Hi Everyone

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 16/01/2006 19:05:59 GMT Standard Time, ydhutch@...

writes:

I have finally seen my Rhuemy on Friday past which was

January 13 th. He did not return as scheduled in December as he had a

serious Family Emergency.

Hi ,

Good news that you managed to see your rheumy. Its a pity you are losing him

in March, particularly with the reason for him leaving is due to his serious

family situation. I hope it is something that he and his family can sort.

Sounds like he is still trying to make sure you get the best treatment available

around your area so I hope your new rheumy will be good whoever he or she is.

Let's hope that the increase in MTX can help you.

Keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on.

Take care,

[Guest guest]

Hi

Yes, It's unfortunate that our Rheumy is leaving but his Father is terminally

ill, so that is very sad. We may however, be lucky enough to have him replaced ,

but because we are not having much luck retaining Doctor's here, it will be very

hard to retain Speciality Doctor's as well. We will just have to keep our

fingers crossed.

Anyway ,he did however increase my Mtx as you mentioned and I will see how

that goes. Aslo, he was very helpful is suggesting and making arrangements for

me to be seen by another Specialist in the city of Corner Brook which is just

an hour away ,while on the waiting list for a Rheumy in St.'s .

So, I'm hoping that the MTX increase will be very helpful to me and get me

though, until I do see a Rheumy again.Whenever that may be. Thanks ,for your

concern and I will keep you posted on my situation.

Take Care

martincoyless@... wrote:

In a message dated 16/01/2006 19:05:59 GMT Standard Time, ydhutch@...

writes:

I have finally seen my Rhuemy on Friday past which was

January 13 th. He did not return as scheduled in December as he had a

serious Family Emergency.

Hi ,

Good news that you managed to see your rheumy. Its a pity you are losing him

in March, particularly with the reason for him leaving is due to his serious

family situation. I hope it is something that he and his family can sort.

Sounds like he is still trying to make sure you get the best treatment available

around your area so I hope your new rheumy will be good whoever he or she is.

Let's hope that the increase in MTX can help you.

Keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on.

Take care,

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 24/01/2006 23:55:48 GMT Standard Time, ydhutch@...

writes:

So, I'm hoping that the MTX increase will be very helpful to me and get me

though, until I do see a Rheumy again.Whenever that may be. Thanks ,for your

concern and I will keep you posted on my situation.

I hope so too . Good luck.

[Guest guest]

Hi Jane,

good to hear from you. Hope your recovery is a success and you can

get back to the humira soon.

best,

marti

>

> hi, how y'all doing? i'm finally checking my email, it's been six

> weeks since i've been online. on jan 4 surgeon fused dip joint in

my

> right, middle finger. got pins out this week but joint isnt stable

so

> not back to work yet. didnt hurt as much as i anticipated. missing

> humira. not missing work having bad neck and lower back pain so

> cant sit here for long. hope youre all doing the best u can. more

> later.

>

> warm blessings,

> jane

>

>

> [Editor's Note: Jane, I've been thinking of you a lot lately and

wondering how you were doing. It's good to hear from you. Sorry you

are in pain but I'm glad that you've come through it. Write when you

feel up to it. Kathy F.]

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 16/02/2006 23:46:49 GMT Standard Time,

janekarsten@... writes:

hi, how y'all doing? i'm finally checking my email, it's been six

weeks since i've been online. on jan 4 surgeon fused dip joint in my

right, middle finger. got pins out this week but joint isnt stable so

not back to work yet. didnt hurt as much as i anticipated. missing

humira. not missing work having bad neck and lower back pain so

cant sit here for long. hope youre all doing the best u can. more

later.

Hi Jane,

Good to hear from you again. I hope your finger is still improving ok. Is

your neck and back any better or are these a couple of ongoing painful areas?

Take care,

[Guest guest]

Welcome, Janice! Everyone is different with PA. What kind of

specialist will you be seeing? If it is a rheumatologist, that is

good. But you should also try to see if you can see a dermatologist

sooner. While you wait for the rheumy apt., the derm might be able

to start you on MTX or some other good med to help you. At least,

here in the US, the derms are able to prescribe drugs for PA -

hopefully there, too.

We have several members from your part of the world, by the way.

best regards,

sherry z

>

> Hi everyone, Just thought I would introduce myself - another newy.

> I am a 37 yr old single mum of 2 living in Darwin, Australia. All

> you guys seem to be in the US, but that is the beauty of

> computers..linking us together.

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi everyone, Just thought I would introduce myself - another newy.

> I am a 37 yr old single mum of 2 living in Darwin, Australia.

Hi Janice,

I'm Teena nice to meet you , I live in Melbourne. Just had my second

visit to the rhumey last week and started om new meds yesterday.

If you can't get to a specialist try getting your doctor to put you on

Celebrex, it's a good anti-inflammitory and has helped me a great deal.

I have have also started to look into alt medicines and will be trying

to make some sort of cream or balm with essential oils in it to help

with the Psorasis.

add me to msn mger if you'd like to chat.

queenofphantoms@...

all the best,

Teena

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi everyone, Just thought I would introduce myself - another newy.

> I am a 37 yr old single mum of 2 living in Darwin, Australia. All

> you guys seem to be in the US, but that is the beauty of

> computers..linking us together.

> I have had pustular & guttate psoriasis for years, mostly on my

> hands and feet, really ugly stuff. It was severe for 4 years on

my

> hands that I really couldn't function much..long story but when my

> husband left my psoriasis cleared up almost overnight. I have had

> just minor flares in the last 3 1/2 years, but in the last 6

months

> it is getting really gross again. Hate wearing gloves to cover it

> but the horrified, disgusted stares are worse. Anyway have been

> quite bad in the joint department for years. Honestly can't

remember

> when I didn't have some sort of pain. Just put it down to my bad

> back, sleeping wrong, always blaming myself as I must have done

> something stupid to hurt myself all the time. More migraines, must

> be my bloody pillow! And goodness, can't I do anything without

> feeling like I need a rest.

> In the last month the pain and stiffness in my fingers & elbows

has

> just drained me. I have always put the joint pain down to

> psoriasis, never heard of pa. I work in an office so need to use

the

> keyboard and my left hand just wouldn't come to the party. It was

> my normal old gp that picked up something was wrong after a normal

> visit and took all the usual tests and got so excited when I

didn't

> have ra. (My 43 yr old sister has just finally been dx with this

and

> has been in a walking frame for months). Don't want this to be me.

> I have all the nail signs and have pain in most fingers, my

wrists,

> elbows, shoulders, neck, back, and sometimes my hips, knees and

> ankles & gumpy toes. get that limp going..lol. Sorry I do tend

to

> waffle. My doc has only put me on brufen. I can't get to see the

> specialist for a few months. Where I live we only have 1 and she

is

> on holidays until January!!!! Lucky me. I have to go back to my

doc

> after another couple of weeks of taking the brufen. I think maybe

> it has taken a little bit of the sharpness off the pain..but still

> not sleeping etc etc. Hopefully she will put me on something else

> as I am really starting to worry about work. I don't know much

> about the disease and just from reading your posts I think you

guys

> must be much worse than me. Does this thing take years or months,

> or is everyone different and it is just a wait and see?? Sorry if

I

> have written too much. Cheers, Janice

>

Welcome, Janice! It is a great world with computers to link us all

and to learn for each other and gain support! I am , 36

single mom of 2 boys! My oldest son is 11 and has just been dx with

PA. Nothing more than the psoriasis and some ankle swelling and

pain when playing soccer. Glad to have you with us! ~

[Guest guest]

Hi Teena, Thanks for letting me know you are in Melbourne, for some

silly reason that makes me feel less isolated, although there are

probably many people with pa up here. I would like to chat sometime,

so i will get msn organised again. I will try for the Celebrex as the

ibrufen doesn't seem to do anything, but I know I have to be patient

and give it time... Cheers, Janice

[Guest guest]

welcome . welcome

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 20/11/2006 14:52:07 GMT Standard Time,

itchy_itch69@... writes:

Hi everyone, Just thought I would introduce myself - another newy.

I am a 37 yr old single mum of 2 living in Darwin, Australia. All

you guys seem to be in the US, but that is the beauty of

computers..linking us together.

Hi Janice,

Welcome to the group. I think there are a few Australians here. The group

population is indeed mostly from the US but we have some from Canada, Britain,

India, Iran, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Greece,

Bahamas.................did I miss any? New Zealand? British people living in

France.

Lol Looking for more now as a matter of interest.....................Germany?

Hong Kong? Singapore? Israel? Gran Canaria? Thailand? Norway? Holland?

Philippines? Puerto Rico? United Arab Emirates? Chile? Lithuania? Kuwait? Japan?

Bangladesh? Italy? Portugal? Spain?

We even have someone in the group living on

Jupiter!!!!........................................Oh........wait a

minute................I just

checked.................That's in Florida!..........................I

thought.....................Oh never mind. lol

I am , 49 years old and I live in Scotland. Had P since the age of 23

and PA since the age of 30.

Take care,

[Guest guest]

Hi Sherry , I did reply yesterday...but I must have done something

wrong as I haven't seen it yet. Thanks for the info. I didn't even

think of seeing a dermotologist again.

It is a rheumy I will be seeing, but we do not have a resident dermo

either anymore, just a visiting one. Bit of a joke really. I do

live in a capital city, would you believe. I will get my doc to get

me another referral to go back down that path. I used to see a

dermo but I ended up quite disheartened with him as he had no idea

of finances. Expected me to take time off work every day for some

under lights treatment with this stuff that cost a fortune. So just

have to grin and bear it for a bit, but hopefully they will get me

onto something usefull soon. It doesn't sound like you can get MTX

in Aussie, but I will try and find out more.

[Editor's Note: Unfortunately, Janice, you sent the email to the address of the

list owner/moderators so it was sent to our personal email rather than to the

list. Our list is set up so that forwarded messages cannot be attached -

therefore I was unable to forward your post to the list. Since then, it appears

that you have correctly addressed subsequent posts so it looks like you are

doing things perfectly. When replying to a post, please be sure to trim your

response so that only the post you are replying to is included in your new

message. If you don't trim your post (I've trimmed it for you), your message to

the list contains your original post, the reply to your post, your reply to the

reply, etc. Thanks, and it's great to have you here with us. Kathy F.]

In , " S. Zorzi " <szorzi_1999@...>

wrote:

>

> Welcome, Janice! Everyone is different with PA. What kind of

> specialist will you be seeing? If it is a rheumatologist, that is

> good. But you should also try to see if you can see a

dermatologist

> sooner. While you wait for the rheumy apt., the derm might be

able

> to start you on MTX or some other good med to help you. At least,

> here in the US, the derms are able to prescribe drugs for PA -

> hopefully there, too.

>

> We have several members from your part of the world, by the way.

>

> best regards,

> sherry z

>

>

[Guest guest]

Janice, Welcome to the Group...

Love and Peace Always,

Shaun and Barb

[Guest guest]

Posts have a way of getting eaten on here in cyber space unfortunately..

Hi Sherry , I did reply yesterday...but I must have done something

wrong as I haven't seen it yet. Thanks for the info I didn't even

think of seeing a dermotologist again.

Love and Peace Always,

Shaun and Barb

[Guest guest]

Mysti:

It is hard for me just to imagine how hard it is to loose my job and my

marriage, let alone living the situation. It is an extremely stressful

situation. Stress can only make your disease worse. Just remember that your

situation can always be worse; feeling stress does not help you at all and it

makes most people run away from you. I try to cheer up and learn good attitudes

from the great people of this group.

Mysti <x_mysti_33_x@...> wrote:

Hi everyone - my name is Mysti and I was diagnosed with Psoriatic

Arthritis in mid 2005. This last year has been a very difficult one as

I have lost a 20 year marriage and a 12 year job. I'm sure the

difficulty was related to me being ill and not being able to do all the

things I used to do - although my ex (or soon to be ex) didn't say

that. I am currently on Methotrexate for the disease and take pain

meds, muscle relaxors, and anti-inflammatories. I lost my 12 year job

because I missed too many days of work with this stuff. The job -

along with my marriage have taken a horrible toll on me.

If anyone knows of better treatment please let me know

*Soft huggles*

Mysti

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Mysti,

Have you considered enbrel? This med is not possible for everyone due to the

cost and other reasons..but it helps me tremendously..I am so sorry about your

losses and I welcome you to the group..

Vickey

Mysti <x_mysti_33_x@...> wrote:

Hi everyone - my name is Mysti and I was diagnosed with Psoriatic

Arthritis in mid 2005. This last year has been a very difficult one as

I have lost a 20 year marriage and a 12 year job. I'm sure the

difficulty was related to me being ill and not being able to do all the

things I used to do - although my ex (or soon to be ex) didn't say

that. I am currently on Methotrexate for the disease and take pain

meds, muscle relaxors, and anti-inflammatories. I lost my 12 year job

because I missed too many days of work with this stuff. The job -

along with my marriage have taken a horrible toll on me.

If anyone knows of better treatment please let me know

*Soft huggles*

Mysti

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

Mysti and Vicki, sorry to hear about the hard times

you've both came across. I completely agree, stress

doesn't help this disease at all.

I have a question for everyone. What is a biologic?

I'm on Sulfasalazine, for over six months now and

there are days when I feel as though I can't get out

of bed because I " m so weak and fatigued. The joints

in my fingers still swell, turn red and I can barely

move them.

In the past, prior to a diagnosis and when my joints

were sore, I took naprozen. My doctor warned me not

to take too much because of the ill effects from it.

The rheumy automatically put me on Sulfasalazine.

Personally, I don't think the naprozen wasn't working.

Oh well, I guess as with anything else, we're at the

mercy of " professionals " .

Have a great day everyone,

Vivian

[Editor's Note: Biologics are DMARDs (Disease Modifying Arthritis Drugs) that

are made from living organisms. They tend to be much more focused in how they

work with the immune system and, in theory, this means they TEND to have fewer

side effects than the non-biologic DMARDs. The commonly prescribed biologics

for PA are Enbrel, Humira and Remicade. As with all medications, they may have

side effects and will not work the same way on all people. As with all DMARDs,

they help to stem the progression of the disease and this makes them key weapons

in our anti-PA arsenal. Kathy F.]

[Guest guest]

Hi Mysti,

My husband gone tru all these. With sausage fingers, wornout

shoulder, spondlitis etc etc. He could not hold pen or wear shoes.

He used all sorts of medication....but no use. Then he decided to

change his life style first....eating habbits, exercise, rest. This

has brough back his life to him.

Many including doctors may not agree with this, but your body got

all the ability to repair on its own and rebuilt most of your joins,

bones etc. It is a continous process in your body. You have to

support your body by avoiding triggering factors and by giving

required rest and nutrition...so that your body can take care of

your PA.

No doubt it is a long term proposition and you do not see results

overnight...but you can get back your life.

Wish you speedy recovery.

Medasani

[Editor's Note: There is no question that proper nutrition and a good lifestyle

are good for EVERYONE and those should be goals across the board. Having said

that, lifestyle and food changes alone do not CURE PA. Many people have food

allergies they are unaware of that present themselves symptomatically as PA or

RA. Once those foods are eliminated, the symptoms disappear. This simply means

that avoiding foods one is allergic to will clear up allergies to that food. It

does not mean that people who do not have a food allergy will be cured of PA

through diet and lifestyle alone. However, we are glad your husband has cured

whatever he had and all of us would likely see SOME improvement through rest,

diet, exercise, etc. Kathy F.]

>

> Hi everyone - my name is Mysti and I was diagnosed with Psoriatic

> Arthritis in mid 2005. This last year has been a very difficult

one as

> I have lost a 20 year marriage and a 12 year job. I'm sure the

> difficulty was related to me being ill and not being able to do

all the

> things I used to do - although my ex (or soon to be ex) didn't say

> that. I am currently on Methotrexate for the disease and take

pain

> meds, muscle relaxors, and anti-inflammatories. I lost my 12 year

job

> because I missed too many days of work with this stuff. The job -

> along with my marriage have taken a horrible toll on me.

> If anyone knows of better treatment please let me know

> *Soft huggles*

> Mysti

>

[Guest guest]

HI Misti!

You have come to the right place! You are welcome

here and we accept you and your PA! I understand about

losing the husband and the job my marriage was only 8

years and the job was 10 but it was very hard

emotionally. You could be having some depression going

on with everything else. Talk to your Doctor about it

there is a test that you can take to see if there is

some depression or not. If so don't be scared of

taking something for it, believe me I take 60mg. of

Cymbalta, 80mg. Prozac and 20mg of Buspar, plus 1mg

kloponin 4 times daily. I have felt sorry for myself

since I was Dx. in 2004. It has been a long time but I

have finally realized that I can still have a life! I

just have to know my limits on what my body can do and

there are men out there that will love you for WHO you

are and not WHAT you can do or not do. I thought I had

found mine but, having spent a lot more time with him,

even though I am sick I still demand respect and he

can't seem to stop helping out the ex girlfriend so

now he has another ex! I know that if God intended me

to be alone I can be happy and if somewhere down the

line I find somebody I can still be happy. As long as

I am happy with me! Right now we have to get you to

that point of where you are happy with WHO YOU are,

believe me YOU ARE SOMEBODY!!! The soon to be ex

doesn't realize what he has it takes a very strong

person to handle PA and still live each day as

" normal " as possible. It is his mistake, as far as the

job you should be able to get SS disability, I did. So

being a stay at home Mom has really brought my son and

I a lot closer and I have realized that nobody sick or

healthy is guaranteed tomorrow, if you have a higher

power call on him for help and learn to lean on him

according to the bible that is what he WANTS us to do

anyway, he is our father and who better could we lean

on? I so hope to hear from you again soon and you are

in my prayers like everyone else here,

By the way....... has anyone heard from Mike

lately?? If you are reading this I am thinking about

you and your zoo!! Sharon

[Guest guest]

Dear Kathy F,

Yes, i agree with you...all body types are not same and getting

normal comfort without using medications may not be possible for

many.

One thing my husband was doing is..keeping a dairy and writing down

what he ate or did differently last 12-24hrs, whenever he gets

flareup of P or PA. After few days he knows what he has to avoid to

minimise triggering factors for P and PA. This is simple and anyone

can try to know which causes as triggering factors for their P and

PA.

For example, he knows alcohol with meat used to trigger his PA. So

he avoided munching on any meat snacks while taking drinks and

prefered greens with fresh pepper powder. Like these kind of small

changes can help all, if not cure.

Knowing our body needs and triggering factors is very important.

When IT(Information Tehchnology) is looking for custom made

solutions for each and every client....why not for our bodies! First

step to achieve that is to know your own body... the way they say in

ayurveda.

Let us hope for the best and work to know our own bodies.

cheers

Medasani

[Editor's Note: Medasani, you bring up a great point about keeping a daily PA

diary. I started doing that a few years ago and find it incredibly helpful. I

review it before each visit to my rheumy and it helps me remember things I want

to discuss with him. As you say, it can also help you keep track of your food

intake and resultant reactions. It has the same benefit when it comes to

keeping track of medications. If you take Enbrel, say, on Wednesdays, do you

usually feel a bit out of sorts on Fridays? Many people never make these

connections until they re-read a diary and notice patterns. Thanks for the

great advice. Kathy F.]

> >

> > Hi everyone - my name is Mysti and I was diagnosed with Psoriatic

> > Arthritis in mid 2005. This last year has been a very difficult

> one as

> > I have lost a 20 year marriage and a 12 year job. I'm sure the

> > difficulty was related to me being ill and not being able to do

> all the

> > things I used to do - although my ex (or soon to be ex) didn't

say

> > that. I am currently on Methotrexate for the disease and take

> pain

> > meds, muscle relaxors, and anti-inflammatories. I lost my 12

year

> job

> > because I missed too many days of work with this stuff. The

job -

> > along with my marriage have taken a horrible toll on me.

> > If anyone knows of better treatment please let me know

> > *Soft huggles*

> > Mysti

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Posted by: " p_medasani "

Interesting post Medasani, and good to get another viewpoint. Like yourself

I truly believe that our Immune Systems can repair (You do not say in your

post the word " cure " as stated by the editor as we all know it is illegal to

claim a cure) damage done to our body by free radicals if given the

correct ingredients ie: diet, lifestyle, nutrition. Louis Pasteur, the

father of modern medicine, gave the clue when on his deathbed. The

drug-happy physicians surrounding him, received his final brilliant advice:

: " The key to medicine is host resistance " . That is where anti-oxidants

excel. Anti-oxidants benefit your body not only by neutralizing free

radicals directly, but also by increasing your resistance to all manner of

toxins, bacteria, viruses, traumas and degenerative diseases. They

accomplish their amazing feat by boosting your immunity. Nature made all the

locks and holds all the keys. Scientists are now realizing there are

probably thousands of these natural compounds, most of them yet unknown,

each with specific tasks to do in maintaining our human body. The design of

the human body is inextricably entwined with these substances and without

them your life is likely to be sad, painful and short. The body is not able

to produce enough of the anti-oxidants required on its own to neutralize all

of the free radicals that our bodies produce. We need to get the rest of

these anti-oxidants from our food. If there is an excess of free radicals,

however, oxidative stress occurs and the body begins to degenerate. Balance

is the key. There must always be an abundant supply of anti oxidants within

every cell and tissue to protect the body against free radicals. There are

many factors that can significantly increase the amount of free radicals the

body produces. However the body has great ability to heal itself. If we

provide the nutritional building blocks to accomplish the repair, we can

handle this assault on our cells. In health and disease physicians must

learn to respect the body's own ability to defend itself against oxidative

stress and to repair this damage. This is called Bionutrition. ( Dr. Micheal

Colgan/DR. Ray Strand/Louis Pasteur)

(I too know what it was like not to be able to hold a pen or to kneel on

painful swollen knees.)

My husband gone tru all these. With sausage fingers, wornout

shoulder, spondlitis etc etc. He could not hold pen or wear shoes.

He used all sorts of medication....but no use. Then he decided to

change his life style first....eating habbits, exercise, rest. This

has brough back his life to him.

Many including doctors may not agree with this, but your body got

all the ability to repair on its own and rebuilt most of your joins,

bones etc. It is a continous process in your body. You have to

support your body by avoiding triggering factors and by giving

required rest and nutrition...so that your body can take care of

your PA.

No doubt it is a long term proposition and you do not see results

overnight...but you can get back your life.

Wish you speedy recovery.

Medasani

[Editor's Note: There is no question that proper nutrition and a good

lifestyle are good for EVERYONE and those should be goals across the board.

Having said that, lifestyle and food changes alone do not CURE PA. Many

people have food allergies they are unaware of that present themselves

symptomatically as PA or RA. Once those foods are eliminated, the symptoms

disappear. This simply means that avoiding foods one is allergic to will

clear up allergies to that food. It does not mean that people who do not

have a food allergy will be cured of PA through diet and lifestyle alone.

However, we are glad your husband has cured whatever he had and all of us

would likely see SOME improvement through rest, diet, exercise, etc. Kathy

F.]

IF YOU KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS DONE, YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS

GOTTEN

Maraika Mason

Degenerative Disease Resourced Information

Clin.Nutrition

Email: UrHealth@...

www.4betrhealth.com

[Guest guest]

It makes no sense to me that " boosting your immunity " is helpful to

stopping or controlling PA. Our problem is NOT that our immune systems

are weak and need boosting - our problem is that our immune systems are

in overdrive! My immune system needs slowing down!

sherry z

[Editor's Note: Spot on, Sherry! Our immune systems are overly ACTIVE which is

one of the reasons why people can do a great deal of damage by taking immune

system boosters without consulting with their rheumatologists. Our immune

systems don't work right - but they are working aggressively to attack our own

bodies. One of the layman's ways to describe the way some of our drugs work is

that they help slow down our overly active immune systems. Kathy F.]

They

> accomplish their amazing feat by boosting your immunity.

[Guest guest]

i agree. with MY pa i had the same symptoms as your husband and ive started

eating whole foods and did feel better. but i couldnt excercise. in the last

month work has forced me to be quite physical (i was always afraid to move

around alot for the pain before) and though i was angry that i was put in this

position at work, i have been feeling pretty great. like the more i pushed

myself the better i felt. so the combination of whole foods and physical

activity no matter how bad you feel has been a positive for me also. im still on

mtx and the dose was just raised again, but i dont have to take much else

regularly. only when nesessary. feels good huh?

thanks casey

p_medasani <p_medasani@...> wrote:

Hi Mysti,

My husband gone tru all these. With sausage fingers, wornout

shoulder, spondlitis etc etc. He could not hold pen or wear shoes.

He used all sorts of medication....but no use. Then he decided to

change his life style first....eating habbits, exercise, rest. This

has brough back his life to him.

Many including doctors may not agree with this, but your body got

all the ability to repair on its own and rebuilt most of your joins,

bones etc. It is a continous process in your body. You have to

support your body by avoiding triggering factors and by giving

required rest and nutrition...so that your body can take care of

your PA.

No doubt it is a long term proposition and you do not see results

overnight...but you can get back your life.

Wish you speedy recovery.

Medasani

[Editor's Note: There is no question that proper nutrition and a good lifestyle

are good for EVERYONE and those should be goals across the board. Having said

that, lifestyle and food changes alone do not CURE PA. Many people have food

allergies they are unaware of that present themselves symptomatically as PA or

RA. Once those foods are eliminated, the symptoms disappear. This simply means

that avoiding foods one is allergic to will clear up allergies to that food. It

does not mean that people who do not have a food allergy will be cured of PA

through diet and lifestyle alone. However, we are glad your husband has cured

whatever he had and all of us would likely see SOME improvement through rest,

diet, exercise, etc. Kathy F.]

[Guest guest]

I am new here. I have been diagnosed with PsA for about two years.

Methotrexate didn't do much if anything for me so my rheumatologist

just put me on Humira. My family Dr put me on Prozac this week

because I am so hopeless and depressed. The exhaustion is the worst

thing although the pain is a very close second. I have been working

full time and it's kiling me. The Dr gave me a week off so I feel

sort of okay right now but I know after a couple days back to work I

will be feeling just like before. I have brought up the many many

problems I have been having trying to keep working to the rheum., he

is addressing the arthritic concerns but really doesn't acknowledge

the fact that working is killing me (physically, emotionally and every

other way)

This is going to sound really stupid but how do you get on disability?

Do you just have to insist on it? Will the Dr. ever suggest it? I

have degenerative osteo arthritis and PsA as well. I just don't know

how long I can keep this up. I have good disability ins thru my work

that I think would carry me thru until the SSD kicked in. I have

worked full time for 30 years and am 49 years old. Any insight anyone

has on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Deanna

>

> HI Misti!

> You have come to the right place! You are welcome

> here and we accept you and your PA! I understand about

> losing the husband and the job my marriage was only 8

> years and the job was 10 but it was very hard

> emotionally. You could be having some depression going

> on with everything else. Talk to your Doctor about it

> there is a test that you can take to see if there is

> some depression or not. If so don't be scared of

> taking something for it, believe me I take 60mg. of

> Cymbalta, 80mg. Prozac and 20mg of Buspar, plus 1mg

> kloponin 4 times daily. I have felt sorry for myself

> since I was Dx. in 2004. It has been a long time but I

> have finally realized that I can still have a life! I

> just have to know my limits on what my body can do and

> there are men out there that will love you for WHO you

> are and not WHAT you can do or not do. I thought I had

> found mine but, having spent a lot more time with him,

> even though I am sick I still demand respect and he

> can't seem to stop helping out the ex girlfriend so

> now he has another ex! I know that if God intended me

> to be alone I can be happy and if somewhere down the

> line I find somebody I can still be happy. As long as

> I am happy with me! Right now we have to get you to

> that point of where you are happy with WHO YOU are,

> believe me YOU ARE SOMEBODY!!! The soon to be ex

> doesn't realize what he has it takes a very strong

> person to handle PA and still live each day as

> " normal " as possible. It is his mistake, as far as the

> job you should be able to get SS disability, I did. So

> being a stay at home Mom has really brought my son and

> I a lot closer and I have realized that nobody sick or

> healthy is guaranteed tomorrow, if you have a higher

> power call on him for help and learn to lean on him

> according to the bible that is what he WANTS us to do

> anyway, he is our father and who better could we lean

> on? I so hope to hear from you again soon and you are

> in my prayers like everyone else here,

> By the way....... has anyone heard from Mike

> lately?? If you are reading this I am thinking about

> you and your zoo!! Sharon

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/24/2007 7:12:47 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,

deannaacarrigan@... writes:

I have good disability ins thru my work

that I think would carry me thru until the SSD kicked in. I have

worked full time for 30 years and am 49 years old. Any insight anyone

has on this would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Deanna...I went on long term disability a few years after I got diagnosed

and before I figured out all of the medications. If your rheumy won't help

you, do you have another doctor that can? My rheumy who did the initial

disability paperwork retired, so my primary care doctor picked it up for me as

the new rheumy was not overly sympathetic. The disability was the best thing I

did to take care of myself...I had the doctor write it so that I could still

work part time but the extra rest really, really helped get myself better.

If you can't get your current rheumy to help, find a new one...it's worth

it:-)