Does RA meds interfere with healing of spinal, muscle or nerve entrapment?

September 23, 2009

Right now I have nerve entrapment in my right shoulder which is causing nerve

pain down my arm into three fingers and continuous muscle " hardness " . Adding to

this I have two bulged discs in my neck that are acting up adding to this pain.

I've been to my chiropractor for 6 weeks for this and we had improvement the

first two weeks. I've hit a plateau in its healing. It simply will not settle

down any further.

I'm on Orencia, Arava, sulfasalazine for the RA. I know that these significantly

lower my immune system which makes me heal up from zits, boils, cuts and colds

much slower. My question? Are my RA meds keeping my neck/shoulder from healing?

And now for a crabby venting moment:

Today I saw my GP, which was a complete waste of my time. I was supposed to get

my Orencia Tuesday morning but I answered honestly that I had a series of boils

along my waist & the nurse looked at them & promptly told me, " Nope, no infusion

for you today. Go see your GP to see if they're infected with MRSA and get some

antibiotics first. " Great. My jerkwad GP said he didn't know if my RA meds were

interfering, won't give me a referral to a pain mgmt Dr (because I'm worn down

from this never-ending arm pain), and said here, take Neurontin (nerve pain

blocker) and you'll be fine (which ignores the underlying problem of the

entrapement & tissue swelling). Plus the jerk looked at my boils from a distance

(3-4 feet away!) and announced that " you have diabetes. " No, I don't you putz! I

agreed to a blood test and it came up right in the middle of the " normal " range.

Did he put me on antibiotics for the boils? No. Did he even examine them? No. So

now I've got tense muscles down my neck & right arm, tingly fingers, and I get

to look forward to NOT getting my infusion until God knows when.....I may have

to go back to the Dr. office and scream at him. Won't help but it'll make me

feel better.

Dalanne

East Central Illinois

September 23, 2009

Since when are boils a symptom of diabetes? I have diabetes and have

never heard of that as a symptom. Maybe you need to change GP's.

Sue

On Sep 23, 2009, at 8:48 PM, Dalanne wrote:

> Plus the jerk looked at my boils from a distance (3-4 feet away!)

> and announced that " you have diabetes. " No, I don't you putz! I

> agreed to a blood test and it came up right in the middle of the

> " normal " range. Did he put me on antibiotics for the boils? No. Did

> he even examine them? No. So now I've got tense muscles down my neck

> & right arm, tingly fingers, and I get to look forward to NOT

> getting my infusion until God knows when.....I may have to go back

> to the Dr. office and scream at him. Won't help but it'll make me

> feel better.

September 24, 2009

Sue- that is exactly what I'm thinking. This wasn't the first time that he's

" blown me off " . It was almost like he didn't want to be bothered with what I

needed to be seen about- which was the boils. He spent most of the appt talking

AT me about my shoulder/arm pain. The clinic has two other Docs, both ladies,

and I've seen both of them at times when my primary wasn't in. My dear hubby was

upset, too. He suggested specifically one of the lady Docs that he prefers as

his primary doctor. I am pretty sure that if my GP doesn't respond regarding

these boils-infections I will be calling my hubbys Dr.

Dalanne

>

> Since when are boils a symptom of diabetes? I have diabetes and have

> never heard of that as a symptom. Maybe you need to change GP's.

>

> Sue

>

September 24, 2009

Dalanne,

I am a massage therapist and I see cases of shoulder or hip nerve impingment

almost on a daily basis. Yes, your RA meds will keep these nerves from healing

if they are bruised or have damage. Nerve tissue grows extremely slow anyway;

average 1 " per year!! I know most insurance does not cover a massage session,

but it would be worth the $50 to find yourself a medical massage therapist who

can help wriggle the nerve cluster in your brachial area so they aren't so

impinged. It's sort of like untangling a fine chain necklace. A massage

therapist can also show you some stretches and excercises you can do at home to

keep the impingement away. To find a licensed massage therapist, check out

www.amta.com

also not an MD

[ ] Does RA meds interfere with healing of spinal, muscle or

nerve entrapment?

Right now I have nerve entrapment in my right shoulder which is causing

nerve pain down my arm into three fingers and continuous muscle " hardness " .

Adding to this I have two bulged discs in my neck that are acting up adding to

this pain. I've been to my chiropractor for 6 weeks for this and we had

improvement the first two weeks. I've hit a plateau in its healing. It simply

will not settle down any further.

I'm on Orencia, Arava, sulfasalazine for the RA. I know that these

significantly lower my immune system which makes me heal up from zits, boils,

cuts and colds much slower. My question? Are my RA meds keeping my neck/shoulder

from healing?

And now for a crabby venting moment:

Today I saw my GP, which was a complete waste of my time. I was supposed to

get my Orencia Tuesday morning but I answered honestly that I had a series of

boils along my waist & the nurse looked at them & promptly told me, " Nope, no

infusion for you today. Go see your GP to see if they're infected with MRSA and

get some antibiotics first. " Great. My jerkwad GP said he didn't know if my RA

meds were interfering, won't give me a referral to a pain mgmt Dr (because I'm

worn down from this never-ending arm pain), and said here, take Neurontin (nerve

pain blocker) and you'll be fine (which ignores the underlying problem of the

entrapement & tissue swelling). Plus the jerk looked at my boils from a distance

(3-4 feet away!) and announced that " you have diabetes. " No, I don't you putz! I

agreed to a blood test and it came up right in the middle of the " normal " range.

Did he put me on antibiotics for the boils? No. Did he even examine them? No. So

now I've got tense muscles down my neck & right arm, tingly fingers, and I get

to look forward to NOT getting my infusion until God knows when.....I may have

to go back to the Dr. office and scream at him. Won't help but it'll make me

feel better.

Dalanne

East Central Illinois

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September 25, 2009

gaahhh...i hate that. they had a doc at my gp's practice that i had to see one

time when no one else was available. i had pneumonia, btw. he spent 10 minutes

going over my meds and asking me why i was taking mtx and plaquenil, they were

" very dangerous drugs " and why was i taking flexeril and zanaflex at the same

time. i explained that I had RA and obviously wasn't taking zanaflex and

flexeril together or i'd be on the floor. he started in again, and I got

aggressive right back. i asked him if he was specialized in rheumatology, (no)

and what any of that had to do with treatin pnuemonia. He got on topic pretty

fast, and didn't last long at that practice. I would sure consider visiting your

husband's doc too. Sounds like this guy has a little g god complex, and pretty

poor diagnostic skills! i hope you get some relief, that's just awful.

best wishes from sunny Dallas

Jane

> >

> > Since when are boils a symptom of diabetes? I have diabetes and have

> > never heard of that as a symptom. Maybe you need to change GP's.

> >

> > Sue

> >

>

September 25, 2009

Hi Janes

In your last note, you said Hi from sunny Dallas..

I live in Dallas myself....

Do you know of any local RA support groups here that meet?

J.J.

[ ] Re: Does RA meds interfere with healing of spinal,

muscle or nerve entrapment?

gaahhh...i hate that. they had a doc at my gp's practice that i had to see

one time when no one else was available. i had pneumonia, btw. he spent 10

minutes going over my meds and asking me why i was taking mtx and plaquenil,

they were " very dangerous drugs " and why was i taking flexeril and zanaflex at

the same time. i explained that I had RA and obviously wasn't taking zanaflex

and flexeril together or i'd be on the floor. he started in again, and I got

aggressive right back. i asked him if he was specialized in rheumatology, (no)

and what any of that had to do with treatin pnuemonia. He got on topic pretty

fast, and didn't last long at that practice. I would sure consider visiting your

husband's doc too. Sounds like this guy has a little g god complex, and pretty

poor diagnostic skills! i hope you get some relief, that's just awful.

best wishes from sunny Dallas

Jane

September 28, 2009

good morning, nice to meet you! I actually work in Dallas but live in the

suburbs, but I think there used to be some groups in Dallas. You may want to

check the arthritis foundation website, they may have a listing of support

groups. There used to be one at some area churches but I haven't seen anything

on them in a while, can't remember the name of their affiliation.

best wishes for a pain free day!

Jane

>

> Hi Janes

>

> In your last note, you said Hi from sunny Dallas..

>

> I live in Dallas myself....

>

> Do you know of any local RA support groups here that meet?

>

> J.J.

>

> [ ] Re: Does RA meds interfere with healing of spinal,

muscle or nerve entrapment?

>

> gaahhh...i hate that. they had a doc at my gp's practice that i had to see