Re: Autoimmune Questions? - and new to RA

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/9/2008 8:03:37 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

Jolenefive@... writes:

ummm why would we stay away from stuff that should help us improve our

immune system. Maybe i read this wrong?

Hello,

I have recently joined this list after being diagnosed with RA at 64. I've

also had Crohn's for a very long time.

I believe it says right on the echinacea bottle to not use it if you have an

auto-immune disease. My doctor told me I could use it for a short time if I

was getting a cold, but not to use it all the time.

I was put on 25 mg of Prednisone 2.5 weeks ago, changed to 20 mg on

Wednesday.

I did my first dose of Methotrexate on Monday. 6 pills. Monday, I had a

headache, Tuesday, extreme fatigue, headache and felt like my head was stuffed

with straw. I was surprised when I could actually think or remember anything.

Wednesday, more of the same. I teach a line dancing class Wednesday evening. We

start out slow and easy and work our way up to more difficult. Once the

endorphins kicked in, I felt great. But after a couple of hours, my chest felt

like something was swollen in it. Pressure around the heart and lungs. That

lasted most of the day on Thursday as well. Thursday night I danced a little

again and felt great afterwards. Like a fog had finally lifted. This morning, I

awakened after six hours of sleep with a rapid heart beat.

The rapid heart beat started a little even before I started the MTX.

Does anyone else have side-effects in their chest?

Before my diagnosis, I had some TMJ problems. It was new to me and has gone

away with the prednisone.

I've already gotten a lot of information from this list. I wish I had

started the MTX Sunday evening, but I didn't.

dd

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[Guest guest]

<<ummm why would we stay away from stuff that should help us improve our immune

system. Maybe i read this wrong?>>

These things boost the immune system- which is what is causing us problems- so

boosting it is like giving weapons to the enemy. What we really need is a way to

" re-set " the immune system so it would do what it is supposed to do, which is

defend our bodies from infection and foreign invaders.

Unfortunately, herbs like Echinacea is out for folks with autoimmune disorders.

~Marie