Update From Today's Appt.

Diseases & Conditions Rheumatoid Arthritis
1
hey all,
i love my GI!  he really is so down to earth, wish there were more MDs like that out there. so, i basically handed him over my own personal nursing notes i did on myself the past 2 weeks, that was helpful. and here's how everything else went:
  • he's confident in my blood labs. VERY confident...even the liver panels. so i'm cool with that too; warrants no need to stop anything.
  • he gave me the Promethius Test Kit.
  • he thinks that the Imuran is doing nothing for me now.  it was most likely working in April & May...but NOW? most likely NOT in a therapuetic level.
  • he feels the test will come back under therapeutic levels.
  • after the test comes back we'll increase the Imuran to 100mg.
  • we'll give that some time to "wait & see" if i have improvement.
  • if failing...will shoot straight to Remicade and not screw around with anything anymore.

so i'm content. i made my motives clear that all i want is to be able to work at least 2 or 3 days a week, that's it...no cartwheels or fancy bells & whistles.

so wish me luck tomorrow in tracking down a DHL truck to set up shipment of my blood vials! ewwww. lol.

goodnight all...Erin's retiring for now...i'm beat!      

 

Active/Severe Rheumatory Arthritis. Crohns. AS. Chiari Malformation & Right Brain venous anomoly. Partial complex seizures. Emphysema. Rheumatic Lung & Heart. MVP and Tricuspid prolapse. Had Lymes disease for 10 years.
Meds: Humira 40mg Q 4 days; Prednisone 20mg; Pentasa 4G daily; Imuran 50mg; Dilaudid 4mg; Diazepam 5mg; Avinza 60mg; Reglan; Antivert 25mg tid; LidoDerm; MiraLax & too many others.

2
Sounds like a positive meeting - definitely needed! I love it when they get right to the point! My rheumatologist is like that. She is great! Never messes around with words. Just says what she means and means what she says. Wish we could all be like that!!!

deejane
 
Current DX:  psoriatic arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis/spondylitis/fibromyalgia, CD, carpal tunnel, degenerative disc disorder, nerve damage, high blood pressure
Current meds:  Remicade 400 mg. every 5-6 weeks, methotrexate 15 mg., celebrex, micardis/hct, folic acid,
flexeril, topamax, toprol XL, lortab 10-500, zoloft, and now nitroglycerine
Previous meds:  Enbrel, humira, bextra, vioxx

3

Erin, so glad you have a good GI doctor.  Glad to hear that you know exactly what you want (working 2-3 days a week).  I'm sure that is a realistic goal--you will get there.  Good news about your liver as well.

Elcamino

Current dx: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Suspected dx: UCTD/Early Lupus
Current Meds: Enbrel, Plaquenil, Aciphex, Ultracet, Zyrtec, Allavert-D, Zantac, Tylenol PM
Past Meds: Relafen, Vioxx, Mobic, Voltaren, Sulfasalazine, Entocort, Prednisone, Humira, Reglan

4

:-)  Thanks gals,

You know...I "feel" so much more at ease now.  Every time I see him & get a sense of "everything is going to work out eventually".

Deejane:  I see that now you take Remicade. Why aren't you on Imuran? I thought Imuran was supposed to be continued while on Remicade? Can you tell me a bit more about how your sessions go? Like can you do it on weekends? How do you feel right after the infusion?

The GI doc brought that up again as well...with me still having to take the Imuran @ therapeutic levels while on Remicade.

Thanks "El"!  Yeah, the one thing I learned in nursing school that I apply to my life as well...is to set attainable, realistic goals! LOL 

It's a very nice feeling to completely TRUST someone?  And I don't trust easily (easy to figure out why!)...so to be in the conditon I'm in now & trust someone like this is really important and I'm glad it happened. Was feeling way too vulnerable w/ just the rheumatologist not really helping me.  And even the GI agreed with me...when dealing with a younger person it's really unfamiliar territory when it comes to AI and Rheumatic diseases for most rheummies.

So here am today, August 10th 2006...with a ton of confidence! yeah

Oh, got the DHL truck with no problemo!  The lady on the phone was super helpful, it was easy to set up pick-up. So it goes out Monday the 14th around 12noon after I get the blood drawn.

Take care. 

Active/Severe Rheumatory Arthritis. Crohns. AS. Chiari Malformation & Right Brain venous anomoly. Partial complex seizures. Emphysema. Rheumatic Lung & Heart. MVP and Tricuspid prolapse. Had Lymes disease for 10 years.
Meds: Humira 40mg Q 4 days; Prednisone 20mg; Pentasa 4G daily; Imuran 50mg; Dilaudid 4mg; Diazepam 5mg; Avinza 60mg; Reglan; Antivert 25mg tid; LidoDerm; MiraLax & too many others.

5
Very cool... sounds like everything is falling into place! Woo-hoo!

Confirmed Diagnosis of - Psoriatic Arthritis/Spondylitis/Graves Disease/GERD/Scoliosis/Hiatal Hernia/Graves Disease of the Eyes/Chronic UTIs
Current Meds -  Enbrel/Prevacid/Synthroid/Nitrofurantoin
Past Meds - Inderal/PTU/Prednisone/Voltaren/Feldene/Mobic/Cortisone and Steroid Shots
Additional Supplements - Multi-Vitamin/Bromelian/Acidophilus/Green Tea
A little about me...

6
happy dance yeah yeah yeah    thanks for sharing the great news ~*yalinda