Re: Irish in Japan. sorry, it's long...

[Guest guest]

Wow! How interesting, AnneMarie!

Do you speak Japanese? Why Japan for a job over elsewhere? Too many

questions? heehee Thanks for the brief bio...I find other people's lives

awfully

interesting........nosey, I guess. Cary

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group, AnneMarie!

Thanks so much for sharing your story. Sorry that your plans for a

family and MTX are at odds. I hope that your hands and wrists will calm

down soon.

Maybe you'll become pregnant and be one of the lucky ones who

experiences remission while you're carrying your child.

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[ ] Irish in Japan. sorry, it's long...

> > That's an intriguing combination, AnneMarie! Are you from Ireland?

How

> do

> > you like Japan? I'm so curious now! Cary

>

> Yeah, I'm Irish and came out here to work, oh, 11 years ago. Met

someone and

> got married after 3 years and have been here ever since.

> I can't remember if I ever introduced myself here.

> RA was first mentioned December 2002 by a rheumy here (The same guy

has an

> orthopaedic clinic and I went there thinking I had tendinitis or

> something..., boy, was I in shock. My husband was with me and when we

left

> the hospital after X-rays and blood tests, I said : " I'll cry later. "

We

> went about our business, went home, had dinner, watched a film and hey

> presto... delayed shock)

>

> My symptoms were and are fairly mild (touch wood). Only in wrists and

hands

> and while my finger joints are achey and every now and then are

painful,

> (rather like a mole in the garden - sticks its head up every so often)

the

> continuous problem is that my wrists seem to be swollen. We went home

to

> Ireland at Xmas and I, out of stupidity or stubbornness, decided that

I

> could handle my own suitcase, thank you very much...

> My wrists have been swollen and sore since then...At first I tried to

> protect the right one by resting it (you should rest tendinitis,

right?) but

> then it froze on me. I couldn't bring chopsticks to my mouth without

some

> very bad table manners - elbow half way across the table, and the

rheumy

> said that yes, for tendinitis it needs rest, but if it is the joint,

then

> you have to move it - so I ended up with rehab. exercises. It was

rather

> funny, actually (the eating trials).

>

> I'm currently on 5mg prednisolon, and 1500mg AzulfidineEN a day.

> Ideally the rheumy wants me on MTX but as we're trying for kids, we're

> holding off on that one.

>

> After all that, Cary, yes, I like it here. LOL

> We live down in Kyushu, the southernmost of the four big islands, it's

> currently about 35C every day, 25C at night, very humid and that's

killing

> me. The air conditioner air is also really painful on my hands and

wrists so

> it's a matter of trying to find a compromise.

>

> Japan is behind the States by a year or two on approving new medicines

and I

> don't know anybody else here who has RA so I've nobody to compare

notes

> with.

> I joined here just after I went to the rheumy the first time.

>

> Anyway, take care everyone

> AnneMarie