I have been on it for about 5 years now. It is the only thing that ever let me feel normal-you know get rid of the fever fatigue malaise. Have the eye tests done yearly but really even that is so...
Obviously a question for your doctor but, when I upped my folic acid the nausea and fatigue vanished. 1 mg was never enough for me I take 3 per day....
Have you had an EMG? Is there some nerve impingement-this would also not show on xray....
I was so afraid of methotrexate that the first time the doctor mentioned it I told her I wasn't ready to talk about it yet.I also started a thread that ended up following myself and one or two other...
RA can also contribute to PINS syndrome (same concept as carpel Tunnel but deep motor branch of the radial nerve as it goes through a tunnel in the forearm) then you can fully close your hand but...
Other than food aversions and weight loss when I first started the plaquenil I have had no side effects. Plus, I think they will have to pry it out of my cold dead hands to get me to stop taking it....
Have they tested you for staff? That is what it looks like when my dog gets staff infections. That is the only idea I have-but really only a doctor is going to be able to determine what this is....
No, I have to be really careful with pain meds I get Tramadol. The Valerian root my doc told me to take does help with sleep....
Not quite as bad as you described but PINS which is a soft tissue inflammation that caused nerve damage, inflammation in my shoulder and back muscles. My rheumy says its the RA not being well...
If they want to inject steroids while they are in there let them....
When I had to have an MRI of my hand and forearm I did not know to ask for pain meds. The awkward position made my entire arm, hand and back spasm the moment they put the weights on my hand. I told...
I had it done. I have RA. They put in a small needle with some numbing medication (maybe lanicane?) that process hurts a little-especially if like me you don't do well with the cane meds-the doc told...
A letter you write most likely will not be read by the doctor and certainly will not end up in your file. You can request a copy of your records and you can request errors be corrected but you cannot...
And dosage is everything with prednisone-how much are you on and what else are you taking? That really matters....
Try two things,Your vet may run a charity within the vet clinic (my vet's office calls theirs Have a Heart) to help provide care for pets in need. Care Credit will give you six months to pay with no...
It is good to keep in mind that this article is a position paper written by a bunch of pain management specialists. However, it is being treated as part of the basis for standard of care by at least...
1.1 Patients on COT should identify a clinician who accepts primary responsibility for their overall medical care. This clinician may or may not prescribe COT, but should coordinate consultation and...
This article was the rational for my rhuemys office's brand new 2013 pain contract/prescribing policy etc. Which I thought was interesting-they want a guiding policy but not a restrictive one. They...
http://www.arapc.com/pdf/Journal-of-Pain-2009-2.pdf This article was posted on my doctors website as part of their new smart opioid policy. It is not a new article, it is from 2009 and is a position...
Do speak to your doctor but, I am much more inclined to think the fever is caused by the RA-since it is a typical symptom rather than the plaquinil for which it is an extremely rare side...
http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/news/20130510/antibiotics_back_pain Here is a link....
They released a study recently that indicated that for a large portion of patients with chronic lower back pain there is an underlying infection that causes or contributes to it....
I was the same age when I was diagnosed. I didn't want to talk about it either-except with my doctor. There was nothing my family could do, there is really no way for someone else to understand it so...
When I started MTX I had some pretty horrid fatigue, and some other problems. I upped my folic acid to 3 mgs a day and the side effects stopped immediately. My rheumy says the folic acid is everyday...
I find that odd.My rheumatologist always schedules a return appointment for new patients-about 2 weeks after the first one to review labs etc. Once a diagnosis is made and a patient is stable on meds...
The biologics work best in combination with MTX so are often prescribed together. I don't take biologics. I have been on MTX for years. The side effects went away completely when I started taking 3...
You need to go to an Opthamologist for your eyes not just an optometrist. As for disability-it depends. Sometimes it is really hard, sometimes not so much. It actually helps if you have a diagnosis...
I believe in Virginia it is state law that narcotics scripts require ID to pick up-I even have to show ID to pick up my dog's pain meds....
There are a lot of different blood tests for autoimmune disorders, RF, ANA, Anti DNA, and a bunch of others depending on what they are looking for. CRP and SED measure inflammation but are not...
Lots of doctors tell patients that they aren't equipped to deal with a particular problem. And you condition is rare. However, that statement should have been accompanied by, so I talked to some of...
It's surprising how much has changed-I was diagnosed almost 20 years ago. I have never had an MRI for diagnosis or monitoring. However, that seems to be the standard now....
Cook. About 2 months ago I was chopping vegetables and got my hand-took a tiny little piece off the tip of my finger-apparently damaging a nerve ending-it looks healed now except for a small scar....
I agree go see a rheumy to get an answer-much better then worrying. The only thing typical about RA is that it is never typical. I have seldom had both knees swollen at the same time-it is one then...
The same amount of pain in both knees all the time seems odd to me-tendonitis or any soft tissue injury would normally affect one knee-or if both to an unequal degree. However, everything else you...
The practice may also have a lower limit for nurse practioners writing out the script and when your doctor comes back from vacation your script may go back to normal....
If you take high risk medications (plaqunel) your MEDICAL insurance will pay for your indepth eye exam. Retinal photography, visual field test, and slit lamp exam. So even if you don't have vision...
Uhm. YUP. My rheumatologist said I was the sickest patient she had seen in years when my sed was 50. I have constant dry inflamed sinus membranes-but never a perforated septum. I developed my first...
There is an old thread from about three years ago when myself and another healingweller were starting methotrexate-I was completely terrified and dependent on steroids. We kept the thread going...
I live in Virginia, I get long term pain management from my PCP-although admittedly low numbers of tramadol not oxy. My dog is also getting long term pain management-I don't think I will have to take...
Talk to your Rhuematologist about immune suppresent drugs. When RA attacks systemically the damage can be pretty bad....
What did they base the diagnosis on? Was there a previous injury Is her skin warmer on the effected limb Are there changes to the skin, hair or nails on the effected limb...
My doctor has me skip doses only if I have bronchitis, pnuemonia or a high fever not for normal colds, sinus infections and things. She also has me go right back to the full dose if I miss a week. So...
Within a week my knees were so much better. Within two weeks I had so much edema in my hands and feet that I couldn't walk without pain or hold a pen. I did not do well on the cox inhibitors....
I don't know how far you are willing to travel, but, Dr. Edward Sall in Syracuse NY is a pretty great doctor. I knew him years ago, and he would personally call all of his surgery patients the day of...
Why would your rhuematologist want you off plaq? Plaquenil caused a loss of appitite and weight loss for me. Both times I started taking it, the first time it was so serious I had to stop taking it....
I don't think they checked you out well enough either. I also don't think this really sounds like RA. Have they checked you for AS, or Psoriatic arthritis (do you have any scaly patches, thickend...
Tramadol works great for me. It is metabolized differently then codiene, it relieves my pain makes me a bit drowsy but not to the point I can't function....
Can they diagnose RA without blood tests? They generally don't although if the tests are negative they still may diagnose you but not doing the tests makes no sense if they think you have RA. RA...
I don't know specifically what test you had but I do know a little about genetics and drug metabolism Take codiene for an example. In a normal body codiene is metabolized into morphine at a...
Plaquenil did that for me too-I needed other meds for the inflamation but the plaquenil got rid of the horrible fatigue so I felt alive again....