hey hey hey, i neeed some advice

[Guest guest]

alright im a senior in high school gonna turn 18 in a few months

anyway i was diagnosed with psoratic arthrtis about 2 weeks ago/

Heres my problem, i originally planned on being a fireman/paramedic

but this seems to be a problem, so far i've talked to my general

care physician and podiatrist and they both told me the medicines

they have now are allright and i should still be able to do this, i

aslo love lifting weights (heavy duty lifts, including olympic

lifts/deadlifts/squats) and i havnt been able to do so at all in the

past 3 months (started setting in 3 months ago) anyway im not going

to be able to get into the rheumatologist until march 25th (day

before my birthday... hope this stuff works) ANYYYYWAYYYYY heres my

question, with the medicines out now, do you think they'll be

successful, you guys have collective experience on this versues a

doctor saying " yeah most likely " becuase i havnt been able to find

ANYTHING on the internet you guys are my last hope for this info and

i really need to know... Yeah its all ive been thinking about the

past 2 weeks everything in the past few months has gone down hill,

my psorasis has gottenr eally bad and all of the sudden i get

psoartic arthritis.... Im on brexa(?) or breva(?) or something for

the enxt couple weeks until i get into the rehumatologist and before

that it was to the point where i did not want to get out of bed

becuase everything hurt. Ok any feedback would be greatly appreciated

[Guest guest]

You have come to the right place for help and support. I would call

the rheumy's office each day (once in the morning when they first

open up and then again right before they close) and ask if they have

had any cancellations. I worked for a group of specialty physicians

and they had cancellations all the time. Can you talk to your PCP and

have him try you on some other meds before you get into the Rheumy's

office? Is there another Rheumy you can make an appointment with?

Once you get on the right meds, you will feel so much better and then

you will know that you can follow your dreams of being a

fireman/paramedic. Good Luck and let me know how things are going.

Alison

[Guest guest]

Dear " a.m.u.54 " :

My PA first announced itself when I was the same age (as were you).

At the time, I was a (City of Ft. Lauderdale FL) police cadet

(equivalent to a sworn officer, say, as would be a West Point cadet

to an active Army line officer). I had already passed the (entrance)

physical agility tests and exams (as you would have to do to become

eligible for a firefighter position).

Everyone's case (of PA) is different. Yet I doubt seriously that

anyone with active PA would be able to pass any but the most

forgiving civil service physical agility test. And then, should you

(if eventually hired as a firefighter) require at some point Schedule

III (e.g., Tylenol 3 or 4, Lortab or Vicodin) or II (Morphine,

Methadone, Duragesic, Oxycontin) painkillers, several issues arise

regarding mental impairment, the operation of hazardous machinery in

hazardous environments, etc., and on and on.

Assuming one could squeak by the agility test somehow, I doubt anyone

(with more than, say, a " 2 " on the " 1 to 10 " PA aggressiveness scale)

would--on a constant basis--have the physical capacity to do the job

(and a firefighter position is, generally, more strenuous than that

of police officer).

It isn't " fair " , I know. (In my case, I went back to school for a

grad degree and shifted from a line officer position to a crisis

intervention specialist/negotiator.) You might see if the fire

department(s) you are interested in have any specialist positions

available that you might qualify for. Good luck!

D.

> alright im a senior in high school gonna turn 18 in a few months

> anyway i was diagnosed with psoratic arthrtis about 2 weeks ago/

> Heres my problem, i originally planned on being a fireman/paramedic

> but this seems to be a problem, so far i've talked to my general

> care physician and podiatrist and they both told me the medicines

> they have now are allright and i should still be able to do this, i

> aslo love lifting weights (heavy duty lifts, including olympic

> lifts/deadlifts/squats) and i havnt been able to do so at all in

the

> past 3 months (started setting in 3 months ago) anyway im not going

> to be able to get into the rheumatologist until march 25th (day

> before my birthday... hope this stuff works) ANYYYYWAYYYYY heres my

> question, with the medicines out now, do you think they'll be

> successful, you guys have collective experience on this versues a

> doctor saying " yeah most likely " becuase i havnt been able to find

> ANYTHING on the internet you guys are my last hope for this info

and

> i really need to know... Yeah its all ive been thinking about the

> past 2 weeks everything in the past few months has gone down hill,

> my psorasis has gottenr eally bad and all of the sudden i get

> psoartic arthritis.... Im on brexa(?) or breva(?) or something for

> the enxt couple weeks until i get into the rehumatologist and

before

> that it was to the point where i did not want to get out of bed

> becuase everything hurt. Ok any feedback would be greatly

appreciated

[Guest guest]

I dunno frank thanks for the advice, and I may have to take your

advice but from alot of what im hearing these biologics are great at

getting PA down and keeping it down, im definitly interested in what

you have to say becuase as you said you have more insight into

these career fields then the others on these boards... I dunno man,

im gonna look around at other careers but im gonna try to go for

this, out of curiosity do you know what would happen if i did have

to retire early? Would there be any pension or would i just be

screwed? and in your honest opionion is it a complete crap idea?

(Editor's Note: I hope I didn't seem too negative; I'd say go for it if that's

what punches your ticket. I did. As apparently for you, it was just in my blood,

so to speak, and I'm glad I had some years as a line officer. And I was even

happier to go on to crisis intervention. (An adrenalin junkie, I guess.)

Keep in mind that the biologics offer no guarantees...and that for some (I'm

one), old standbys like methotrexate work even better. Nevertheless, I hope they

turn out to be the magic bullet, for you.

As far as pension: Depends on the department. You really shouldn't have any

problem, as long as you've got enough time in to be " vested " (partly or wholly)

in the pension. You just do not want to be in a position where you have,

anywhere in your departmental/civil service file, given false, or even

disingenuously misleading, information.

Good Luck.

D.)

[Guest guest]

Hi allmixedup54:

You can't let PA steal away your dreams. With the

right treatment you should be able to pursue any

activity you wish. Be thankful for the early diagnosis

as prevention of damage is key to this disease. As has

been said here before, PA is a life sentence, not a

death sentence. So with the help of our rheumys, meds,

vitamins and the various therapies we try, we're all

doing our best to live our best. Welcome to the group

and please feel free to ask away.

Warm blessings, Jane