rheumy

[Guest guest]

I haven't posted in a while. I had basel joint surgery for my oa and carpal

tunnel at the

same time. My surgeon wanted to do the procedures before I started on enbrel.

Prior to

surgery I went off all meds, mtx (injections) and bextra (20 m). I had more

energy and

slept better than I had in 18 months (til the surgery lol). I had more pain, of

course but

not being exhausted helped me deal with it better. After surgery I was on heavy

doses of

hydrocodone but it didn't help enough. My surgeon said to take the bextra with

it. He

said it was a case of 1+1=3. He also said I could take bextra twice a day

(total of 40m) for

2 or 3 days but any longer could cause high blood pressure.

I actually was writing to tell you all about a dinner I went to on Monday night.

It was the

annual Founders Dinner for the Hospital for Joint Diseases in NYC. My rheumy, my

hero,

was getting the founders award for his work at the hospital. It was so

wonderful to see

over 500 people there to honor him for his work and to know how many people are

working to help us with this disease. My Dr. made sure his patients had the

good seats

and came over several times to check with us. Two other people at the table had

pa. I wish

you all had a rheumy like this. Everyone at the table was on enbrel and were so

positive

about it. I did my first injections on Tuesday with my husband's help since I

have a bright

blue cast on my left hand! So far the only reaction is two black and blue marks

to match

my cast! : )

Mainly though when things are at their lowest, I can look back on that evening

and

remember all the work, effort and research going on to find new solutions for pa

and have

hope for the future.

jerre

[Editor's Note: Jerre, glad to hear that you are on the mend. Thanks for the

information on the Founders Dinner at the Hospital for Joint Diseases. It

sounds as if you have a wonderful rheumy. Please feel free to post his name

here as well as list him in our Database under Recommended Doctors so that

others in the NYC area can have a suggestion if they are searching for a new

rheumy. Hope you have a speedy recovery from the surgery. Kathy F.]