Newbie here

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the Welcome; I am glad to be here. :-) I have made a note of Walfords book, and will see if my library has it, possibly today. I want to read it as soon as I can get my hands on a copy! Thanks Again - and A Good Day To You! JoJoFrancesca Skelton <fskelton@...> wrote: JoJo: Welcome to the group.Losing 12 pounds is 3 weeks is not a good idea. Too much weight loss in a short time. Believe it or not such rapid weight loss can damage your health. Also forget fad diets like the cabbage soup diet - they don't work and you are robbing your body by not eating a wide variety of healthy foods. No doubt you're missing nutrients by eating that way.Read Walford's "Beyond the 120 Year Diet" (available in

most public libraries). And slow down. This is a lifelong endeavor. <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=3 & r_by=jojo46580%40earthlink.net" alt="PaperBackSwap - Swap your used paperback books with other club members."> Say I sent you!

Autos. Looking for a sweet ride? Get pricing, reviews, more on new and used cars.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the Welcome; I am glad to be here. :-) I have made a note of Walfords book, and will see if my library has it, possibly today. I want to read it as soon as I can get my hands on a copy! Thanks Again - and A Good Day To You! JoJoFrancesca Skelton <fskelton@...> wrote: JoJo: Welcome to the group.Losing 12 pounds is 3 weeks is not a good idea. Too much weight loss in a short time. Believe it or not such rapid weight loss can damage your health. Also forget fad diets like the cabbage soup diet - they don't work and you are robbing your body by not eating a wide variety of healthy foods. No doubt you're missing nutrients by eating that way.Read Walford's "Beyond the 120 Year Diet" (available in

most public libraries). And slow down. This is a lifelong endeavor. <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=3 & r_by=jojo46580%40earthlink.net" alt="PaperBackSwap - Swap your used paperback books with other club members."> Say I sent you!

Autos. Looking for a sweet ride? Get pricing, reviews, more on new and used cars.

[Guest guest]

nne, I am not a Dr. & can only tell you what worked for me. I take CSM

2X a day, now, for maintenance.If I feel like I have been exposed then I take

it 4X a day for a week. Two yrs. ago I began taking it 4X a day followed

by a full cup of water. You must take it on an empty stomach and then wait a

half hr. to an hr. before eating!Or you can take it 1hr. after eating and

doses should be about 4 hrs. apartYou also have to space your other meds out

the

same. I was religious about taking my CSM and NEVER missed a dose. I would

get up early 6AM and take my 1st dose then again at 11AM, another around 4PM

and the last one at about 9PM. The first thing I noticed, within a week, was

my brain fog disappeared! I honestly felt like I had crawled out from under

a cave!! Then little by little the aches, pains, muscle twitches, headaches,

etc. were gone as well. It worked for me but I followed the directions very

carefully.

Good luck!

Sue

Hi Folks,

I`am still getting used to this whole concept!

So much to learn but I`am too sick with so many things other than

mold. Its all too overwhelming.

One day I may tell my story but for now I`d just like to ask a

question.

I started taking chlolestermine(?)again, tried it a few months a ago

but didn`t notice anything. Now I`am now trying it again my env. doc

up the dosage to 3x`s a day. I am having such breakouts on my face.

Could this be related?

Has anyone experienced this?

nne

[Guest guest]

I did not have breakouts, but if you are really sick you need 4x a

day. Shoemaker even does 6 x for a short while- 2 x a day is a

maintenance dose when you are better

>

> Hi Folks,

>

> I`am still getting used to this whole concept!

> So much to learn but I`am too sick with so many things other than

> mold. Its all too overwhelming.

> One day I may tell my story but for now I`d just like to ask a

> question.

> I started taking chlolestermine(?)again, tried it a few months a

ago

> but didn`t notice anything. Now I`am now trying it again my env.

doc

> up the dosage to 3x`s a day. I am having such breakouts on my

face.

> Could this be related?

> Has anyone experienced this?

>

> nne

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Rosie,

This is a very serious condition. If he is still passing stones then his

liver is producing them. The stones he has passed are only the ones that have

come out. There are probably a lot more that can obstruct flows. I would be

very careful about the no fat diet. While in theory since gallstones (and since

his gallbladder has been taken out the stones he has since passed cannot be

defined as such) are mostly fat (cholesterol), then the less fat in the diet the

less fat to form gallstones. This can be a problem in several ways. Your body

produces fats from other sources( pasta and donuts) and sometimes more

efficiently than absorbing fats digestively. Bile is produced by the liver out

of lipids (fats) and bile volume is needed to flush out the liver and

gallbladder (if you still have one). If there is no water flowing in the stream

the sediment does not move. You need to supply and stimulate bile production

and movement to get the garbage out.

This boy's guardians should make sure that the medical professionals that

they are dealing with fully understand the condition and cause. There are

probably specialists within the allopathic community. Have they done a lab

analysis of the stones he has passed since having his gallbladder removed? The

composition of which may point to the problem. Lecithin may be very helpful but

should only be used with the blessings of the healthcare professional in charge.

Diet may be a critical component. This child may also have a propensity for

kidney stones. Always, in all ways, -Dave

----- Original Message -----

From: Rosie Coyote<mailto:rosie85021@...>

gallstones <mailto:gallstones >

Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 1:54 PM

Subject: newbie here

I hope someone can help me.Situation is a 2 year old boy who is

throwing gall stones .They removed the gall bladder and he is still

throwing some stones .Is on a low fat diet per doctor.The Parents were

both on meth when the child was conceived and i'm thinking that could

be the cause of a two year old with the problem.Any one ever hear of

this before?Rosie

[Guest guest]

Welcome Crysta,

This is a great place to be, and you will find out all the info you

need about Fibro, just stay awhile, and don't be shy, Tawny

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I was very sympathetic to you when I was reading your email. I have

suffered from RA for three years now, but I also suffer from fibro

myalgia, which I have had for around 5years now.

When my condition really flares up I am so desperate that my husband

has to take me to the emergency at our local hospital. Sadly most of

the time they don't know what to do with me and I am in excruciating

pain. I too have trouble walking and my last flare up had effected my

neck and shoulders, I have been unable to lift my neck of arms and the

tears were just streaming down my face. I cope with pain on a daily

basis but as you know this pain we get is unbareable and we are not

able to function us we want to. It is so hard when we have families

to care for and are not coping looking after ourselves.

My youngest daughter ( I am older than you 47years) who is 15years,

suffers from a rare blood disorder called " evans syndrome' it is also

an autoimmune disorder. Her antibodies attack her blood cells and

kill them off. As you can imagine it is a horrible illness and life

threatening. I need to be able to manage to get her to hospital and

care for her when her condition flares up. At times I feel useless as

my own body does not want to co operate.

I also have problems waiting so long to get to rheumatologist

appointments, when we are really bad we need to see someone then !!!

As I am from Australia our medical system is probably different to

yours, although you seem to have trouble getting appointments also !!

So frustrating when you need help.

I hope things are improving with you, I am also new to this support

group, it is so good to talk to people who understand.

Take care .

>

> First, let me say that I'm so glad to have found this place. I was

> diagnosed with RA in November 1999, at the ripe old age of 30. After

> my initial flare up, I spent many years with my RA in remission thanks

> to Plaquinil and NSAIDs. But the disease started making almost annual

> appearances about 3 years ago. My most recent flare up started

> gradually a couple of months ago, but have gotten unbearable due to

> small-minded doctors recently. Here are the details of the events

> leading up to my current debilitating flare up:

>

> My RA has picked a really bad time to rear its ugly head again. I'm

> supposed to be arranging the dinner for my son's 8th grade graduation,

> and I need to get up really early one Tuesday or Thursday to get my

> son registered at the high school (he's not at a " feeder school " , so

> it's not a seamless process).

>

> Meanwhile, I can barely walk. Mostly I walk by holding on to whatever

> I can grasp. Despite this, I've been having a Hell of a time getting

> in with a rheumatologist. I so wish I still had Kaiser right now. When

> I was with Kaiser, the nurses would do all they could to get me in if

> I was having a painful flare up. I did a 20 mile radius search with my

> provider, and got 19.4 miles before I could get anyone who was taking

> new patients and wasn't going to make me waste my time going to a

> " primary care " doctor for a referral - when I've had a diagnosis of

> Rheumatoid Arthritis since 1999, and a letter from my former Kaiser

> primary care physician attesting to that. And the provider 19.4 miles

> away that would talk to me doesn't have any new patient openings until

> late-July! I suppose it should be no surprise that Stanford books up

> appointments well in advance, but I can't put my life on hold for 2

> months.

>

> Finally, last Thursday, I couldn't walk at all without holding on to

> furniture when I first got up. I called in sick to work, and by 1:00

> P.M. was able to at least make baby steps slowly without holding onto

> things. So I slowly made my way down the stairs from my apartment, and

> to the parking lot, and went to the closest Urgent Care center in

> Willow Glen. Thankfully, by having the urgent care doctor call the

> rheumatology department at San Medical Group, she was able to get

> me an appointment Monday morning - something I was unable to do on my

> own. The rheumatologist also instructed her to give me a

> corticosteroid shot to hold me over. Unfortunately, it didn't do much

> good. I could let go of the furniture a little more often, but still

> had the mobility level of an 85 year old who lost her walker.

>

> Fast forward to today. So I make my way over to the clinic in time for

> my 11:30 A.M. appointment - only to find out that my appointment had

> been canceled due the doctor calling in, and no one bothered to tell

> me. And, of course, they were otherwise booked until July. I told the

> girl at the desk that that wasn't good enough. I can't go another

> month living with this level of pain and helplessness. So she says

> they will make some calls and see what they can do.

>

> They manage to come up with an appointment at 12 P.M. a week from

> Tuesday. Better than July, but still not acceptable. So I take the

> appointment, but I go back to the urgent care again, because there is

> no way in Hell I was going to spend another week in pain and helpless.

> I can barely walk, I have laundry piling up, and I can barely get up

> the stairs to my apartment.

>

> Thankfully, I manage to get a doctor at the urgent care with a

> rheumatology background - he hasn't gotten board certified in the U.S.

> yet, but he was board certified in Russia. So he prescribed me a

> course of prednisone - starting at 40 mgs, then tapering off

> gradually. He also ordered the usual blood tests to check how bad the

> flare up is so that the results would be ready for my appointment next

> week.

>

> My wonderful day ended at Long's with a prescription that was supposed

> to take 15 - 20 minutes actually taking over an hour to fill. By the

> time I got home from all of this, I was beyond exhausted.

>

[Guest guest]

I can completely empathize with you ! I am 36 and have had Fibromyalgia

for 8 years diagnosed (10 considering it took 2 years to find). Then 2 years

later, I began having issues with inflammatory arthritis. I have elevated SED,

Westegren, and CRP along with xrays that show knee issues and joint effusions.

So I have been being treated for seronegative RA with plaquenil, sulfasalazine,

and mobic. I see the rheumatologist every 12 weeks. The past 8 weeks I have

been basically bedbound, extreme pain, cannot stand or bear weight on my ankles

to even walk. I have a cane and that doesn't help matters as the pain from

standing is enough to make me scream. Yesterday, I saw my rheumatologist and

for some unknown reason, she stopped my plaquenil and increased my mobic to

15mgs instead of the 7.5 and kept me on the 3000mgs of sulfasalazine. Yet, I

have continual respiratory infections where I need to stop the sulfasalazine

every time I am on the antibiotics and my pain

worsens then. My knees which feel like cement bricks were not even examined.

To top that all of, I had to make the 7 hour round trip it takes me to get there

and back so today the pain is even more intense. She seemed to blame this all

on my FMS which makes no sense because the stiffness and swelling I am

experiencing has nothing to do with FMS. I'm awaiting a call back from my

family doctor and am getting ready to call her nurse as well. I so hope you are

able to get into a good doctor and get on some medications to help you soon!

<vanessalp@...> wrote: First, let

me say that I'm so glad to have found this place. I was

diagnosed with RA in November 1999, at the ripe old age of 30. After

my initial flare up, I spent many years with my RA in remission thanks

to Plaquinil and NSAIDs. But the disease started making almost annual

appearances about 3 years ago. My most recent flare up started

gradually a couple of months ago, but have gotten unbearable due to

small-minded doctors recently. Here are the details of the events

leading up to my current debilitating flare up:

My RA has picked a really bad time to rear its ugly head again. I'm

supposed to be arranging the dinner for my son's 8th grade graduation,

and I need to get up really early one Tuesday or Thursday to get my

son registered at the high school (he's not at a " feeder school " , so

it's not a seamless process).

Meanwhile, I can barely walk. Mostly I walk by holding on to whatever

I can grasp. Despite this, I've been having a Hell of a time getting

in with a rheumatologist. I so wish I still had Kaiser right now. When

I was with Kaiser, the nurses would do all they could to get me in if

I was having a painful flare up. I did a 20 mile radius search with my

provider, and got 19.4 miles before I could get anyone who was taking

new patients and wasn't going to make me waste my time going to a

" primary care " doctor for a referral - when I've had a diagnosis of

Rheumatoid Arthritis since 1999, and a letter from my former Kaiser

primary care physician attesting to that. And the provider 19.4 miles

away that would talk to me doesn't have any new patient openings until

late-July! I suppose it should be no surprise that Stanford books up

appointments well in advance, but I can't put my life on hold for 2

months.

Finally, last Thursday, I couldn't walk at all without holding on to

furniture when I first got up. I called in sick to work, and by 1:00

P.M. was able to at least make baby steps slowly without holding onto

things. So I slowly made my way down the stairs from my apartment, and

to the parking lot, and went to the closest Urgent Care center in

Willow Glen. Thankfully, by having the urgent care doctor call the

rheumatology department at San Medical Group, she was able to get

me an appointment Monday morning - something I was unable to do on my

own. The rheumatologist also instructed her to give me a

corticosteroid shot to hold me over. Unfortunately, it didn't do much

good. I could let go of the furniture a little more often, but still

had the mobility level of an 85 year old who lost her walker.

Fast forward to today. So I make my way over to the clinic in time for

my 11:30 A.M. appointment - only to find out that my appointment had

been canceled due the doctor calling in, and no one bothered to tell

me. And, of course, they were otherwise booked until July. I told the

girl at the desk that that wasn't good enough. I can't go another

month living with this level of pain and helplessness. So she says

they will make some calls and see what they can do.

They manage to come up with an appointment at 12 P.M. a week from

Tuesday. Better than July, but still not acceptable. So I take the

appointment, but I go back to the urgent care again, because there is

no way in Hell I was going to spend another week in pain and helpless.

I can barely walk, I have laundry piling up, and I can barely get up

the stairs to my apartment.

Thankfully, I manage to get a doctor at the urgent care with a

rheumatology background - he hasn't gotten board certified in the U.S.

yet, but he was board certified in Russia. So he prescribed me a

course of prednisone - starting at 40 mgs, then tapering off

gradually. He also ordered the usual blood tests to check how bad the

flare up is so that the results would be ready for my appointment next

week.

My wonderful day ended at Long's with a prescription that was supposed

to take 15 - 20 minutes actually taking over an hour to fill. By the

time I got home from all of this, I was beyond exhausted.

[Guest guest]

Hi and :

Much prayers and hugs you will both be feeling better soon. I hate to feel

like that too. Hope you both get to the drs. for much needed help from these

awful diseases. I care. Prayers for both of you.

Barbara

First, let me say that I'm so glad to

have found this place. I was

diagnosed with RA in November 1999, at the ripe old age of 30. After

my initial flare up, I spent many years with my RA in remission thanks

to Plaquinil and NSAIDs. But the disease started making almost annual

appearances about 3 years ago. My most recent flare up started

gradually a couple of months ago, but have gotten unbearable due to

small-minded doctors recently. Here are the details of the events

leading up to my current debilitating flare up:

My RA has picked a really bad time to rear its ugly head again. I'm

supposed to be arranging the dinner for my son's 8th grade graduation,

and I need to get up really early one Tuesday or Thursday to get my

son registered at the high school (he's not at a " feeder school " , so

it's not a seamless process).

Meanwhile, I can barely walk. Mostly I walk by holding on to whatever

I can grasp. Despite this, I've been having a Hell of a time getting

in with a rheumatologist. I so wish I still had Kaiser right now. When

I was with Kaiser, the nurses would do all they could to get me in if

I was having a painful flare up. I did a 20 mile radius search with my

provider, and got 19.4 miles before I could get anyone who was taking

new patients and wasn't going to make me waste my time going to a

" primary care " doctor for a referral - when I've had a diagnosis of

Rheumatoid Arthritis since 1999, and a letter from my former Kaiser

primary care physician attesting to that. And the provider 19.4 miles

away that would talk to me doesn't have any new patient openings until

late-July! I suppose it should be no surprise that Stanford books up

appointments well in advance, but I can't put my life on hold for 2

months.

Finally, last Thursday, I couldn't walk at all without holding on to

furniture when I first got up. I called in sick to work, and by 1:00

P.M. was able to at least make baby steps slowly without holding onto

things. So I slowly made my way down the stairs from my apartment, and

to the parking lot, and went to the closest Urgent Care center in

Willow Glen. Thankfully, by having the urgent care doctor call the

rheumatology department at San Medical Group, she was able to get

me an appointment Monday morning - something I was unable to do on my

own. The rheumatologist also instructed her to give me a

corticosteroid shot to hold me over. Unfortunately, it didn't do much

good. I could let go of the furniture a little more often, but still

had the mobility level of an 85 year old who lost her walker.

Fast forward to today. So I make my way over to the clinic in time for

my 11:30 A.M. appointment - only to find out that my appointment had

been canceled due the doctor calling in, and no one bothered to tell

me. And, of course, they were otherwise booked until July. I told the

girl at the desk that that wasn't good enough. I can't go another

month living with this level of pain and helplessness. So she says

they will make some calls and see what they can do.

They manage to come up with an appointment at 12 P.M. a week from

Tuesday. Better than July, but still not acceptable. So I take the

appointment, but I go back to the urgent care again, because there is

no way in Hell I was going to spend another week in pain and helpless.

I can barely walk, I have laundry piling up, and I can barely get up

the stairs to my apartment.

Thankfully, I manage to get a doctor at the urgent care with a

rheumatology background - he hasn't gotten board certified in the U.S.

yet, but he was board certified in Russia. So he prescribed me a

course of prednisone - starting at 40 mgs, then tapering off

gradually. He also ordered the usual blood tests to check how bad the

flare up is so that the results would be ready for my appointment next

week.

My wonderful day ended at Long's with a prescription that was supposed

to take 15 - 20 minutes actually taking over an hour to fill. By the

time I got home from all of this, I was beyond exhausted.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the warm welcome, !

Yes, the U.S. health system is different from Australia's, but by no means

better.

-

michellefollet <michellefollet@...> wrote: ---

In , " " <vanessalp@...> wrote:

Hi ,

I was very sympathetic to you when I was reading your email. I have

suffered from RA for three years now, but I also suffer from fibro

myalgia, which I have had for around 5years now.

When my condition really flares up I am so desperate that my husband

has to take me to the emergency at our local hospital. Sadly most of

the time they don't know what to do with me and I am in excruciating

pain. I too have trouble walking and my last flare up had effected my

neck and shoulders, I have been unable to lift my neck of arms and the

tears were just streaming down my face. I cope with pain on a daily

basis but as you know this pain we get is unbareable and we are not

able to function us we want to. It is so hard when we have families

to care for and are not coping looking after ourselves.

My youngest daughter ( I am older than you 47years) who is 15years,

suffers from a rare blood disorder called " evans syndrome' it is also

an autoimmune disorder. Her antibodies attack her blood cells and

kill them off. As you can imagine it is a horrible illness and life

threatening. I need to be able to manage to get her to hospital and

care for her when her condition flares up. At times I feel useless as

my own body does not want to co operate.

I also have problems waiting so long to get to rheumatologist

appointments, when we are really bad we need to see someone then !!!

As I am from Australia our medical system is probably different to

yours, although you seem to have trouble getting appointments also !!

So frustrating when you need help.

I hope things are improving with you, I am also new to this support

group, it is so good to talk to people who understand.

Take care .

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[Guest guest]

Thanks, !

Sounds like you are even worse off than I am. I can kind of walk, but it looks

like the kind of walk a one-year-old does when they are first learning to walk.

I've been on 20 mg of Methotrexate a week, and 200 mg of Plaquinil daily for a

couple of years now. But I guess that's not enough any more. Not that that

should be surprising to me since I spend the first 5 years with the RA under

control with just Plaquinil and NSAIDs.

-

stephanie <stephieann2@...> wrote: I can

completely empathize with you ! I am 36 and have had Fibromyalgia for 8

years diagnosed (10 considering it took 2 years to find). Then 2 years later, I

began having issues with inflammatory arthritis. I have elevated SED,

Westegren, and CRP along with xrays that show knee issues and joint effusions.

So I have been being treated for seronegative RA with plaquenil, sulfasalazine,

and mobic. I see the rheumatologist every 12 weeks. The past 8 weeks I have

been basically bedbound, extreme pain, cannot stand or bear weight on my ankles

to even walk. I have a cane and that doesn't help matters as the pain from

standing is enough to make me scream. Yesterday, I saw my rheumatologist and

for some unknown reason, she stopped my plaquenil and increased my mobic to

15mgs instead of the 7.5 and kept me on the 3000mgs of sulfasalazine. Yet, I

have continual respiratory infections where I need to

stop the sulfasalazine every time I am on the antibiotics and my pain

worsens then. My knees which feel like cement bricks were not even examined.

To top that all of, I had to make the 7 hour round trip it takes me to get there

and back so today the pain is even more intense. She seemed to blame this all

on my FMS which makes no sense because the stiffness and swelling I am

experiencing has nothing to do with FMS. I'm awaiting a call back from my

family doctor and am getting ready to call her nurse as well. I so hope you are

able to get into a good doctor and get on some medications to help you soon!

[Guest guest]

HI MICHELLE, WELCOME! IM 38 YRS. OLD HAVE SEVERE RA & OSTEO. flares r bad they

just seem to make your life more miserable than it already is!! sometimes my hub

also takes me to the e.r. cuz the pain is so constant & it does not go away, i

could just die. i have an 11 yr.old daughter & yes its HARD when you cant take

care of yourself more less them but i try my BEST & my family is very

UNDERSTANDING!! i believe if i did not have my family's support, i dont know

where i would be cuz THEY KEEP ME GOING, PAIN OR NO PAIN!! god bless,

melyndagamez 6/3/08 8:35p.m.central

[ ] Re: Newbie Here

Hi ,

I was very sympathetic to you when I was reading your email.  I have

suffered from RA for three years now, but I also suffer from fibro

myalgia, which I have had for around 5years now.

When my condition really flares up I am so desperate that my husband

has to take me to the emergency at our local hospital.  Sadly most of

the time they don't know what to do with me and I am in excruciating

pain.  I too have trouble walking and my last flare up had effected my

neck and shoulders, I have been unable to lift my neck of arms and the

tears were just streaming down my face.  I cope with pain on a daily

basis but as you know this pain we get is unbareable and we are not

able to function us we want to.  It is so hard when we have families

to care for and are not coping looking after ourselves.

My youngest daughter ( I am older than you 47years) who is 15years,

suffers from a rare blood disorder called " evans syndrome' it is also

an autoimmune disorder.  Her antibodies attack her blood cells and

kill them off.  As you can imagine it is a horrible illness and life

threatening.  I need to be able to manage to get her to hospital and

care for her when her condition flares up.  At times I feel useless as

my own body does not want to co operate.

I also have problems waiting so long to get to rheumatologist

appointments, when we are really bad we need to see someone then !!!

As I am from Australia our medical system is probably different to

yours, although you seem to have trouble getting appointments also !!

So frustrating when you need help.

I hope things are improving with you, I am also new to this support

group, it is so good to talk to people who understand.

Take care .

>

> First, let me say that I'm so glad to have found this place.  I was

> diagnosed with RA in November 1999, at the ripe old age of 30.  After

> my initial flare up, I spent many years with my RA in remission thanks

> to Plaquinil and NSAIDs.  But the disease started making almost annual

> appearances about 3 years ago..  My most recent flare up started

> gradually a couple of months ago, but have gotten unbearable due to

> small-minded doctors recently.  Here are the details of the events

> leading up to my current debilitating flare up:

>

> My RA has picked a really bad time to rear its ugly head again. I'm

> supposed to be arranging the dinner for my son's 8th grade graduation,

> and I need to get up really early one Tuesday or Thursday to get my

> son registered at the high school (he's not at a " feeder school " , so

> it's not a seamless process).

>

> Meanwhile, I can barely walk. Mostly I walk by holding on to whatever

> I can grasp. Despite this, I've been having a Hell of a time getting

> in with a rheumatologist. I so wish I still had Kaiser right now. When

> I was with Kaiser, the nurses would do all they could to get me in if

> I was having a painful flare up. I did a 20 mile radius search with my

> provider, and got 19.4 miles before I could get anyone who was taking

> new patients and wasn't going to make me waste my time going to a

> " primary care " doctor for a referral - when I've had a diagnosis of

> Rheumatoid Arthritis since 1999, and a letter from my former Kaiser

> primary care physician attesting to that. And the provider 19.4 miles

> away that would talk to me doesn't have any new patient openings until

> late-July!  I suppose it should be no surprise that Stanford books up

> appointments well in advance, but I can't put my life on hold for 2

> months.

>

> Finally, last Thursday, I couldn't walk at all without holding on to

> furniture when I first got up. I called in sick to work, and by 1:00

> P.M. was able to at least make baby steps slowly without holding onto

> things. So I slowly made my way down the stairs from my apartment, and

> to the parking lot, and went to the closest Urgent Care center in

> Willow Glen. Thankfully, by having the urgent care doctor call the

> rheumatology department at San Medical Group, she was able to get

> me an appointment Monday morning - something I was unable to do on my

> own. The rheumatologist also instructed her to give me a

> corticosteroid shot to hold me over. Unfortunately, it didn't do much

> good. I could let go of the furniture a little more often, but still

> had the mobility level of an 85 year old who lost her walker..

>

> Fast forward to today. So I make my way over to the clinic in time for

> my 11:30 A.M. appointment - only to find out that my appointment had

> been canceled due the doctor calling in, and no one bothered to tell

> me. And, of course, they were otherwise booked until July. I told the

> girl at the desk that that wasn't good enough. I can't go another

> month living with this level of pain and helplessness. So she says

> they will make some calls and see what they can do.

>

> They manage to come up with an appointment at 12 P.M. a week from

> Tuesday. Better than July, but still not acceptable. So I take the

> appointment, but I go back to the urgent care again, because there is

> no way in Hell I was going to spend another week in pain and helpless.

> I can barely walk, I have laundry piling up, and I can barely get up

> the stairs to my apartment.

>

> Thankfully, I manage to get a doctor at the urgent care with a

> rheumatology background - he hasn't gotten board certified in the U.S.

> yet, but he was board certified in Russia. So he prescribed me a

> course of prednisone - starting at 40 mgs, then tapering off

> gradually. He also ordered the usual blood tests to check how bad the

> flare up is so that the results would be ready for my appointment next

> week.

>

> My wonderful day ended at Long's with a prescription that was supposed

> to take 15 - 20 minutes actually taking over an hour to fill. By the

> time I got home from all of this, I was beyond exhausted.

>

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

HI VANESSA, WELCOME! I HAVE POSTED & I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU R GOING THROUGH. hang

in there im sure your A GREAT MOM & YOUR SON IS LUCKY TO HAVE YOU IN HIS LIFE.

keep fighting with all you have got for your family. they need you & sometimes

its hard for us to walk or even get out of bed but im sure he understands cuz

kids they just know!! i have an 11 yr.old daughter,alyssa & shes my " MIRACLE "

child so im THANKFUL for what our lord has given me. god bless,melyndagamez

[ ] Newbie Here

First, let me say that I'm so glad to have found this place.  I was

diagnosed with RA in November 1999, at the ripe old age of 30.  After

my initial flare up, I spent many years with my RA in remission thanks

to Plaquinil and NSAIDs.  But the disease started making almost annual

appearances about 3 years ago.  My most recent flare up started

gradually a couple of months ago, but have gotten unbearable due to

small-minded doctors recently.  Here are the details of the events

leading up to my current debilitating flare up:

My RA has picked a really bad time to rear its ugly head again. I'm

supposed to be arranging the dinner for my son's 8th grade graduation,

and I need to get up really early one Tuesday or Thursday to get my

son registered at the high school (he's not at a " feeder school " , so

it's not a seamless process).

Meanwhile, I can barely walk. Mostly I walk by holding on to whatever

I can grasp. Despite this, I've been having a Hell of a time getting

in with a rheumatologist. I so wish I still had Kaiser right now. When

I was with Kaiser, the nurses would do all they could to get me in if

I was having a painful flare up. I did a 20 mile radius search with my

provider, and got 19.4 miles before I could get anyone who was taking

new patients and wasn't going to make me waste my time going to a

" primary care " doctor for a referral - when I've had a diagnosis of

Rheumatoid Arthritis since 1999, and a letter from my former Kaiser

primary care physician attesting to that. And the provider 19.4 miles

away that would talk to me doesn't have any new patient openings until

late-July!  I suppose it should be no surprise that Stanford books up

appointments well in advance, but I can't put my life on hold for 2

months.

Finally, last Thursday, I couldn't walk at all without holding on to

furniture when I first got up. I called in sick to work, and by 1:00

P.M. was able to at least make baby steps slowly without holding onto

things. So I slowly made my way down the stairs from my apartment, and

to the parking lot, and went to the closest Urgent Care center in

Willow Glen. Thankfully, by having the urgent care doctor call the

rheumatology department at San Medical Group, she was able to get

me an appointment Monday morning - something I was unable to do on my

own. The rheumatologist also instructed her to give me a

corticosteroid shot to hold me over. Unfortunately, it didn't do much

good. I could let go of the furniture a little more often, but still

had the mobility level of an 85 year old who lost her walker.

Fast forward to today. So I make my way over to the clinic in time for

my 11:30 A.M. appointment - only to find out that my appointment had

been canceled due the doctor calling in, and no one bothered to tell

me. And, of course, they were otherwise booked until July. I told the

girl at the desk that that wasn't good enough. I can't go another

month living with this level of pain and helplessness. So she says

they will make some calls and see what they can do.

They manage to come up with an appointment at 12 P.M. a week from

Tuesday. Better than July, but still not acceptable. So I take the

appointment, but I go back to the urgent care again, because there is

no way in Hell I was going to spend another week in pain and helpless.

I can barely walk, I have laundry piling up, and I can barely get up

the stairs to my apartment.

Thankfully, I manage to get a doctor at the urgent care with a

rheumatology background - he hasn't gotten board certified in the U.S.

yet, but he was board certified in Russia. So he prescribed me a

course of prednisone - starting at 40 mgs, then tapering off

gradually. He also ordered the usual blood tests to check how bad the

flare up is so that the results would be ready for my appointment next

week.

My wonderful day ended at Long's with a prescription that was supposed

to take 15 - 20 minutes actually taking over an hour to fill. By the

time I got home from all of this, I was beyond exhausted.

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Hi Melynda,

Thanks for the works of support. I only wish there were a " they " here, however.

I am a single mom, my son's dad died early in 2000, and I have no immediate

family here in the Bay Area. My mom and grandmother are both over 3 hours away,

and my dad is at the other end of the state in the San Diego area. My son's

been pretty understanding, but he is 13 and about to graduate 8th grade, so I

know this has to be hard on him. I don't want him to feel like the weight of

all this is on him. I'd send him to live with one of my relatives before I let

that happen - even if that means me being alone and helpless.

-

Melynda Gamez <melyndagamez@...> wrote: HI

VANESSA, WELCOME! I HAVE POSTED & I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU R GOING THROUGH. hang in

there im sure your A GREAT MOM & YOUR SON IS LUCKY TO HAVE YOU IN HIS LIFE. keep

fighting with all you have got for your family. they need you & sometimes its

hard for us to walk or even get out of bed but im sure he understands cuz kids

they just know!! i have an 11 yr.old daughter,alyssa & shes my " MIRACLE " child

so im THANKFUL for what our lord has given me. god bless,melyndagamez

[Guest guest]

>

>

> Hi ,

>

> I was very sympathetic to you when I was reading your email. I have

> suffered from RA for three years now, but I also suffer from fibro

> myalgia, which I have had for around 5years now.

>

> When my condition really flares up I am so desperate that my husband

> has to take me to the emergency at our local hospital. Sadly most of

> the time they don't know what to do with me and I am in excruciating

> pain. I too have trouble walking and my last flare up had effected my

> neck and shoulders, I have been unable to lift my neck of arms and the

> tears were just streaming down my face. I cope with pain on a daily

> basis but as you know this pain we get is unbareable and we are not

> able to function us we want to. It is so hard when we have families

> to care for and are not coping looking after ourselves.

>

> My youngest daughter ( I am older than you 47years) who is 15years,

> suffers from a rare blood disorder called " evans syndrome' it is also

> an autoimmune disorder. Her antibodies attack her blood cells and

> kill them off. As you can imagine it is a horrible illness and life

> threatening. I need to be able to manage to get her to hospital and

> care for her when her condition flares up. At times I feel useless as

> my own body does not want to co operate.

>

> I also have problems waiting so long to get to rheumatologist

> appointments, when we are really bad we need to see someone then !!!

> As I am from Australia our medical system is probably different to

> yours, although you seem to have trouble getting appointments also !!

>

> So frustrating when you need help.

>

> I hope things are improving with you, I am also new to this support

> group, it is so good to talk to people who understand.

>

> Take care .

>

> >

> > First, let me say that I'm so glad to have found this place. I was

> > diagnosed with RA in November 1999, at the ripe old age of 30. After

> > my initial flare up, I spent many years with my RA in remission thanks

> > to Plaquinil and NSAIDs. But the disease started making almost annual

> > appearances about 3 years ago.. My most recent flare up started

> > gradually a couple of months ago, but have gotten unbearable due to

> > small-minded doctors recently. Here are the details of the events

> > leading up to my current debilitating flare up:

> >

> > My RA has picked a really bad time to rear its ugly head again. I'm

> > supposed to be arranging the dinner for my son's 8th grade graduation,

> > and I need to get up really early one Tuesday or Thursday to get my

> > son registered at the high school (he's not at a " feeder school " , so

> > it's not a seamless process).

> >

> > Meanwhile, I can barely walk. Mostly I walk by holding on to whatever

> > I can grasp. Despite this, I've been having a Hell of a time getting

> > in with a rheumatologist. I so wish I still had Kaiser right now. When

> > I was with Kaiser, the nurses would do all they could to get me in if

> > I was having a painful flare up. I did a 20 mile radius search with my

> > provider, and got 19.4 miles before I could get anyone who was taking

> > new patients and wasn't going to make me waste my time going to a

> > " primary care " doctor for a referral - when I've had a diagnosis of

> > Rheumatoid Arthritis since 1999, and a letter from my former Kaiser

> > primary care physician attesting to that. And the provider 19.4 miles

> > away that would talk to me doesn't have any new patient openings until

> > late-July! I suppose it should be no surprise that Stanford books up

> > appointments well in advance, but I can't put my life on hold for 2

> > months.

> >

> > Finally, last Thursday, I couldn't walk at all without holding on to

> > furniture when I first got up. I called in sick to work, and by 1:00

> > P.M. was able to at least make baby steps slowly without holding onto

> > things. So I slowly made my way down the stairs from my apartment, and

> > to the parking lot, and went to the closest Urgent Care center in

> > Willow Glen. Thankfully, by having the urgent care doctor call the

> > rheumatology department at San Medical Group, she was able to get

> > me an appointment Monday morning - something I was unable to do on my

> > own. The rheumatologist also instructed her to give me a

> > corticosteroid shot to hold me over. Unfortunately, it didn't do much

> > good. I could let go of the furniture a little more often, but still

> > had the mobility level of an 85 year old who lost her walker..

> >

> > Fast forward to today. So I make my way over to the clinic in time for

> > my 11:30 A.M. appointment - only to find out that my appointment had

> > been canceled due the doctor calling in, and no one bothered to tell

> > me. And, of course, they were otherwise booked until July. I told the

> > girl at the desk that that wasn't good enough. I can't go another

> > month living with this level of pain and helplessness. So she says

> > they will make some calls and see what they can do.

> >

> > They manage to come up with an appointment at 12 P.M. a week from

> > Tuesday. Better than July, but still not acceptable. So I take the

> > appointment, but I go back to the urgent care again, because there is

> > no way in Hell I was going to spend another week in pain and helpless.

> > I can barely walk, I have laundry piling up, and I can barely get up

> > the stairs to my apartment.

> >

> > Thankfully, I manage to get a doctor at the urgent care with a

> > rheumatology background - he hasn't gotten board certified in the U.S.

> > yet, but he was board certified in Russia. So he prescribed me a

> > course of prednisone - starting at 40 mgs, then tapering off

> > gradually. He also ordered the usual blood tests to check how bad the

> > flare up is so that the results would be ready for my appointment next

> > week.

> >

> > My wonderful day ended at Long's with a prescription that was supposed

> > to take 15 - 20 minutes actually taking over an hour to fill. By the

> > time I got home from all of this, I was beyond exhausted.

> >

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

hi vanessa, i understand what you are saying cuz i have been there. not any more

though. i always used to feel that way but then all the people who loved me said

I WAS BEING SELFISH CUZ ALL I WAS THINKING ABOUT WAS MYSELF & NOT MY CHILDS

FEELINGS OF BEING W/OUT A MOM. in your case your son would be w/o a father &

mother, im sure you dont want that, even if at this very moment in time you feel

this way. we all feel this way at some time or another.. god bless,melyndagamez

6/4/08 11a.m.central

Re: [ ] Newbie Here

Hi Melynda,

Thanks for the works of support.  I only wish there were a " they " here,

however.  I am a single mom, my son's dad died early in 2000, and I have no

immediate family here in the Bay Area.  My mom and grandmother are both over 3

hours away, and my dad is at the other end of the state in the San Diego area. 

My son's been pretty understanding, but he is 13 and about to graduate 8th

grade, so I know this has to be hard on him.  I don't want him to feel like the

weight of all this is on him.  I'd send him to live with one of my relatives

before I let that happen - even if that means me being alone and helpless.

-

Melynda Gamez <melyndagamez@...> wrote:                            HI

VANESSA, WELCOME! I HAVE POSTED & I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU R GOING THROUGH. hang in

there im sure your A GREAT MOM & YOUR SON IS LUCKY TO HAVE YOU IN HIS LIFE. keep

fighting with all you have got for your family. they need you & sometimes its

hard for us to walk or even get out of bed but im sure he understands cuz kids

they just know!! i have an 11 yr.old daughter,alyssa & shes my " MIRACLE " child

so im THANKFUL for what our lord has given me. god bless,melyndagamez

                       

[Guest guest]

hi michelle, i loved your response. i too love to sing karaoke, here in corpus

christi,tx. we have alot of pubs or karaoke clubs, its soo much FUN!! if thats

what helps keep it up,michelle. you go girl!!! SING ON!! god bless,melyndagamez

6/4/08 11:05a.m.central

[ ] Re: Newbie Here

>

>

> Hi ,

>

> I was very sympathetic to you when I was reading your email.  I have

> suffered from RA for three years now, but I also suffer from fibro

> myalgia, which I have had for around 5years now..

>

> When my condition really flares up I am so desperate that my husband

> has to take me to the emergency at our local hospital.  Sadly most of

> the time they don't know what to do with me and I am in excruciating

> pain.  I too have trouble walking and my last flare up had effected my

> neck and shoulders, I have been unable to lift my neck of arms and the

> tears were just streaming down my face.  I cope with pain on a daily

> basis but as you know this pain we get is unbareable and we are not

> able to function us we want to.  It is so hard when we have families

> to care for and are not coping looking after ourselves.

>

> My youngest daughter ( I am older than you 47years) who is 15years,

> suffers from a rare blood disorder called " evans syndrome' it is also

> an autoimmune disorder.  Her antibodies attack her blood cells and

> kill them off.  As you can imagine it is a horrible illness and life

> threatening.  I need to be able to manage to get her to hospital and

> care for her when her condition flares up.  At times I feel useless as

> my own body does not want to co operate.

>

> I also have problems waiting so long to get to rheumatologist

> appointments, when we are really bad we need to see someone then !!!

> As I am from Australia our medical system is probably different to

> yours, although you seem to have trouble getting appointments also !!

>

> So frustrating when you need help.

>

> I hope things are improving with you, I am also new to this support

> group, it is so good to talk to people who understand.

>

> Take care .

>

> >

> > First, let me say that I'm so glad to have found this place.  I was

> > diagnosed with RA in November 1999, at the ripe old age of 30.  After

> > my initial flare up, I spent many years with my RA in remission thanks

> > to Plaquinil and NSAIDs.  But the disease started making almost annual

> > appearances about 3 years ago..  My most recent flare up started

> > gradually a couple of months ago, but have gotten unbearable due to

> > small-minded doctors recently.  Here are the details of the events

> > leading up to my current debilitating flare up:

> >

> > My RA has picked a really bad time to rear its ugly head again. I'm

> > supposed to be arranging the dinner for my son's 8th grade graduation,

> > and I need to get up really early one Tuesday or Thursday to get my

> > son registered at the high school (he's not at a " feeder school " , so

> > it's not a seamless process).

> >

> > Meanwhile, I can barely walk. Mostly I walk by holding on to whatever

> > I can grasp. Despite this, I've been having a Hell of a time getting

> > in with a rheumatologist. I so wish I still had Kaiser right now. When

> > I was with Kaiser, the nurses would do all they could to get me in if

> > I was having a painful flare up. I did a 20 mile radius search with my

> > provider, and got 19.4 miles before I could get anyone who was taking

> > new patients and wasn't going to make me waste my time going to a

> > " primary care " doctor for a referral - when I've had a diagnosis of

> > Rheumatoid Arthritis since 1999, and a letter from my former Kaiser

> > primary care physician attesting to that. And the provider 19.4 miles

> > away that would talk to me doesn't have any new patient openings until

> > late-July!  I suppose it should be no surprise that Stanford books up

> > appointments well in advance, but I can't put my life on hold for 2

> > months.

> >

> > Finally, last Thursday, I couldn't walk at all without holding on to

> > furniture when I first got up. I called in sick to work, and by 1:00

> > P.M. was able to at least make baby steps slowly without holding onto

> > things. So I slowly made my way down the stairs from my apartment, and

> > to the parking lot, and went to the closest Urgent Care center in

> > Willow Glen. Thankfully, by having the urgent care doctor call the

> > rheumatology department at San Medical Group, she was able to get

> > me an appointment Monday morning - something I was unable to do on my

> > own. The rheumatologist also instructed her to give me a

> > corticosteroid shot to hold me over. Unfortunately, it didn't do much

> > good. I could let go of the furniture a little more often, but still

> > had the mobility level of an 85 year old who lost her walker..

> >

> > Fast forward to today. So I make my way over to the clinic in time for

> > my 11:30 A.M. appointment - only to find out that my appointment had

> > been canceled due the doctor calling in, and no one bothered to tell

> > me. And, of course, they were otherwise booked until July. I told the

> > girl at the desk that that wasn't good enough. I can't go another

> > month living with this level of pain and helplessness. So she says

> > they will make some calls and see what they can do.

> >

> > They manage to come up with an appointment at 12 P.M. a week from

> > Tuesday. Better than July, but still not acceptable. So I take the

> > appointment, but I go back to the urgent care again, because there is

> > no way in Hell I was going to spend another week in pain and helpless.

> > I can barely walk, I have laundry piling up, and I can barely get up

> > the stairs to my apartment.

> >

> > Thankfully, I manage to get a doctor at the urgent care with a

> > rheumatology background - he hasn't gotten board certified in the U.S.

> > yet, but he was board certified in Russia. So he prescribed me a

> > course of prednisone - starting at 40 mgs, then tapering off

> > gradually. He also ordered the usual blood tests to check how bad the

> > flare up is so that the results would be ready for my appointment next

> > week.

> >

> > My wonderful day ended at Long's with a prescription that was supposed

> > to take 15 - 20 minutes actually taking over an hour to fill. By the

> > time I got home from all of this, I was beyond exhausted.

> >

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

I haven’t

had that experience and I’ve been on it for a year. Just a little thinning,

maybe, but no clumps or baldness for me.

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis

[mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On

Behalf Of whisperingmoonwoman2001

Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008

10:57 AM

To:

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject:

Newbie here

A little about me, I'm 39 yr old female that suffers

from progressive

ra, I have a wonderful caring husband, 4 kids an 3 grand kids. I found

out June of 2007 I have RA been on 2 different meds to slow it down now

I'm a new one been on this for nearly a yr in feb, methotrexrate is

what I take an I take folic acid also along with a few vitamins. I

recently found out on my own that hair loss is a side affect to this ra

med, I was told about some affects but nothing about hair loss while on

it. I also wasn't told how long I'm suppose to take this, but if I'm

going to keep loosing my hair I don't want to take it anymore. I go to

the Rheumtoid dr next month going to ask how long I'm suppose to be

taking this an also ask about getting something else that isn't going

to cause hair loss, I know about all the treatments they have for

people with ra but I don't want an IV treatment every month. I'm so

confused on what to do about this right now, the treatment is working

for me but I don't want to wake up some morning an find a clump of hair

on my pillow or when I go to brush my hair I don't want to see a bunch

on my brush, bad enough I had to pull a huge clump from my shower

drain.

[Guest guest]

Hi- Just a little FYI so you will feel a bit better about your treatment. Methotrexate is a chemotherapy drug. It is used to inhibit your white cells from dividing. Rapid reproduction or overproduction of white cells that attack your joint is what RA is. Take a strong multi vitamin as well as a biotin,folic acid supplement. Be sure to take Leucovorin!! Its made a huge difference in my hair loss as well as the symptoms of fatigue etc from taking it. Take MTX at night and take Leucovorin the next morning. I take Remicade which is an infusion every 8 weeks. I hope this helps you. Deborah Bargad

On Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 12:57 PM, whisperingmoonwoman2001 <whisperingmoonwoman2001@...> wrote:

A little about me, I'm 39 yr old female that suffers from progressive

ra, I have a wonderful caring husband, 4 kids an 3 grand kids. I found

out June of 2007 I have RA been on 2 different meds to slow it down now

I'm a new one been on this for nearly a yr in feb, methotrexrate is

what I take an I take folic acid also along with a few vitamins. I

recently found out on my own that hair loss is a side affect to this ra

med, I was told about some affects but nothing about hair loss while on

it. I also wasn't told how long I'm suppose to take this, but if I'm

going to keep loosing my hair I don't want to take it anymore. I go to

the Rheumtoid dr next month going to ask how long I'm suppose to be

taking this an also ask about getting something else that isn't going

to cause hair loss, I know about all the treatments they have for

people with ra but I don't want an IV treatment every month. I'm so

confused on what to do about this right now, the treatment is working

for me but I don't want to wake up some morning an find a clump of hair

on my pillow or when I go to brush my hair I don't want to see a bunch

on my brush, bad enough I had to pull a huge clump from my shower

drain.

[Guest guest]

I've been on it for 5 yrs and I lose a little when I brush but still have a full head - I'm 49

Helen

From: <karenbeyke@...>Subject: RE: Newbie hereRheumatoid Arthritis Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 6:37 PM

I haven¢t had that experience and I¢ve been on it for a year. Just a little thinning, maybe, but no clumps or baldness for me.

From: rheumatoid_arthriti sgroups (DOT) com [mailto:rheumatoid_ arthritis] On Behalf Of whisperingmoonwoman 2001Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 10:57 AMrheumatoid_arthriti sgroups (DOT) comSubject: [rheumatoid_ arthritis] Newbie here

A little about me, I'm 39 yr old female that suffers from progressive ra, I have a wonderful caring husband, 4 kids an 3 grand kids. I found out June of 2007 I have RA been on 2 different meds to slow it down now I'm a new one been on this for nearly a yr in feb, methotrexrate is what I take an I take folic acid also along with a few vitamins. I recently found out on my own that hair loss is a side affect to this ra med, I was told about some affects but nothing about hair loss while on it. I also wasn't told how long I'm suppose to take this, but if I'm going to keep loosing my hair I don't want to take it anymore. I go to the Rheumtoid dr next month going to ask how long I'm suppose to be taking this an also ask about getting something else that isn't going to cause hair loss, I know about all the treatments they have for people with

ra but I don't want an IV treatment every month. I'm so confused on what to do about this right now, the treatment is working for me but I don't want to wake up some morning an find a clump of hair on my pillow or when I go to brush my hair I don't want to see a bunch on my brush, bad enough I had to pull a huge clump from my shower drain.

[Guest guest]

What is

Leucovorin? Is it available over the counter?

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis [mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of Deborah Bargad

Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008

6:07 PM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: Re:

Newbie here

Hi- Just a little FYI so you will

feel a bit better about your treatment. Methotrexate is a chemotherapy

drug. It is used to inhibit your white cells from dividing. Rapid

reproduction or overproduction of white cells that attack your joint is what RA

is. Take a strong multi vitamin as well as a biotin,folic acid

supplement. Be sure to take Leucovorin!! Its made a huge difference

in my hair loss as well as the symptoms of fatigue etc from taking it.

Take MTX at night and take Leucovorin the next morning. I take

Remicade which is an infusion every 8 weeks. I hope this helps you.

Deborah Bargad

On Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 12:57 PM, whisperingmoonwoman2001 <whisperingmoonwoman2001 >

wrote:

A little about me, I'm 39

yr old female that suffers from progressive

ra, I have a wonderful caring husband, 4 kids an 3 grand kids. I found

out June of 2007 I have RA been on 2 different meds to slow it down now

I'm a new one been on this for nearly a yr in feb, methotrexrate is

what I take an I take folic acid also along with a few vitamins. I

recently found out on my own that hair loss is a side affect to this ra

med, I was told about some affects but nothing about hair loss while on

it. I also wasn't told how long I'm suppose to take this, but if I'm

going to keep loosing my hair I don't want to take it anymore. I go to

the Rheumtoid dr next month going to ask how long I'm suppose to be

taking this an also ask about getting something else that isn't going

to cause hair loss, I know about all the treatments they have for

people with ra but I don't want an IV treatment every month. I'm so

confused on what to do about this right now, the treatment is working

for me but I don't want to wake up some morning an find a clump of hair

on my pillow or when I go to brush my hair I don't want to see a bunch

on my brush, bad enough I had to pull a huge clump from my shower

drain.

[Guest guest]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folinic_acid

Leucovorin is a prescription medication often used either

instead of or in addition to Folic Acid. I don’t think it is available at any

strength without a prescription. Folic Acid works fine for me so I’ve never

tried Leucovorin. God bless.

From:

Rheumatoid Arthritis

[mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of

Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 1:12 PM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: RE: Newbie here

What is Leucovorin?

Is it available over the counter?

[Guest guest]

I’ve been

prescribed Folic Acid. Just wondering if the Leucovorin has any

additional benefits. Thanks for the info!

Beyke

lin, TN

karenbeyke@...

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis [mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of Harold Van Tuyl

Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008

3:55 PM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: RE:

Newbie here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folinic_acid

Leucovorin is a prescription medication often used either

instead of or in addition to Folic Acid. I don’t think it is

available at any strength without a prescription. Folic Acid works fine

for me so I’ve never tried Leucovorin. God bless.

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis

[mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ]

On Behalf Of

Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008

1:12 PM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: RE:

Newbie here

What is Leucovorin? Is it available over the

counter?

[Guest guest]

Both the naproxen and the mtx can cause some hair loss...I had some

thinning, but nothing serious. It looked like I was losing a lot more

than I really was at first. I've been on both for 4 years and am about

to start Remicade. The hair loss was about like what I had after

pregnancy and birth.

Sharon

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

I am a newbie here and would like to say hello to everyone. I am a wounded healer and have done Reiki II distance healing. I am looking for a like minded community. I live in NH. Does anyone here live in this state? I enjoyed the website very much and would like to be a part and contribute what I can. I have not read any posts here yet as I decided to jump right in and announce myself, which I never do!

I live a very quiet, contemplative lifestyle and consider myself one of those souls who is in the process of "waking up" to the illusions and what is real. During this many years process, it has isolated me in a way as I no longer share in the mundane conversations of most people but I yearn to meet those who are looking for answers and wanting to "wake up" also...I will be drawn to those if I am needed...In the meantime, I am enjoying learning and joining with others via the internet. Bless everyone here and now I will sign off and begin to look at some posts...

Namaste,

Morningstar