Guest guest Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 Mark, If your finger is already starting to get crooked, it is my opinion that the doctor needs to be more aggressive in your treatment and add in another DMARD to keep joint damage from happening. I would suggest that you call your rheumy and tell him/her what is going on. Remember it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. Good luck! Sue On Sep 29, 2010, at 7:13 PM, mark wrote: > Hi, First time posting, been lurking more than anything Here's > the question that I seem to have a hard time getting an answer from > my Rheumatologist. I appear to be in the early stages of RA and the > doc has me on the methletrexate, occasionally prednisone to help > with pain, and also lodiene, .... at least till the meth kicks > in ... 12 weeks and waiting .... the knuckle on my middle finger > on the left hand has been extremely swollen and is now starting to > disfigure ... or simply is starting to get crooked. Is there anyway > to prevent the progression of this ?? I am a guitar player who's > career has come to a crashin halt because of the pain and swelling, > and am hoping that this isn't the end of my pickin n grinnin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2010 Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 I second that, Sue. Mark, call your rheumatologist. He/she needs to take action now - increase the methotrexate, add another DMARD, something. Does he/she know you are a guitarist? If you don't think your rheumatologist is good at communicating with you and/or isn't treating you aggressively enough, find another. Not an MD On Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 6:49 PM, marysue <marysue@...> wrote: > Mark, > > If your finger is already starting to get crooked, it is my opinion > that the doctor needs to be more aggressive in your treatment and add > in another DMARD to keep joint damage from happening. I would suggest > that you call your rheumy and tell him/her what is going on. Remember > it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. Good luck! > > Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2010 Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 Roselyn, Plaquenil is one of the mildest RA drugs. If your fingers are still hurting and are beginning to get deformed, you should be on something stronger. Joint damage is irreversible. Maybe you could try Arava, or maybe it's time to think about a biologic. I'm sorry that you're still having so much trouble. Sue On Sep 30, 2010, at 10:16 AM, Roselyn wrote: > > Mark, I can really empathize with your problem. I play sax in 3 > groups, and am having the same problem with one or two joints. > Guitar is probably harder on your fingers, but my hands hurt just > from holding my sax sometimes. I couldn't take mtx, just take > plaquenil and low doses of prednisone. See my doc in a few weeks > and want something done!!! > > Good luck. Hope you find the right med to stop the pain & joint > swelling. > > Roselyn in Louisiana > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.