New to Group & Sleep Aids

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm Elaine. I'm a psychiatric nurse (part-time) and a home school Mom.

I've had mild to moderate RA for a number of years. It took a number

of years to be diagnosed. I kept complaining of joint pain and

tiredness. My doctor would do some X-rays and test for RA factor and

tell me I had some osteoarthritis. Finally I tested + for RA factor.

Once I was medicated the tiredness magically disappeared.

Unfortunately, every RA medication I've taken so far has alleviated my

pain and tiredness but caused some side effect that's caused me to

stop taking it.

About sleep aids. We use them regularly for our patients in psychiatry

at the hospital where I work. Melatonin works for some people. We use

trazadone (Desyrel) a lot. It's an antidepressant that made people so

sleepy that most people quit taking it for depression. Everyone has

different reactions to medications, but often people who take this

medication find they must take it relatively early as it seems to last

awhile and leave one feeling very tired in the morning if taken too

late. The dose required really seems to vary among my patients. Of

course, many of them are dealing with lots of emotional issues. We do

prescribe Ambien if these or other meds (antipsychotics) don't work.

I know how frustrating the medication and treatment issues can be. My

daughter has 1 or 2 anxiety disorders and OCD and it took several

years to get her on medications that worked. Part of the problem was

her youth & concerns about medications, but I had to keep pushing the

doctor's to reevaluate her medications. They finally added Anafranil,

after 1 -2 years for the OCD but only because I got a different doctor

one particular visit (I think). Seroquel was added for anxiety after

another year when I finally asked about it. I wish she didn't need all

these meds, but now she feels better and has a life.

I'm going to start Enbrel in the next day or two. I hope my body can

tolerate it.

Blessings, Elaine