Guest guest Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 Hi everyone - I just got back from vacation and read the 70 or so posts from the last 5 days - this is such an interesting group! I'm not sure who posted which comments and questions, so here are my thoughts on things I've read: - regarding what do you do about work - this is a real challenge. I have an office job but wrestle with pain in my hands and wrists when I have to do a lot of computer work. When things get stressful both the pain and the fatigue levels rise quite a lot. Over the summer I cut back to 6 hours/day for about 3 months to get a flare under control. - Fatigue is an issue, especially when the RA isn't under control. For me at least, this (along with pain) is a good indicator that somethings out of balance with my meds. (I've had several that worked for awhile and then stopped working on me). While I usually can't nap during the week, on weekends I often do. - Climate doesn't seem to affect my RA, but changes in the weather do. Here in western Oregon our fall, winter and spring are very damp. As long as we're in a steady weather pattern that doesn't bother me. But changes in elevation, airplanes, and weather fronts approaching are biggies. - Is Mtx the next Vioxx? Highly unlikely, as it's been in use for many many years, and the side effects are well known. There are definite manufacturing issues with the injectable form at the current time, but I'd be very surprised to see it pulled from the market due to side effect problems. However, all medications have risks as well as benefits - it's just a trade off to determine if the benefits outweigh the problems. When I was first diagnosed with RA I read somewhere that a majority of RA patients are fully disabled within 10 years of diagnosis. We're really fortunate to live in a time when there have been so many medical advances. After 6 years of living with RA, I managed to (almost) keep up with a 10 year old at Disneyland for 4 days! (It wasn't exactly pain-free, but I survived) Wishing everyone a good day! Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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