Re: New Here and a little about me

[Guest guest]

Welcome, Vicki. I am so sorry to hear about your son. I have a sister

who is bipolar and also suffers from depression and psychosis. She has

attempted to take her life on 3 different occasions. It is hard to see

a loved one going through something like this. I can't begin to

imagine how it must feel to lose one of your children like that. I

pray you have sought comfort in God, knowing that your son's inner

turmoil is at peace now. May God Bless you and your family.

Like you, I also have RA and FMS and can fully understand the pain

associated with both. I have yet to find a combination of meds that

will put me into remission. I've been taking part in a clinical study,

but I honestly believe I have been one of the unfortunate ones who is

getting the placebo as I have not seen any relief in the past three

months. I don't have insurance and I am waiting on approval from SSD.

I understand your struggle with wanting to keep being able to afford

the meds you are taking. The only consolation for me is knowing that

as soon as the judicial process is done taking their sweet time, I

will have the funds and medicare to prayerfully find the relief I so

desperately want and need.

Anyway - you have come to the right place. There are a lot of loving,

caring people on here and the information and support is more than I

could have ever hoped for.............Doreen

I am 47 years old and from Iowa. I was diagnosed with RA and

fibromalgia by my family doctor approximately two years ago. I have

since also been seen by a Rheumatologist from Sioux Falls South Dakota

who confirmed the diagnosis but also added severe osteoporosis

commencing from a complete hysterectomy at age 29. Which meant the 20

mg daily of prednisone had to be excluded from my treatment plan as

this also weakens bones. At this time I am on MTX, Humira twice

monthly and oxycontin, Lyrica, and Vicodin all twice daily for the

pain, and ambien for sleep as the pain sometimes either wakes me up or

keeps me awake. As you can imagine there are days when I can hardly

function from all of the meds but you would also know the pain the

comes from not taking them.

I am a restaurant Manager for Burger King in Storm Lake Iowa,

struggling to keep my job, and not have to go on disability as it

would not cover me current bills. I have two surviving daughters,

Heidi and . Heidi and Her husband , live close to me.

Heidi is a stay at home mother, while her husband is an Iowa State

Trooper. They have twin boys, Carson and who are 6. and

her husband live in North Dakota where she runs her own day care

center and is Manager for TG Fridays. They have three children,

Breanna 8, Devon 5 and Logan 3. My son , was Bi Polar and took

his own life in November of 2000 at the age of 17.

My husband Tim works in Spencer Iowa where he is an Auto Body Tech for

Chevrolet.

I guess what I am looking for here is friendship from those who

understand the pain and difficulties endured by RA patients and

fibromalgia. Learning new ways to cope and what has worked for others

that may work for me. My computer time is somewhat limited but I can

and will be on as much as possible, hopefully sharing my own

experiences and maybe helping others along the way.

In Friendship

Vicki Heckroth

, Iowa

[Guest guest]

Vickey and group;

Welcome to our humble group Vickey... Wow Vickey I would give

anything for oxycontin... My doctor won't give any pain meds,,, she

said she treats the disease not the symptons.. My heart fell when she

said that, however; She has taken good care of me.. I take humira

injections,, plaquenil ,, and sulfasalizine.. The humira has given

me so much freedom now.

I hope you enjoy our group as much as I have. Praying for pain free

days.. God bless and take care.

gentle hugs

Clora

> I am 47 years old and from Iowa. I was diagnosed with RA and

fibromalgia by my family doctor approximately two years ago. I have

since also been seen by a Rheumatologist from Sioux Falls South

[Guest guest]

Vicki,

If there is anything that I have found in this group, frienship is

number one. This is a diverse group, so we have a mix of problems

and methods to help ourselves. Everyone seems to share with the

rest, what has helped them.

I can not imagine what you have been through with . My

prayers are with you.

I hope this group is as helpful for you as it has been for me.

Shirley

>

> I am 47 years old and from Iowa. I was diagnosed with RA and

fibromalgia by my family doctor approximately two years ago. I have

since also been seen by a Rheumatologist from Sioux Falls South

Dakota who confirmed the diagnosis but also added severe

osteoporosis commencing from a complete hysterectomy at age 29.

Which meant the 20 mg daily of prednisone had to be excluded from my

treatment plan as this also weakens bones. At this time I am on MTX,

Humira twice monthly and oxycontin, Lyrica, and Vicodin all twice

daily for the pain, and ambien for sleep as the pain sometimes

either wakes me up or keeps me awake. As you can imagine there are

days when I can hardly function from all of the meds but you would

also know the pain the comes from not taking them.

>

> I am a restaurant Manager for Burger King in Storm Lake Iowa,

struggling to keep my job, and not have to go on disability as it

would not cover me current bills. I have two surviving daughters,

Heidi and . Heidi and Her husband , live close to me.

Heidi is a stay at home mother, while her husband is an Iowa State

Trooper. They have twin boys, Carson and who are 6.

and her husband live in North Dakota where she runs her own

day care center and is Manager for TG Fridays. They have three

children, Breanna 8, Devon 5 and Logan 3. My son , was Bi

Polar and took his own life in November of 2000 at the age of 17.

>

> My husband Tim works in Spencer Iowa where he is an Auto Body Tech

for Chevrolet.

>

> I guess what I am looking for here is friendship from those who

understand the pain and difficulties endured by RA patients and

fibromalgia. Learning new ways to cope and what has worked for

others that may work for me. My computer time is somewhat limited

but I can and will be on as much as possible, hopefully sharing my

own experiences and maybe helping others along the way.

>

> In Friendship

> Vicki Heckroth

> , Iowa

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Shirley, and others,

Thank you for the prayers. I sincerely appreciate them. It was tough with

at first, but I have since also joined the American Foundation For

Suicide Prevention, AFSP, and have found that in helping others I have actually

helped myself through a very rough time in my life. The same as I hope to do

with the RA and fibromalgia. Hopefully by joining this group I will find some

new ways to deal with the pain, and to cope with life. Like others here I am

still working as I need to in order to survive. I do love my job though which

does help.

Please tell me a little about yourself when you have time.

In Friendship

Vicki

Iowa

[Guest guest]

Clora

I don't how I would function daily without the oxycontin and vicodin. My job

demands I be on my feet for extended periods at a time. And my pain tolerance is

very low. My medical doctor started my on them after a car accident three years

ago, and then because they do help somewhat decided to leave me on them.

Vicki

Iowa

[Guest guest]

Hello Vicki,

My name is and I would like to introduce myself. I'm sorry to

here about your struggles and want you to know that I'm happy to

chat if you ever need that. I usually jump in and read posts every

couple weeks and just knowing that you guys understand my situation

makes me feel better. But now I'm trying to reach out more to make

friends with you guys on this post to see if I can help anyone as

much as this forum has helped me cope. So keep us up to date and I

hope to hear from you soon.

Hope you have a pain free day,

S.

Hill, CA

>

> Shirley, and others,

> Thank you for the prayers. I sincerely appreciate them. It was

tough with at first, but I have since also joined the

American Foundation For Suicide Prevention, AFSP, and have found

that in helping others I have actually helped myself through a very

rough time in my life. The same as I hope to do with the RA and

fibromalgia. Hopefully by joining this group I will find some new

ways to deal with the pain, and to cope with life. Like others here

I am still working as I need to in order to survive. I do love my

job though which does help.

> Please tell me a little about yourself when you have time.

> In Friendship

> Vicki

> Iowa

>

>