Rheumatoid Arthritis

Now I know everyone get those feelings at times. The ones that makes them feel odd or think no one understand them. However I get this the worst when I use my wheelchair. I don't always have to use a wheelchair. With RA it depends what day it is. If I have step wrong or something is flaring up or if I done too much walking or shopping for one day will all cause me a need to either stop or use the wheelchair. Well I totally refuse to stop. I'm going to do what I want one way or another. On the same side though I can't enjoy shopping or effectively shop wisely if I'm in pain. My husband and I had been out Christmas shopping. We had gone threw four thrift store, a mall, four stores, and was about to go to walmart. Now Walmart never has enough electronic carts to go around so my husband pulled out my own wheelchair. Inside we found a bulky item at a great price that he wanted to run out to the car. (don't want to give away the item yet). So he went to check out and wo...

Now before my complaint starts for the overall cost. Orencia does have a co-pay assistance program, which I have signed up for and hopefully will be approved. This is for once orencia infusion which the first four are done two weeks apart and then once a month. So this is the total cost of one infusion which is a half hour and necessary lab work. There was two chair in what looked about the size of three small gallery style kitchen. Now this room had less to offer then the previous room when they used to give the RA meds with the cancer meds. No TV, No snacks, and No water provided this time. Not that snacks where needed for just a half hour, but TV and water would have been nice. My point here is to not put down the office, but to show that this was nothing more then a spot in a chair with a half hour infusion. Had I not had my insurance,  Which is what show above I paid zero out of pocket (I've met my out of pocket cap for the year), I would have went bankrupt with just th...

Losing Weight is difficult on its own. For people with other related health issues it can be even harder. For people with health issues that affect joints and mussels the best way to exersice is the water. Because the water take the pressure off the body and allows the person to beable to move more. Unfortuanly I don't own a pool and don't have much time. I'm a mother, a wife, a router for a cable company, an online writer, and a gamer. Multitasking is my friend as I often don't do just one thing at a time, but you can easily see where the lack of time is. Especailly when everyone is telling me to make sure to get a full eight to ten hours of sleep. I'm averiging about six right or less right now, just having a hard time staying asleep. I do have a prescription to help with that but I don't like to take it on nights when I have to get up early the next day. So losing weight is just plain hard, but I really want to lose some pounds. It would help me to take o...

It has been a long week. I have tried to start walking more which may be contributing to a flare up in my knee. I just so want to knock off a few pounds. One more week before the next oriencia infusion. Next week I have to see the doctor and then go to the hospital for the infusion because the nurse will be off that day. They had to work hard to fit me into their schedule since I only get Sunday and Monday's off. I really couldn't keep using personal time to cover for the apts, I was running out. I've been having a wonder itchy skin issue though. It currently 3 am and I just can't sleep. My husband is also experiencing the same issue with the itchy skin. I think it is do to the change to an off brand soap. We normally have to use Dove Sensitive skin or an off brand similar. I think he tried a different one that just said sensitive skin and was a store brand. Well tomorrow I'll remedy that with a stop at the local store. I would really like to see about visiti...

We had some fun with my liver functions being messed up. The doctor took me off the methotrexate and thankfully they went back to normal. So no more methotrexate for me. Now the methotrexate is one of the main drugs used to help stop or slow down the Rheumatoid Arthritis. So right now we are praying the Orencia can do it all. With the cold weather though I been getting harsh sharp pains in my lower back, hip, hands, knees, and shoulders. I called into the doctor and got some tramadol. I made the mistake of taking a whole one tonight. I'm a bit of a light weight so next time I'll take only half. I can still feel the pain a little but I don't like the cloudiness in my head feeling I get. Now I am 33 years old but I totally understand why it seems people move to warmer climates as they retire. Monday is my next infusion day. My goal is to drink lots of water on Sunday to make the IV part go as smooth as possible. Days like today make me not want to get out of bed but I...

I didn't get picture last time I went to get an infusion. Last time I got the rituxan infusion, we were in a room with the kemo treatments. Now they have the RA and Kemo treatments separated. I was in a long room with two seats and doctor table. It was the kind of chair like what they have when getting blood drawn. This may not sound as nice as the lazy boy chair I described with the rituxan, but I liked this one more as I could get in and out of the chair. There was one nurse to watch us. I was the only one in the room at the time, but towards the end of the infusion another person came in to start their treatment. The rheumatologist came in and cleared me for the infusion. They wanted to make sure there was no unnecessary health risks and that I was healthy enough to start the infusion. They really like you to bring all your medications, but I had left mine on the table at home. After we went over the medicine and got our clearance from the doctor, the nurse mixed up the...

On Monday October 29 I was able to receive my first orencia infusion. The infusion went well overall. I have notice any side effects and am overall feeling okay. I have some issues with headaches and have had some flares up, both of which I think is related to the weather. The headaches are like a sinus headache. The wonderfully cold weather sneaking in over the last few days is what I blame my joints being sore on.   I have to get infusions in two week, another two weeks, then once a month. For a much as I hate needles I'm sure hoping for some really good results. As of right now I can't tell a difference. My Doctor did tell me to wait until after about the fourth infusion before noticing improvements.   For now I am very lucky to be able to get the medical treatment that I need. I went many years without in the past. My heart goes out to the many who can not afford to get the medical treatment. Somewhere along the way money shouldn't be the reason for treatment. ...