Achilles tendon...

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

first go my best wishes for Christmas (even if late) and the new year.

May 2006 bring a cure for PA...

I have not written in the group for a long time. Some of you might

remember my last posts, which were in the line of the " no-tomato-diet "

apparently helping a lot in making my PA live a rather quiet life - and

letting me live mine in relative peace. Unfortunately my left Achilles

tendon didn't want to blend in, and started acting up a few months ago.

It's the only strong sign of PA I have right now - coupled of course to

the skin problems which are my steady guests and won't go away with

anything. They are all over the scalp, the elbows, and a few other

places, invariable in the skin that's directly over bones.

So, here is my question: Has anyone of you found an NSAID which is more

effective than others for controlling inflammation of the Achilles

tendon, where it inserts to the bone? I have the typical swelling and

pain around the rim of the heel.

From all I have heard, read, checked, asked, etc, I know that I should

try MTX, but I just don't want! I had hepatitis as a youth, and since

then my tolerance to alcohol and fatty food has always been very poor,

so I suppose my liver is not in the best shape and I don't want to

expose it to MTX. The biologic drugs are totally out of the question

because of their price, and I have stopped chloroquine-related drugs

years ago, after completing my lifetime allowance of them if I don't

want to go blind. Some eye damage is already present, and I don't want

any more. So, it looks like NSAIDs are my only option. Right now I'm

taking Meloxicam at 15mg per day, which only reduces the pain by about

30%, and does nothing visible for the swelling. So, can anyone of you

recommend one that's more effective in this situation?

Thanks,

Manfred.

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Visit my hobby website!

http://ludens.cl

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[Guest guest]

at 15mg per day, which only reduces the pain by about

> 30%, and does nothing visible for the swelling. So, can anyone of you

> recommend one that's more effective in this situation?

>

Hi Manfred,

Wonderful your pa is doing well except for the one tendon. How about

a short term course of prednisone..like 7-10 days..and then keep using

the NDSAIDS. I don't blame you for not wanting to try MTX if you've had

liver troubles. Maybe the pred could knock it out of your system for

ahwile anyway.

Glad to hear your diet is helpful. Good to hear from you again.

best wishes,

marti

[Guest guest]

Hi Manfred! I too had hepatis in my youth. Twice! Once at 15 with

Mono; the second at 23 for no apparant reason. Liver study tests

I've had since show my liver is fine.

So when I was diagnosed in April with PA and the dr wanted to start

me on Meth I didn't give it a second thought. Especially since you

can catch it right away with regular blood work. At first we checked

my blood every two weeks. Now it's every 3 months and I'm up to 8

pills a week. I'm feeling much better

and have no side effects.

I would encourage you to give it try. You might find

it gives you

the relief from the pain and swelling we all seek. If you check you

blood every few weeks you should be okay. If tests reveal your liver

enzymes are increasing you can stop the meth.

As for the NSAIDS I found Naproxen to work the best for my tendons.

I have an especially bad tendon in my groin area. Suffered with it

for years until a doctor put me on 1000mg of Ibuprofen a day. Even

at those doses it took 2 solid weeks to feel relief. Another doc

suggested I try Naproxen simply for convenience. You only have to

take it twice a day to get 1000mg. It works great. My groin tendon

flares just from coughing a few times. When it flares I just start

the Naproxen and it's gone. Now only takes a few days because I

start meds just when I feel first symptom.

It's good to have your doctor test your liver if your on this for

any lenght of time as it too can cause the same serious liver

problems. I was on 1000mg a day Naproxen for several months and

never had a problem with my liver.

I took both meth and naproxen for the first couple months I was on

meth. I only stopped when I started Skelaxin, a muscle relaxer. The

meth and skelaxin combo has been the miracle recipe for me. Now I

take

Naproxen only when I feel a tendon flare.

Hope this helps!

Michele

Dallas

[Guest guest]

Hi Marti, Michele,

> Wonderful your pa is doing well except for the one tendon. How about

> a short term course of prednisone..like 7-10 days..and then keep using

> the NDSAIDS.

I tried prednisone already, after a recommendation by the doctor of the

organization I work for. But he told me to take it for 3 days only, and

that didn't do anything detectable.

I'm a bit hesitant of getting my body used to prednisone... But

depending on how bad it gets, I might try it anyway for more days.

> Glad to hear your diet is helpful.

I THINK it's the diet that helps! I started and stopped it a few times,

and had pretty clearly observable effect from it on the joints, but not

on the tendons.

> I too had hepatis in my youth. Twice! Once at 15 with

> Mono; the second at 23 for no apparant reason.

Strange to get it two times! Must have been a type B or C, at least one

time. I understand that type A, the one you get from dirty food,

immunizes you for life.

> Liver study tests

> I've had since show my liver is fine.

Good for you! I have had no studies of my liver. I just know that before

the hepatitis I could eat a big ice cream, and drink a glass of wine

without ill effects, and after the hepatitis I never could do that again

without feeling bad.

> So when I was diagnosed in April with PA and the dr wanted to start

> me on Meth I didn't give it a second thought. Especially since you

> can catch it right away with regular blood work. At first we checked

> my blood every two weeks.

Well, that's a strong reason why I don't want MTX: I absolutely hate to

spend time in clinics, doctor's offices, and I have a big problems with

any needle that wants to go under my skin. So I don't want to undergo

all that blood testing necessary when taking MTX.

> I would encourage you to give it try. You might find

> it gives you

> the relief from the pain and swelling we all seek. If you check you

> blood every few weeks you should be okay. If tests reveal your liver

> enzymes are increasing you can stop the meth.

I think I will do that only if my life otherwise becomes too bad. For

now, I think the needles, and time spent in clinics, not to speak of the

money involved, would be worse than just continuing to endure the

inflamed tendon!

> As for the NSAIDS I found Naproxen to work the best for my tendons.

That's a very welcome hint. I checked, and Naproxen is available in

Chile, from 3 different labs, so it actually might even be inexpensive!

But I can't check the prices online. Will see next time I go to the

pharmacy.

> I have an especially bad tendon in my groin area.

The one that works when you lift your leg? Well, I had that one very

affected too, about one and a half years ago. I couldn't lift my leg

higher than about a 20 degree angle from vertical. When climbing stairs,

or getting into a car or out of it, I had to lift the leg with my hand!

But that tendon fixed itself after about 4 months, and hasn't acted up

again since then.

> It's good to have your doctor test your liver if your on this for

> any lenght of time as it too can cause the same serious liver

> problems. I was on 1000mg a day Naproxen for several months and

> never had a problem with my liver.

I think I will rather opt for testing Naproxen for a week or two, which

should be safe on the liver. If it doesn't help, I stop and that's it.

If it helps, I can try if I can stop it without the tendon acting up too

soon. And if it really needs to be taken long-term, I would go to the

doctor and ask for his advice, but I don't expect much from that,

because all rheumies I have consulted so far have told me " take

indomethacin and chloroquine and come back in four weeks " . No matter

that the chloroquine damages my eyes, and that the indomethacin taken

over years almost turned me crazy with extreme tinnitus and made me

bleed from the output port. So I think I'm better off medicating myself,

with proper investigation, and staying clear of any drugs taken in ways

that could be dangerous.

> Hope this helps!

I have great hope it might help. I will write to the forum if I find out

anything interesting.

Thanks,

Manfred.

----------------------------

Visit my hobby website!

http://ludens.cl

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