Re: Wife of rheumatoid sufferer

[Guest guest]

hi kim do u know if really he has rheumatoid arthritis?has ur husband seen a dr that deals with r a?well i've had it since 98 mine is pretty bad now.dose ur husband swellow up in his hands/feet/knees?or hurt alot.i take long hot baths that will kill the pain.i had to stop riding horses cuz of my r a has gottin so bad.dose ur husband have trouble walking or say his feet hurt or anything else.a doctor can do blood test to see if he really has it or could he got a deer tick on him?

JACQUELINE E, HOLCOMB

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

[Guest guest]

hey there... I take six per day and it is a good basic dmard, but I also take

methotrexate and orancia and lo-dose prednisone. He does not have to suffer!!!

Maybe his rd could give him a cortisone series to get him through this flair

until azulfidine kicks in? Pain is damaging. Call your rd and insist on

something to help him get through... Docs can be overconsercative, I know from

experiene, and forget how tramatic living in pain is.

Sent from my treo

-----Original Message-----

From: " brettmckay " <brettmckay@...>

Subj: Wife of rheumatoid sufferer

Date: Mon Nov 27, 2006 7:04 pm

Size: 2K

Rheumatoid Arthritis

I just want some advice on what I can do to help my husband.

He is in

so much pain and so depressed and I feel completely helpless! He

started sulfasalazine 2 weeks ago. Does anyone have experience with

it? How long did it take to work? Any advice on anything I can do to

help him through this? He told me Thursday that he is to the point

that he doesn't care if he's alive or dead! I am just beside myself

and love him so much, it's killing me as well as him!!! Help, please!!!

Kim

Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post)

| Start a new topic

Messages | Calendar

--- message truncated ---

[Guest guest]

Kim wrote: I just want some advice on what I can do to help my husband.

He told me Thursday that he is to the point that he doesn't care if he's

alive or dead!

Ardeith writes: He needs to be seeing a good rheumatologist, and possibly,

a good mental therapist........I think men have more difficulty living with

this than many women do. Women don't seem to have so much of their egos

tied into what they can physically accomplish. And men who have been the

sole support of their families are devastated by becoming crippled. There

are plenty of medications available to deal with the inflammation, swelling,

and damage caused by RA, and there are many pain medications from the

lightest doses to the strongest. He may also need something for

depression.......

Do you have children at home? I found my children were the major reasons I

kept on trying to cope.....I couldn't give up on them.

Ardy

[Guest guest]

Dear Kim- Pain of RA can make you feel suicidal. When was your husband diagnosed. Who is his doctor. Along with RA meds, a happy pill is always in order. Go to www.arthritisfoundation.org

for information and support. They have chapter offices in every state. Talk to someone there. Men who have RA tend to have more problems with bone loss and damage earlier than women because our estrogen gives us a bit of an edge. He may need to be on a strong anti inflammant, possible steriod and a biologic. We all have to live with this, and getting the right treatment is so important. Psychological problems come with dealing with the disease and he should definately see a therapist about it. I am on a happy pill and I am not ashamed to say it. We are here for you. Hugs, Deborah in ME.

On 11/25/06, brettmckay <brettmckay@...> wrote:

I just want some advice on what I can do to help my husband. He is in so much pain and so depressed and I feel completely helpless! He started sulfasalazine 2 weeks ago. Does anyone have experience with it? How long did it take to work? Any advice on anything I can do to help him through this? He told me Thursday that he is to the point that he doesn't care if he's alive or dead! I am just beside myself and love him so much, it's killing me as well as him!!! Help, please!!!

Kim

[Guest guest]

Here’s a link to a general source

for basic information about RA.

http://www.arc.org.uk/about_arth/booklets/6033/6033.htm

I hope your husband is seeing a

rheumatologist because few other doctors are really prepared to diagnose or

treat RA. When I first got RA I felt much the same as your husband and I

was given 40 mg Prednisone daily so that I could at least get out of bed to go

to the bathroom. At the same time I was started on Arava that is a newer

RA medication but most doctors start with Methotrexate because it is generally

more effective than Sulfasalazine or Plaquenil. Prednisone is a

corticosteroid (not related to the anabolic steroids banned in athletics) and

it usually acts quickly to relieve symptoms but does little to slow joint

damage. It also has some bad side effects especially when used at high

doses for long times. The RA medications usually take many weeks to many

months to be effective and people have different results on the

medications. My doctor figures at least three months to see if something

is working before making a change.

Make sure your husband’s doctor

knows how much trouble he is having. He should be able to get some relief

some way. If not, go to a different doctor. Let us know what the

doctor says and keep us posted on how your husband is doing. God bless.

From:

Rheumatoid Arthritis

[mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On

Behalf Of brettmckay

Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2006

10:23 AM

To:

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject:

Wife of rheumatoid sufferer

I just want some advice on what I can do to help my

husband. He is in

so much pain and so depressed and I feel completely helpless! He

started sulfasalazine 2 weeks ago. Does anyone have experience with

it? How long did it take to work? Any advice on anything I can do to

help him through this? He told me Thursday that he is to the point

that he doesn't care if he's alive or dead! I am just beside myself

and love him so much, it's killing me as well as him!!! Help, please!!!

Kim