Erosions

[Guest guest]

I just learned that my x-rays revealed an erosion in my toe. Could

someone speak about the significance of erosions? I know they're bad,

and indicate significant joint damage, but can a person still function

well with erosions?

I'm a little down tonight because the rheumy I returned to after more

than a year (had to switch because of insurance)is not giving me the

kind of care she did before. I asked for a radiology report and she

balked, saying that the radiologist found " all sorts of things " in my

hands--he " over-read " the X-ray; she said that in her analysis, the toe

was the only problem of rheumatological concern. I told her that I

trusted her reading (and I truly do) but still wished to read the

report, simply because I'm curious and interested in such things. It

was difficult for her to agree, but of course she had to.

Sierra

[Guest guest]

Sorry about that, Sierra.

Erosions are associated with more severe disease, but is unclear exactly how

they correlate with disease activity.

We do know that treatment goals include both preventing erosions and muting

disease activity.

Some exciting news has emerged in the last few years: erosions can heal. So

an added objective now is to attempt to repair erosions.

It could be that you need to step up to a more aggressive treatment regimen.

Here's a recent CME at Medscape that may be of interest to you:

" Optimizing Joint Longevity: A New Promise in the Treatment of Rheumatoid

Arthritis " :

http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/3833

(registration is fast and free)

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[ ] Erosions

>I just learned that my x-rays revealed an erosion in my toe. Could

> someone speak about the significance of erosions? I know they're bad,

> and indicate significant joint damage, but can a person still function

> well with erosions?

>

> I'm a little down tonight because the rheumy I returned to after more

> than a year (had to switch because of insurance)is not giving me the

> kind of care she did before. I asked for a radiology report and she

> balked, saying that the radiologist found " all sorts of things " in my

> hands--he " over-read " the X-ray; she said that in her analysis, the toe

> was the only problem of rheumatological concern. I told her that I

> trusted her reading (and I truly do) but still wished to read the

> report, simply because I'm curious and interested in such things. It

> was difficult for her to agree, but of course she had to.

>

> Sierra