Re: New Diagnosis and Very Scared Christy

[Guest guest]

Hi Christy:

Welcome to the group - the people here are very

supportive and caring, and we truly do know what you

are going through. When I was dx 7 years ago with RA

(I also have Fibro, OA, and Raynaud's), my kids were

12 and 15, and I was lucky that they could take care

of a lot of things themselves. It was still a big

adjustment because they were involved in so many

school activities, etc., but they have both become

such a big help to me, and my husband as well.

It takes a while sometimes to find the right

medications to help, and I have been on many meds

through the years. Right now, I am on Methotrexate,

Ultram ER, Mobic, and Enbrel, and these seem to be

keeping my RA in pretty good control. Now we are

working on getting the fibro under control too.

I have gotten so much from this group - so much help

in dealing with RA and all that it brings to our

lives, and how it can and will change your life. I

have been here 4 years and still learn new things

daily. I am sure that you will get a lot out of being

here with us too -

Best of luck with the Remicade - I hope it is your

miracle drug -

Kathe in CA

--- christyhfl <chamby33@...> wrote:

> Hello everyone, my name is Christy and I am a 34

> year old single mom

> of 2 VERY active little boys (8) and (11). I was

> diagnosed with RA

> last year after sudden inflammation and swelling of

> both wrists. I

> was sent to a Rheumatologist the next week and my

> blood work has

> been all out of whack ever since. I currently take

> Methotrexate and

> Folic Acid and some kind of other med for the hair

> thinning and loss

> that has been associated with the Methotrexate. I

> can't think of

> the name of that med right now. My doctor called

> Monday and told me

> that my Liver enzymes were elevated and for me to

> cut the MTX in

> half for now and do more bloodwork next week. He

> had planned to

> wait until October to begin Remicade treatments but

> he scheduled me

> for an appointment on September 18th instead. I

> have done some

> research on the Remicade and I know that it is given

> by IV and how

> often, but I am curious as to whether they leave an

> access port in

> or if they start from the beginning each time. I

> really am pretty

> nervous about this treatment because of the risk of

> serious

> infections. Can anyone give me some advice on this

> medication and

> it's side effects.

>

> I am learning to deal with the effects of the RA

> (trying anyway).

> My kids don't seem to understand sometimes but they

> are very

> supportive and they help me out alot on my bad days.

> They are my

> biggest concern with living with RA. I don't want

> to limit their

> teenage years and the activities that go along with

> them. Sorry, I

> just need to talk about it sometimes with those who

> understand what

> I am going through and the messages from this group

> have been very

> helpful so far. Thanks for listening!!

>

>

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