my story

[Guest guest]

I probly had depression and thyroid problems for years, undiagnosed. then

menopause hit early and quickly. they tried synthetic hormones (birth control

pills) and as I was doing my 3 mile jog one day my ankles suddenly started to

hurt so bad I wasnt sure i could walk home, they swelled up and hurt.. no one

could find any reason for this. then I got a skin infection, they said was

auto-immune eczema, and then my hand starting hurting so bad I couldnt work.

before you know it, other things started hurting.. the first diagnosis was

psoriatic arthritis and i was put on methetrexate. during this time, my knees,

feet and hip started to hurt. I was 48... My hip was becomeing " frozen " and I

couldnt do alot of things like ride my horse or even walk very far. Things

were getting worse quickly. the methetrexate made me sick and I had pain in my

bones at nite so i couldnt sleep. they gave me " ultram ER " for pain, which I

found out causes insomnia (which I already had due to the menopause) AND I was

told I would NOT be allowed to return to work (I am a school bus driver) as the

ultram is NOt allowed for CDL drivers. They didnt want me to take tylenol or the

other NSAIDs because the methetrexate was causeing my liver values to rise.. so

after just 12 weeks of mtx, they switched me to HUMIRA.. so i was giving myself

shots in the stomach every 2 weeks and I found out it cost $18,000 a year!

(thank god I have good insurance) but more than that, I would be at risk

driving the bus full of kids because it lowers your immune system so much. I

will admit that my pain was less on humira. But I was afraid Id catch something

and die.. (and we had MRSA and Mono and flu going around that year) I got on a

waiting list to see a DR 1 and 1/2 hrs away that would prescribe antibiotics. I

did ask my own Drs and all said NO.. I finally saw the New Dr and he ran some

tests for mycoplasma and chlamydia and they came back positive ! (the first of

any tests to be positive for me!) so I started on Minocycline 200mg daily..

well it knocked me down..so bad I had to stay home... so then we dropped to

50mg and built up slowly to 100 mg, I never could handle the 200mg. but within

2 -3 weeks I felt amazingly better! during this time I also got on some

thyroid medicine and also bio-identical hormone replacement, and other

suppliments including 4000 of D. I stopped going to physical therapy, my hip is

" un-frozen " I can ride my horse, I am walking 5 miles a day , working in the

garden , and driving my bus with NO pain meds at all..not even an aspirin! Ive

been on minocycline at 100mg a day for 18 mos now, Ive had only one " flare up "

and that , strangley enough was in ONE finger (I thought Id broken it, it hurt

so bad) diagnosis was arthritis.. one of the problems Ive run into is that one

of my family Drs now blames everything on the arthritis. I went in with an ear

ache and she said I had arthritis in my jaw.. when my knee hurt, it was

arthritis too (forget that there was a bruise there) . Trying to find a DR who

will prescribe the mino and also the BHRT is very hard (Im on another waiting

list) Id like to find one who doesnt act like Im some kind of nut case when i go

in with my print-outs of information I found on the web.. My fiance told me

later that he thought I would be in wheelchair within the year.. and he is now a

believer in the infectious theory, we both tell our friends and anyone who wants

info i send them the links to the websites. I am so thankful I found the

information and followed thru on getting the medications . Hopefully I will not

have a relapse, which is a fear of mine that the arthritis will come back.

Kathy age 51 now and very active!