In desperate need of advice...

[thunder]

I was diagnosed over a year ago with RA. By the time I left the Rheumy, I was to be taking several medications incouding - Plaquenil, Methotrexate, Prednisone, folic Acid, Tramadol and Flexeril. When I left, I felt so overwhelmed, I did reasearch on all of the medications and just basically said - NO WAY! I thought I would wait until I couldnt take it anymore. Well, in the last few weeks, I have been just plain miserable - intense pain, swollen ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, elbows..I feel like I have been hit by a truck!! I have an appointment to see Rheumy on the 21st of this month. I am so scared to take all of these medications...Can someone please tell me things will be ok? Or that I should not take them and try something else. This is now effecting my job, my home life, my marriage and my sleep. Please give me some insight as to what I am in for. I appreciate any replies. By the way, I am a 40 year old woman. Thank you!!

[Vicki]

Dear Thunder, I'm 47 and have been dx since I was 31. Hard to believe it's been that long. I have been on methotrexate, placquenil and sulfasalzine since the beginning. I find I am sun sensitive two days after taking the metho which I take 8.5 2.5mg pills/wk which is a pretty high dose. As long as you take care of yourself, plenty of fluids and your blood draws you'll be okay. My labs are great and that's been being on the meds for 16 yrs. now. You've also have to control the pain to allow yourself to sleep so you won't be in so much pain, vicious circle I know. And you absolutely have to decrease the stress levels as much as you can. Good luck

[jessielee72]

Dear Thunder,

I am new to this site. I saw the nervousness in your writiing so I thought I would respond. I am 38 years old and was just diagnosed 3 months ago with RA. I had been ill for 5 years before my diagnosis. I have been on all those meds and including methotrexate and plaquenil, and became sicker. I am not trying to scare you, but what works for one person may not work for another. about a month ago I was so sick I thought I was going to die, and I really believed I was going to. I was talking to my dad on the porch swing that day and told him I couldn't take it anymore. He looked at me and said "please try one more thing, come with me to this lady's house that sells natural enzymes" I said I don't have anything to lose but I was also skeptical at the time. The lady and I talked about a natural enzyme called NEPRINOL AFD, she has had RA for some time and is not on any medications whatsoever. So that nignt I started taking them, and immediately began having relief. Within 3 days of taking these enzymes, I am completely off of my RA meds, and has now been almost 2 months please, please, try it!!! I am serious, I was so skeptical about natural supplements until now. I don't even take an advil unless I have a headache. I was sick with flu symptoms and painful joints every day until I got on this Neprinol AFD. Look in up online and read all about it, I guarantee you, you will be very surprised.!!!

[Jillian]

Thunder,
I know you posted a while ago but I want to give you some advice that my doc gave me yesterday, as well as ask how you are doing now? I'm still pretty new to this whole RA thing, but I know that support can be some of the best medicine :)
Okay so here's a bit about me: I am (recently) 25 years old and was diagnosed with RA in January 2010. My first visit with the rheumy was a disaster; he was a complete a-hole when I tried to ask him questions about my disease. He put me on Methotrexate, Prednisone, and Folic Acid without saying much about them. I did research on Metho when I got home and found total horror stories about it; I read the FDA's Black Box Warning and flipped. I ended up taking it for about 2 weeks but it made me sick as a dog for several days each time I took it. I decided to play doctor and discontinued the use of these medicines completely.
I started on a regimen of 4 Aleve in the morning, and 2 at night. This took the edge off of my pain in the beginning, but the RA quickly got worse. I wasn't able to stand up in the mornings or for long periods of time because my pain was so bad. I became a pathetic lump. I am an extremely active person and to have my quality of life dramatically suffer was horrible. I realized that I needed to get back to the Rheumy. I went to a new doctor (much better than the first) who examined me and explained that I would be completely crippled if I didn't take meds for my disease. He put me on injectable Metho (supposedly better for nausea) but my mother is insanely against Metho for some reason. Instead of taking the meds like I was told, I just took prednisone for 3 weeks until my follow-up yesterday.
Prednisone is a wonder drug, but you can only be on it for a few weeks/ months because it is not good for your body. My Rheumy explained to me that my Mom's distain for Metho is unfounded. This drug has been around for 30-40 years and although the side effects can be severe, it works. You need to be extremely diligent in taking care of yourself when you are taking this medicine; don't drink, take aspirin, or consume anything that's bad for your liver. The doctors monitor your liver to make sure it's functioning well and if it is not, they will take you off of the meds. The best advice my Rheumy told me was that you have to compare your quality of life to the side effects of the drug, also keeping in mind the "side effects" need to be stated for legal purposes. Different people experience different effects from any type of medicine. Metho is a drug they give to people of all ages- including children, so when used properly your can live a long, active life.
The Rheumy put me back on Metho pills (because I can't inject myself :eek:), Folic Acid, Prednisone, and another anti inflammatory. I am a bit worried about the nausea, but I recently stumbled upon ginger pills (GNC or VitaminShoppe have them) which really help with that particular side effect. I'm giving it a go while crossing my fingers that it will work. I will let you know, but hopefully Metho doesn't hurt your stomach and you're having success with your new meds!
What type of meds does your Rheumy have you on now? Have they been working for you? I sincerely hope that your quality of life has improved since you last posted!
Jillian

[littlemissgreedy]

Dear Thunder,

I am new to this site. I saw the nervousness in your writiing so I thought I would respond. I am 38 years old and was just diagnosed 3 months ago with RA. I had been ill for 5 years before my diagnosis. I have been on all those meds and including methotrexate and plaquenil, and became sicker. I am not trying to scare you, but what works for one person may not work for another. about a month ago I was so sick I thought I was going to die, and I really believed I was going to. I was talking to my dad on the porch swing that day and told him I couldn't take it anymore. He looked at me and said "please try one more thing, come with me to this lady's house that sells natural enzymes" I said I don't have anything to lose but I was also skeptical at the time. The lady and I talked about a natural enzyme called NEPRINOL AFD, she has had RA for some time and is not on any medications whatsoever. So that nignt I started taking them, and immediately began having relief. Within 3 days of taking these enzymes, I am completely off of my RA meds, and has now been almost 2 months please, please, try it!!! I am serious, I was so skeptical about natural supplements until now. I don't even take an advil unless I have a headache. I was sick with flu symptoms and painful joints every day until I got on this Neprinol AFD. Look in up online and read all about it, I guarantee you, you will be very surprised.!!!

Wow thanks for posting that GREAT NEWS!! I have been pain free for months now - as long as I stick to my particular metabolic diet foods (metabolictypingonline.com) but if I stray too far from my recommended foods for too long I get pain back, as well as the irritable bowel I suffered with for 14 years. I have been looing for a supplement that would help when it's too hard to stick to the diet. I will most definitely give the Neprinol a try!

[jessielee72]

LITTLEMISSGREEDY

i am so glad you are going to try the neprinol. You may and may not have results as fast as i did, but i can tell you, you will feel a great difference. Give it time, it can take a while for the full effect to take hold. This product gives me energy i haven't had in a long time. I will tell you it is good for any inflammatory problems in your body. I have ibs and i know it has even helped that. My husband has a friend at work who has had severe gout for years, and he started neprinol around 6 weeks ago. He said that he has been pain free the last four days and he has had pain everyday for the past few years.

What i love about this, is that it is a natural product, and i take four pills a day in between meals so it can get into my bloodstream really good and start cleaning out all of that nasty stuff thats collected in my body all of these years. The only problem i have, i need to start eating better. I just have a hard time staying away from fatty foods, i love them too much, i do eat good as often as i can, i just get back in that rut again. Anyway, i wish you good luck with the neprinol, i am so excited that you will try it, remember give it time, and let me know sometime how you are doing, someone cares about you so take care of yourself and god bless!!!