Re: To , , Bonnie and all who welcomed me

[Guest guest]

Hi Lori, I think my dr used to be somewhere up there. I know her nurse has a

good handle on the Central IL scene for rheumatology. If you want to give them

a jingle their # is 217 378-4800. I think it took us about an hr to get to

Kankakee from Champaign, which I don't think is too bad. One thing I like about

Dr. Craddock is that she really takes her time. I think our first appt was

close to an hr.

I have hypothyroidism too as well as PCOS. We were juggling all 3 diagnoses as

I went through infertility treatment to have this baby.

You mentioned you tried biologics. Did any of them work? I know the side

effects can be intimidating, but I guess I cope with them through a healthy dose

of denial. I figure that Enbrel gives me back my life, so if there is some

complication down the road, we'll just have to deal with it, even if it's a

biggie like lymphoma. I'd rather be fully functional and then get cancer than

live indefinitely in pain. Maybe that's nuts, I dunno, but I try to push the

risks out of my mind.

best,

Kate F

[ ] To , , Bonnie and all who welcomed me

Greetings

Thank you for your reply. I live in Kankakee which I would venture to

guess-that is not too far from you. I have tried the biologicals with

the exception of Orencia and the other older drugs. My doctor is from

Rush in Chicago, but I have not had much success with her. I was

diagnosed with RA in 1995, but I also have hypothyroidism which

complicates everything. Even further complicating the situation is a

fall I had back in December in the kitchen; as you would imagine, my

pain has increased dramatically. I'm frightened of long-term usage

of these medications, so that is why I give the drugs a limited amount

of time to work. I'm concerned these prescriptions are doing more

harm than good. Currently, I just take Prednisone for pain Do you

have any thoughts? Again, thank you for your kind reply and I look

forward to hearing from you.

Most Sincerely,

Lori

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Lori -- Kankakee is about midway between Champaign and where I

live, on the north side of Chicago. I used to drive past it

frequently as my son went to college in Champaign.

There are a number of rheumatologists at Rush - if you don't like

the one you are working with you should change. I saw a Dr. Calivn

Brown there. He wasn't the most personable, but I think he was smart

and thorough. You need to have confidence and good communication

with your doctor -- but you need to work with him/her also. I

understand being scared of long term use of medications, but long

term 'non use' is just scarier -- you will deterioriate. You need to

find medication that works for you. And you probably need to give it

more time to be effective, and to get past some of the side effects.

When I first started the plaquenil and minocin that I take, I was

nauseated and had bad stomach pains. I did get used to the medicine

and the worst of it passed. My doc said it takes about 4-6 months

for these medicines to build up enough to get the full effect. I am

feeling much better now -- but I did think about stopping at one

point. There are many different medicines to try, but you need to

really try them -- give them a chance to work, tell the doc what

side effects and/or relief you are getting, and figure out what you

can live with.

Do not sit back and do nothing. Do your own research, find some

referrals, get a doc you can talk to, and get back on a treatment

plan. Email if you want to talk offline.

Bonnie

> Greetings

> Thank you for your reply. I live in Kankakee which I would

venture to

> guess-that is not too far from you. I have tried the biologicals

with

> the exception of Orencia and the other older drugs. My doctor is

from

> Rush in Chicago, but I have not had much success with her. I was

> diagnosed with RA in 1995, but I also have hypothyroidism which

> complicates everything. Even further complicating the situation

is a

> fall I had back in December in the kitchen; as you would imagine,

my

> pain has increased dramatically. I'm frightened of long-term

usage

> of these medications, so that is why I give the drugs a limited

amount

> of time to work. I'm concerned these prescriptions are doing more

> harm than good. Currently, I just take Prednisone for pain Do you

> have any thoughts? Again, thank you for your kind reply and I look

> forward to hearing from you.

> Most Sincerely,

> Lori

>