.

>

> I started on a mild one, minocyline, which didn't do a thing, except

make me

> loopy, so I moved up.

>

> I have been on methyltrexate now since about April. I'm getting the

shots,

> so no stomach problems, and I'm on folate daily. So far no side

effects, but

> I really am feeling better. (Almost makes me feel sheepish to tell

people

> here that, since so many are so much worse off.) I too have thin hair,

and

> have worried about hair loss, but I'll keep taking the folate and do

what I

> can.

> Methyltrexate is chemo drug and has side effects, but I think every

drug out

> there has potential side effects. (Note the commercials on TV) Whether

or

> not you get them depends on your individual system, and if you do have

> problems, you can stop taking it (with your doctor's help of course)

> The treatments may be scary, but the realities of RA are scarier.

>

> Noreen