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Avatar universal

Tired of Hurting

I was just diagnosed with RA. My regular doctor will not treat me for it, says I have to go to a PM doctor. I see him next week. I am wondering what the meds are out there for this? I am so tired of being in pain. It has taken 10 long years for them to figure this out. help??
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Avatar universal
I will try them tomorrow, on my way to bed, thanks for the post, I have not been able to work in over a year and I yes I can take care of myself, my family has offered to help out now and then to. Just taking it one day at a time. Thanks!!
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Avatar universal
Hey desertgirl.... take a Celebrex and see how your pain level is in an hour or two. Take a second one in the AM. You may be surprised at how it works on inflamation pain and you just might be able to go the night and longer without narco type drugs.  

Celebrex is a Cox2 inhibitor which is a pain type thing so it can and does help lots & lots of people every day.

Do you work? If your partner left you can you take care of yourself?

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Avatar universal
Yes I know I deal with it everyday. Sometimes I feel better by getting out and doing things but other times I just want to sit at home and veg, which I was able to do today and it was very theraputic. I will keep all of this info you are giving me and talk to this new doctor about it or probably look into it on my own. I do not want to go back into the world of prescription pain meds. I know that I will probably have to for awhile. I just cannot stand the pain right now. Anyways, I hope you are having a nice dinner. I put my mother thru hell for a whole year with my addiction. The thing with a mother's love is she will always be there. My mother did the tough love on me and it worked. But she never really left my side. She came over yesterday and we just sat and watched movies together and it was wonderful. I cannot tell you how selfish and guilty I feel about all of that. I have alot to work on. Yes I know all about it being like love and I have to work on that everyday now. Especially since my ex left me last week because he grew tired of my illnesses. Hang in there with her it is so hard to get out of. How long has she been doing this? I thank you again for your kindness. It's people like you that have made this whole thing so much easier for me : )
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Avatar universal
Long hot baths and hot tubs are great for RA. Take the celebrex with food.

If you know where Palm Springs is you are less than 10 miles away. Both are in the Coachella Valley. You probably would go through Landers??? and come down through Yucca Valley, Morongo Valley to the Coachella valley, get on the I 10 and off at Monterey. Or, you could just do the 215?? to the 30 bypassing most of San Bernadino to I 10 at Redlands then on to the low desert..............

I kid you not, she is THE BEST outside of UCLA and Scripps in San Diego. works and knows all those guys too. I have been her patient since 1988, one of her first.

RA drugs... I have been on em all. Had it more than half my adult life.  My doctor has had me on all the new med studies over the years - and she will ONLY do phase 3 studies where they know what risks there are. These are studies where they are looking at dossages and time in between dossages , that kind of thing.

Just finished a 2 year Rituxan study and it is great! She also got my sister on a Rituxan study. But, Enbrel, Humira and Remicaid are all good biological drugs, work on your TNF factor but they can make it easier for you to get upper respratory infections. Rituxan works differently, on your CD20 protein cells.

I am in a holding pattern with my daughter... wondering if I was manipulated yet again, only time will tell. G*d, tough love is hard to do, you love them and want to see them happy and have a good life.......... Did anyone ever tell you love is like addiction?  I have to go to dinner now - out with friends, kinda would rather stay home but sometimes you have to do things you rather not want to do...
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Avatar universal
you are a godsend! thank you so much for taking the time to write to me and give me all of this information. i might just end up taking a celebrex to see if it helps. just got out of a hot tub and feeling a little better. he did not bleep the name, lol, i wrote it down, i am not sure where palm desert is but i will look it up. victorville and palmdale are closer to me. sorry to hear about your daughter, how is she doing now? the world of addiction is horendous and i am glad that i am out of it. you never mentioned what you are taking for your RA?
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Avatar universal
Oh, forgot to say this.. My doctor's mantra about RA is this, "control the RA and you control the pain"    ; -}

If med help Harry bleeps the doc name & number I will be glad to sent you a note with em via the forum.
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Avatar universal
Yep, you have seen me on the other forum talking and asking about my daughter's addiction problems and how it affects me & my life.. not to mention the grandkids!  

Believe me, I do know how you feel and how frustrating it is and how debilitating it can be at times - just the stupid fatigue it can bring on..........

If you can really, really try to go to an RA doc. If you can drive as far as Palm Desert, I am lucky to have one of the best Rhematologists in the country, Dr. Maria Greenwald, May take you a bit of time to get the appointment but she is soooooo worth the wait. She doesn't mince around and will try to find the best medication for what's going on with you - not everyone else, but you and your disease process. She will also, try to give you med samples if she has any if you can't afford them.  She prefers to not prescribe pain meds for RA over the long term but will when necessary. I know exactly how you feel about NSAIDS - I can;t take em either. Celebresx was actuly designed to be gentle on your stomach and isn't close to having the stomach problems the NSAIDs have as it is a Cox2 inhibitor and works differently. She is a very savvy doctor and I had a revelation while writing back to this person about pain meds and tapering (learned from reading these forums). If you can check out my post on 10/5 or 10/4 on  the Addiction Forum called "Withdrawl from pain killers" posted by mrchuck2000, you'll see what I mean.

No, I had to quit working when I was in my 40's and I would love to be able to work on a consistent basis but this disease kinda makes it har. Being on disability is also a hard pill to swallow.

Write back, anything I can do to help.....  NewLeaf  
P.S. Dr Greenwald is a firm believer of helping people get on dissability when the time comes.

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Avatar universal
Hi There! Thanks for writing, yes I am near the AV. About an hour north. Where are you at? I have had Lymes Disease since 1998. My immune system has been shot ever since. Last year I had three surgeries and just never got better. I ended up becoming addicted to my pain meds. I think I saw you on the forum? After a year of going crazy and everyone thinking that I am. I finally found a doctor who diagnosed me. He took blood work, I just found all this out last week, so I am really sketchy as to the details. There is no RA doctor where I live and he is making me see a Pain Management Doctor, until I get atleast get out of town to find proper treatment. NSAIDS make me very ill and last week I ended up getting very sick from them. I have been taking Ultram since February of this year but it doesn't really help and my pain is so much worse. He gave me some samples of Celebrex but I am afraid to take them because of stomach issuses. I am just now able to eat again. Along with all of this I am dealing with a very personal issue. Just very worn out and last night I was in so much pain I did not get any sleep. I don't even have any Ultram right now. My biggest concern is going back on pain meds. I know my issues with them and do not want to end up where I was before. I know I need them since I can barely get around anymore. Wow, thanks for listening to me go on and on, lol. I have tried Lyricia, and it made my vision very blurry. Do you take the methotrexate? I do not have insurance right now and I am trying to get on SSI but it's very difficult and got turned down once already. I am trying again right now and hoping this new doctor can help me. I would give anything to be able to go back to work though. Are you able to? Thanks : ))
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Avatar universal
Oh my GD, I know how long those 10 years must have been....... Quick question, what kind of a doctor is a PM doctor? For my Rheumatoit Arthritis I see a Rheumatologist, one that specializes in immuneology, disorders/diseases of our immune system (not AIDs though)..... RA doctor.

I was 22 when mine started and then diagnosing it was difficult but 10 years is a very long time girl and you must have suffered more than your fair share of pain. Did your doctor do blood work? If so, was your RA factor positive? Did they do a CRP test that measures the imflamation level in your body? CRP levels can also be inflamation due to other things than RA too, so don't freak out if it was really high, infections or allergys can increase it too.

So, medication that they use on RA.  First level they like to use is Methotrexate (not expensive, usually less than any co-pay for a month supply) dosage is once a week pill(s), usually start you out around 8 MG, and over the counter ibuprofen or prescription celebrex if you can afford it. Methotrexate works well for many people and that would be fantastic if it works for you.  methotrexate takes a bit of time, about 6 weeks, for you to really start noticing a big difference so don't get discouraged. The doctor may also want to try other NSAID's (non steroidal anti-inflamitory drugs) of which there are many and can cause  stomach problems, which is why they developed Celebrex....

Second tier would be going on one of the biologicals, Enbrel, Humira, Remicaid if the methotrexate doesn't hold the RA down.  These can be very expensive and insurance companies don't want to pay for them unless you try the other cheaper drugs first which actually do work for many, many people.

Let me know how things go, anytime I can help..... NewLeaf

Aren't you in the Antelope Valley? If so, you're not too far from me..

I could go on
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