Rheumatoid Arthritis

 Me and my husband  I went to the Podiatrist on Friday. No surprise, he said I complicated. He sure got that 100% right. Good news there is no erosion signs from my RA. Then he used several larger words that I didn’t quiet catch or understand. He explained that when I walk on my right foot I’m actually walking on the right side of my foot. (I’ve been paying more attention and he is right) I have an appointment on December 6 to have a brace made for my right foot and ankle. They are also making new insert for my shoes. I have insert already but this insert will go almost the whole foot where the ones I have now only do half. Hopefully this will help reduce the foot pain I go through. Right now I can stand twenty minutes before my feet really start to hurt and soon after that I just have to get off of them. Not a person to allow my issues to stop me, I use my wheelchair at that point to continue on. The Podiatrist surprised me a little when he asked me if I had handicap tag,...

by meerlap I'm reading RA article today as I pass some time and see what is new on the market. One article on Web MD talking about if a biologic pill is possible stuck me funny as I read about what Rheumatoid Arthritis does. "RA, an autoimmune disease affecting 2 million people, happens when the body engages in friendly fire against its own joints and tissues, causing inflammation, pain, and joint damage" Friendly Fire now that is a very nicely way to put it. The article is very encouraging though. I take Orencia. Even with my insurance it would cost me $300 a month. I have 90/10 insurance as well, so I only pay 10 percent after deductible is met. Thankfully Orencia has a program for co-pay helping taking the amount paid down to only $5 a month. Loss of my job would me loss of medical care for myself. Depending on how long you have followed this blog, I have already done several years without medical. A wonderful toll on my body, but it is what it is. The a...

Thankfully we have moved on from the wonderful stomach bug. That was no fun. I also got a letter in the mail from the old Rheumatologist who informed me I was very anemic and my vitamin D is low. No wonder I was feel so horrid. He wanted to come in for an appointment right away, but he doesn’t know I’m waiting for the new doctor appointment in February. So I started to take Iron, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin C. I feel better so I think things are getting better. So far the colder weather hasn’t bothered me too much. However I’m finding shopping to be increasingly painful as my feet hurt after about 20 minutes of walking. I also had fun with my muscles in my legs just aching. That’s something new I haven’t had before. I’ve been trying to stretch and rub my legs at night. Sort of hoping whatever the issue is it will fix itself. All of these wonder issues with many hiding from view. You can’t see when my feet hurt or the pain in legs unless I hobble a little. I’ve gotten pretty at corre...

Going around work is the wonderful stomach bug, it may be the stomach flu but no one has seen the doctor to confirm. My co-workers are so nice and wonderful that I have also picked up this illness. It started on Friday the 25th. I woke up sore and just felt off but I pushed to head towards a podiatrist appointment. I never made it. I pulled over once to be sick and then again a 2nd time. Thankfully my husband was with me and drove us home. I’ll now have to wait a month to get another appointment. My podiatrist appointment is for issues with my feel. I can stand about 45 minutes before my feet start to hurt a lot. Like standing on pins and I have to get off. Since I love to walk, hike, and go to amusement parks this is another obstacle standing in my way. Thankfully I do have a manual wheelchair but my husband health no longer allows him to push me and my arms are unable to do it myself for long. If I try to wheel myself my shoulder will go out. I’m not sure what the doctor’s would ...

I’ve decided to find a new rheumatologist. I just can’t go back to the last one I tried. I feel I need my focus on my RA first. Kind of hard to lose weight when they just want to push more prednisone burst on me. So I’m not taking any prednisone and I’m refusing to ever use it again. So now I just have to wait until February for a doctor’s appointment. I only have Friday and Saturday off with my job so I found a doctor who is open on Friday. The last Rheumatologist wasn’t. I’m just hoping if I keep doing the blood work I can keep getting my meds refilled until then. I also have a dental appointment that had to be rescheduled, now 1st week in November. I found out that I had to have doctor permission just to get my teeth clean. Worse part is if I need any more dental work like a filling or anything more extensive I have to be off my Orencia for three to four weeks. I don’t think they understand what kind of pain they are asking me to go through especially through the winter months...

by jconejo Natural remedies seem to work for some and then not for others. I have often wondered why. Was it their state of mind? I don’t think so. Personally I have tried many of them. As with the prescribe meds natural remedies can also have side effects. Check out this article on WebMD for more info. Now I’m not saying natural remedies don’t work. I personally think that is how the doctors got started. There are some things to consider. If you are already take medicine from the doctors then you really do need to check with the doctor. The natural remedy and the prescribe medicine could interact with each other. Especially with biological meds that are being used for RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis). Another thing to consider is the severity of the disease. There is light, mild, and severe. I have severe RA. According to WebMD article , men tend to get more severe symptoms. Since everyone can have different ways that RA affects them, there are many ways for treatment. Some many di...

Although my 1st visit with the new Rheumatologist didn't go well, I'm going to stick with him for a little bit. One main reason is that Rheumatologist are so hard to find and this one is less than a mile from my home. So as long as he is good I'm going to put up with a little rude bedside manor. However I am going to tell him to back off on my weight and there is no way I'm consider lapband surgery for a mere 70 pounds. I have took myself off the prednisone (was 5mgs a day) since the appointment and have already lose some weight. I'm not going back on the prednisone unless I have to.

I met my new Rheumatologist, he is not going to be my Rheumatologist for long. He kept going on about my weight and how being over weight can lead to being Diabetic and it runs in my family. Well I know lots of people who are very skinny and has Diabetes and I know many over weight people who don't have diabetes. Don't get me wrong I know diabetes is controlled well with good eating habits but I don't have Diabetes.. Plus the only reason I put on a few pounds is because they keep putting me on Prednisone. I still suppose to take 5mg a day... well I refuse to take any more of it. So today I called my family doctor and asked for another referral because the last one is going to work out. So far I haven't been asked for details but the Rhematologist talked very little about the RA and how it affects me and more about Diabetes that I don't have... maybe/hopefully never will. He even mention a lap band surgery... now I am 70 pounds over the ideal weight but I don't...

Its 2 am and I'm awake because I got an itchy side effect from my meds. Its happens sometimes so I took some benadryl and waiting for that to start working. Yesterday morning was horrid. It took 5 hours for my RA to stop hurting in the morning. My upper back is very sore the mussel cramp and hurt to touch. I used a heating pad off and on for the back, shoulder, and legs. The odd part is the pain shoot down my arms and they were shaking. I wanted nothing more but to climb into bed, but that wasn't an option. I made it through work however. I took a nice hot bath as soon as I got home. Which I could stayed there longer. My neck is sore right now with the itchiness so now fun right now either. I'm interested in either getting some kind of access to a pool or hot tub  or maybe I can get my doctor to get me in some aquatic therapy. I have an MRI schedule Monday at 7am. This should be early enough so I don't miss work. Doctors at the care today clinic want to make sure ...

Stress and Rheumatoid Arthritis are not a good combination. I have a stressful office job routing out tech's route. However, the job doesn't stress me out to the point it affects my health. I actually enjoy my work and look forward to learning and figuring out problems. However some of life's other stresses can really be a pain, really a big pain. Stress can affect even healthy people. Stress can cause stomach problems, sleepless nights, headaches, and depression. When you have Rheumatoid Arthritis you get to have the added fun of RA flares, mussels cramps, and exhaustion.  When life is stressful there are things you can do to help reduce your stress level. Water can be a huge help. One day I hope to have a hot tub, but taking a nice hot bath will work as well. A hot bath or using a hot tub is a great way to use heat to loosen up your mussels and give you time to just relax. Swimming is also a good way to ease mussels because the water takes the pressure off your bo...

I was working on filling out new paper work for the new Rheumatologist. I find the paperwork completely stupid. Why? The doctor is in the same building that my family doctor is in and the same office of the last Rheumatogist, who is leaving. I hate writing things out on paper, if I could type the info it would be faster and easier. Writing with pen and paper just hurts. Not to mention all of these questions are already in their files. They gave me one little line and ask me to list treatments. I really want to write "Sorry long list won't fit here!" and then I get to the question that ask "Last day you felt well?" Okay, I couldn't help myself anymore. I wrote "Good Question, This affects my life everyday."  I'm mean gee lets see I was diagnosed when I was 20 (I'm going to be 34 in June) and it does affect every single day of my life. It just something we have to live with. The next question wasn't much better. "List all med...

Now I have to say this was much less of a pain then I thought it would be. May 13th is my appointment with my new doctor. I was even able to switch days at work so I won't have to use personal time to see him. Hopefully this will last awhile. I like to stick with one doctor for awhile so we don't have to keep changing things. My husband, Richard, is start physical therapy tomorrow. There is something wrong with his back again. They are going to schedule MRI to get more information and he is being sent to an orthopedic. Sound like it may be time for another back surgery. This is a little scary but it worked out best last time. It just put a lot of stress on me, as I'm the only one working. We have heard from four doctors now that he needs disability, hopefully that will come through soon. We have been waiting almost six months now for an answer. Stress is a very interesting thing. I do my best to ignore and deal with it but I find it leave my shoulders feeling very tig...

Lately I haven't been 100% happy with my rheumatologist. She a great doctor but I keep getting the feeling she doesn't have time for me. Now I'm having a wonderful flare up. She called me in a prednisone again but I'm still having issues. Then my work schedule changed for June so I called to switch the next appointment date. When I called I found out she claims to be leaving June 20. I say claim because they said this twice last year. Well I'm tried of playing these games. So I have called my family doctor and asked for another referral. Now my insurance doesn't require a referral but for some reasons the doctor office does. Well it been almost a week and my family doctor's nurse has not returned my call, so I have made an appointment for Monday to see him. Beside I'm still enjoying this wonderful flare up anyhow. Finding a new doctor can be so stressful. I don't really want to drive far, but don't want to have to keep switching and I want so...

Doctor appointments are just part of having RA, like many other conditions. Majority of the problem is paying for the doctor but then fitting all the appointments into your schedule can be hard as well. Last month I had to cancel my appointment due to schedule change at work and set it for February 25, then yesterday I got a call that the doctor had to cancel the appointment. Frustrated to say the lest. The Orencia I don't feel is working that wonderfully.. on the other hand if my sed rate is getting better maybe it is worth it to keep using. I was really looking forward to the appointment for the answers to my questions. Well my next schedule weekday off was Feb 25th, doctor is not available that day either. So I got taking March 11th for my next appointment. Thankfully I have wonderful co-worker who help me out by switching days. My day job is a stressful job for most but I can normally handle that stress, but the stress I get from the doctor and the doctor's nurse if en...

My friend Brenda shared this link with me: http://www.herbsandoilsworld.com/is-this-the-most-important-oil-to-put-in-your-body/ It is about black cumin oil which says it helps to increase the body's immune system. It also talks about a study from 1987, which for me doesn't say much because we have come a long way in medicine since that time. I have an honest question. Not putting anything down but trying to understand. RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis, is due to the immune system attacking the joints. Most of the prescription drugs we are given lower the immune system to help slow down RA, so is increase the immune system a good idea? So if you use or know someone who uses black cumin oil, we are looking for your opinion. I'm also looking for a few opinions on my above question. Note: picture is by nikareteku

Update on my husband. He doesn't have RA, which is good. He has fibromyalgia and osteoporosis. Not the worlds best news but it could have been worse. The doctor did suggest that he should bend and was going to send a report back to his family doctor. I have no clue what he'll do for a job. At least he can go work most of the year at Dollywood. They worked with his back issues last year and took care of him. Last year he quite smoking. Now this year his working on getting more of his health in order including loseing weight. Just going to be having to watch our money really close until Dollywood opens and I hope they have a job for him.

Sleep eludes me once again. Highlights and struggles of the day replay in my head. I try hard to lie still in bed. I was almost there, almost asleep when I heard a bump. The bump could have been a car, a child rolling in bed, or an sound from the heat of the furnace. Whatever that bump was I was wake. I put my hair up in soft curlers. Added some sparkles to my nails and some 24 hour makeup to my face. I laid back down but the sounds of husband sleeping was enough to convince me to go down the stairs. Hopefully I’ll find something quiet to do and feel sleepy again soon. There is eight hours of work tomorrow that I really need some sleep for but it is too late now to take a sleep aid or I’ll never get up on time. My husband is also having issue with joint pain. He has a degenerative disc disease which has already cause him to have a spinal fusion around 2002. I’m the only one working right now due to his health problems. He was trying to clean at a local truck stop that had sh...

Now the new year has begun and for many of us it is time to meet our deductible. For people like me it not only meeting our deductible but also hitting our out of pocket cap as well. My prescription for the Orencia injections is $2535. Now my deductible is $2350 and my employer helps to pay $1250 of that. Once the deductible is met I get 90/10 insurance, which means the insurance pays 90% while I pay 10%. This continues until I meet my out of pocket cap, then the insurance pays for everything. Now my out of pocket cap, as long as I stay in network, is $4850. Now you can quickly see where I'm going to go right through my out of pocket cap. Making the 1st of the year very hard for my family as the bills rack up really fast. Now there is no way I have the money I would need upfront for the Orencia, but thankfully I have a card from Orencia that makes it so I only have to pay $5 out of pocket each month. So that will be a huge blessing for our family. Just to make life a lot more...