Guest guest Posted July 7, 2004 Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 I would definitely check with your rheumatologist. Drug interactions may be key. When I was 45 I was experiencing anemia and one of the solutions- which had worked before - to regulate periods - was to put me on an estrogen based oral contraceptive- not necessarily as birth control but to regulate bleeding. I was also on prednisone and methotrexxate for the RA. Long story short -it helped the anemia but I developed a DVT ( deep vein thrombosis) and then quickly two pulmonary embolisms. (I had been diagnosed with pneumonia because of shortness of breath - and pain and swelling in my legs and shoulders was ignored as just RA symptoms). But for some quick thinking and enormous increase in leg swelling - I could have died. I spent almost a week in cardiac intensive care. I was on coumadin for 6 months. I found out later- methotrexate can create an increase an increase homocysteine levels in the blood which makes it sluggish and more prone to clotting. Prednisone can impact circulation. I think that along with the standard blood clotting risk of estrogen based drugs- particularly after age 40- caused the problems. Of course, I was told that the cause of the clots was idiopathic- but I am convinced it was a drug interaction. I think my docs know that too - or I would have remained on coumadin. It is 4 years later - I have since had a hysterectomy- and I have had no reoccurence of the clotting problems once the estrogen was removed. I would be particularly wary of anything with estrogen in it - if you are taking a number of RA drugs and over 40. I would at least talk to both docs about that risk. Hugs, > Anyone else experience some early symptoms of menopause from RA? > Saw the gynecologist today and got a funky device ( " Femring " --newly > available in June) for delivering estrogen locally. My main complaint > is dryness. I'm only 43; the doc thought it was RA related, as " RA > can affect mucousal tissues " . > Thought I'd check in with the rheumatologist before starting the > Femring. I'm well aware of the cancer risk associated with HRT; this > should be much safer because the estrogen is delivered locally. > Comments? Experiences? > > S. > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2004 Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 , I am so sorry to hear you had to go through all of this. But I can certained sympathize with you. I had horrible side effects on MTX and prednisone. I am no longer taking either. I am curious because I am also high risk for blood clots I had weight loss surgery and I had a clot catching filter inserted before my big surgery. Did they put in a clot filter to catch clots? My doc says once a clot always the risk for a killer clot. I spent 3 weeks post op on heperin injections to prevent DVT post-op. It was a real " pain " taking shots 3 times a day for 21 days. But much better than the other option of a clot to the lungs, heart or brain. I am glad to hear that you are doing better. Toni In a message dated 7/7/2004 1:50:37 PM Central Daylight Time, writes: Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 14:37:50 +0000 From: k.j.choate@... Subject: Re: Question for Women I would definitely check with your rheumatologist. Drug interactions may be key. When I was 45 I was experiencing anemia and one of the solutions- which had worked before - to regulate periods - was to put me on an estrogen based oral contraceptive- not necessarily as birth control but to regulate bleeding. I was also on prednisone and methotrexxate for the RA. Long story short -it helped the anemia but I developed a DVT ( deep vein thrombosis) and then quickly two pulmonary embolisms. (I had been diagnosed with pneumonia because of shortness of breath - and pain and swelling in my legs and shoulders was ignored as just RA symptoms). But for some quick thinking and enormous increase in leg swelling - I could have died. I spent almost a week in cardiac intensive care. I was on coumadin for 6 months. I found out later- methotrexate can create an increase an increase homocysteine levels in the blood which makes it sluggish and more prone to clotting. Prednisone can impact circulation. I think that along with the standard blood clotting risk of estrogen based drugs- particularly after age 40- caused the problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 -Hi. I have not begun to reach the symptoms of menopause, so please excuse my ignorance and possible insensitivity to what you are going through, but the thought of taking estrogen strikes some concern in me. Have you asked your doctor about the possibility of estrogen making RA worse? It seems to me that because RA and other autoimmune issues are so much more common in women than men that there may be some kind of link. I seem to be very sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had such severe hyperemisis(morning, noon and night sickness) that I lost 17 pounds in the first eight weeks and ended up in the hosp with a pic line. I have never been able to tolerate birth controll pills because of nausea and headaches, I have had seven miscarriages and, at age 33, still break out in acne pefore each period! I recently had my galbladder removed because of a bunch of stones that my doctor said were estrogen based and last fall I got my RA diagnosis. Anyway, my point is not to complain, but to point out that the common link in most of these things may be estrogen. -Again, I don't know if estrogen could contribute to the onset or severity of RA, but I do think it would be worth checking into. It is so unfair to think that what could help one thing could hurt another. I guess that is our constant battle with RA. - In , " snowdrift52003 " <snowdrift52003@y...> wrote: > Anyone else experience some early symptoms of menopause from RA? > Saw the gynecologist today and got a funky device ( " Femring " -- newly > available in June) for delivering estrogen locally. My main complaint > is dryness. I'm only 43; the doc thought it was RA related, as " RA > can affect mucousal tissues " . > Thought I'd check in with the rheumatologist before starting the > Femring. I'm well aware of the cancer risk associated with HRT; this > should be much safer because the estrogen is delivered locally. > Comments? Experiences? > > S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 I hate to be indelicate but I really need to ask about asthma and menstrual cycles. I apologize greatly if this makes anyone uncomfortable but I desperately need help figuring out this mystery. I think that I am allergic to my period. I am dead serious. Every month about 4 days before my period, I cannot breathe at all. TO recap, I am on tons of meds, Xolair, and I self inject epi as a rescue medicine. I end up on Prednisone 4 days before my period every month. And my cycle is very irregular so it isn't psychosomatic. Will Xolair effect this? Does anyone know an approach to dealing with this? I have been on Xolair for 2 months and I do not see much change. I know that it can take a while to have a noticeable effect. My IgE was not terribly high (48) but my lungs are terribly bad. I am so sick of giving myself shots in the stomach. I am more sick of my kids getting my sharps off the shelf and the epi out of the fridge and bringing them to me when I can't stop coughing. I would greatly appreciate any information that could help me with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 Don't worry about your question....the only bad question is one that is not asked! I have ALWAYS noticed a decrease in my ability to control my asthma around " that time. " Which is why , when I started on Xolair my doctor and I decided to plan my injections out so I would have one about a week before " Aunt Flo " came to visit. I have noticed that it helps quite a bit. I've bee on on Xolair for almost two years now. I get injections twice per month. Depending on what your dosage and how many times you inject will depend on how soon you start to see results. Now I am not sure how many people in this group read what you wrote, but I for one am a bit concerned by some of the things you have said. I'm hoping that you could clear up a few red flags I saw here by answering a few questions. 1. Are you self injecting?! If so, what part of your body are you injecting with Xolair?! You said something about injecting into your stomach. Xolair is NOT intended to be injected into your stomach. It is injected to either your upper arm or thigh. 2. You said that you keep your Epi pen in the fridge. Both the box and the says insert on mine say " DO NOT REFRIGERATE " ! It then says " Store at 22`C or 77`F " . Which is basically room temp! 3. You said that your children have access to your sharps?!?!?! Do you not have a sharps container?! I get one every few months from my insurance company when they send me my Xolair. I then take my used sharps, once that container is full, to my doctors office and they dispose of it. If you don't have one, I suggest that you get one ASAP! Allowing your kids access to your sharps, used or unused is NOT A GOOD THING! --- schoolontherock <fromthebirdhouse@...> wrote: > I hate to be indelicate but I really need to ask > about asthma and > menstrual cycles. I apologize greatly if this makes > anyone > uncomfortable but I desperately need help figuring > out this mystery. > > I think that I am allergic to my period. I am dead > serious. Every > month about 4 days before my period, I cannot > breathe at all. TO > recap, I am on tons of meds, Xolair, and I self > inject epi as a > rescue medicine. I end up on Prednisone 4 days > before my period > every month. And my cycle is very irregular so it > isn't > psychosomatic. Will Xolair effect this? Does > anyone know an > approach to dealing with this? > > I have been on Xolair for 2 months and I do not see > much change. I > know that it can take a while to have a noticeable > effect. My IgE > was not terribly high (48) but my lungs are terribly > bad. I am so > sick of giving myself shots in the stomach. I am > more sick of my > kids getting my sharps off the shelf and the epi out > of the fridge > and bringing them to me when I can't stop coughing. > > I would greatly appreciate any information that > could help me with > this. > > > ________________________________________________________________________________\ ____ Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast with the Search weather shortcut. http://tools.search./shortcuts/#loc_weather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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