Re: How long does it take?

[Guest guest]

> Welcome Sheree. Sorry about your RA DX and your struggle to get it under

> control.

> Unfortunately it takes time for the meds to work. Remicade is usually

> prescribed as

> a second line treatment and it works better with mtx, so maybe after you get

> the optimal mtx dose, your doctor will add something else such as remicade.

> It¹s very painful and frustrating waiting for the meds to kick in. Some

> insurance

> companies require that certain meds be tried first before the expensive ones

> are

> prescribed. If you fail the first line meds, then the doctor can prescribe

> something

> like Enbrel or Remicade. In the meantime, your doctor should try controlling

> your pain

> with pain meds. Let him know that what you are taking isn¹t enough. Second

> opinions

> are fine, but unfortunately your doctor seems right on track for what is

> standard.

> In my opinion, I wish doctors would add low dose antibiotic to any newly

> diagnosed

> patient since it works best early in the disease. Most rheumatologists won¹t

> prescribe them so you have to find one that believes in antibiotics for

> rheumatic

> diseases. You can get more info in this protocol at http://www.rheumatic.org

> I¹m sorry you are in so much pain and I hope you get relief soon. I¹m on

> 15mg mtx,

> Enbrel, Vioxx, and Ultram. Enbrel has made a huge difference in my life, but

> unfortunately

> there is a long waiting list to get it since they are having a production

> problem.

> Mtx hasn¹t done squat for me, but I¹m hanging in there to give it a chance.

> a

>

>

>

>

>

> I have been diagnosed with RA for about 4-5 months. I'm taking Prednisone 15

> mg, Methotrexate (5 -2.5mg tabs per week), and Vioxx. The rheumatologist

> increases the MXT every 6 weeks, and says he will add another drug after I

> reach 7 tabs per week. I am a registered nurse who watched my dad suffer with

> RA and anykylosising spondylitis for most of my life.

>

> Is it common practice to move so slowly? I am hurting so badly...taking up to

> 6 Vicodin per day and sometimes Demerol at night. I am working, but that's

> becoming hard.

>

> Do I need a second opinion? Can't we start Remicaid or something else? Any

> help is appreciated.

> Sheree

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

How long-well just from personal experience-it took a year of everything

that didn't work and a horrible allergic reaction to get to the enbrel or

remicade-IMHO they both work the same for me. Now I have had a hip and knee

replacement and haven't felt this well in a very long time. The prednisone

should be helping-at 15 MG, I was pain free but refused to stay on it. I'm

fat enough without the 40 lb prednisone gain. Welcome, we all understand.

Temple

3 Fox Haven Way

Chelmsford, MA 01824

dat2352@...

http://www.homestead.com/kuddlekrittersfarm/index.html FAMILY

http://www.homestead.com/kuddlekrittersdairygoats/index.html FARM

http://www.homestead.com/kuddlekraft/index.html CRAFTS

[Guest guest]

Welcome Sheree,

I am sorry that you are in so much pain at this time. Unfortunately, as

other members have explained, the treatment of RA does take a long time to

kick in for most of us. It is also a process of trial and error. There

doesn't seem to be a " one size fits all " treatment regime. Even when we

think everything is going in a good direction, our body takes a wrong turn

and something has worked for years for us suddenly stops working for no

apparent reason. I am sure it is very frustrating to our physicians but they

need to understand how frustrating and disappointing it is for us, the owner.

Perhaps if nothing is working right now, your doctor could give you an

injection of Kenalog to kinda jump start the other medications. By all

means, let your physician know that you are still having this much pain so

that he can start looking into other options for you.

This group is a wonderful safe place to find knowledge and meet wonderful,

caring people. We all also do a lot of venting here which is also a

necessary part of this disease process, unfortunately. Our moderators are

loving and very knowledgeable people. We all lean on them a lot. I hope you

enjoy our little group as much as we will enjoy getting to know you.

Gentle, tender, angel hugs,

Debs in FL

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for understanding. I will call my doctor and see if he can

give me a jump start. My son is getting married in a month, and I have

showers to go to every weekend. Unfortunately, my body doesn't feel like

going.

I appreciate the group and all the support.

Sheree

[Guest guest]

LOL, Lynn! Corn is a good indicator, too, since it pretty much comes out

the same way it went in.<G>

Sharyn

> -----Original Message-----

> From: health

> [mailto:health ] On Behalf Of Lynn

>

> Note to self.....do not become alarmed at red in the toilet

> when you have eaten red beet soup!!!

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[Guest guest]

Yeah, it has been interesting. I did a chinese herb cleanse. It just

seemed to *feel* better to me. Not as shocking to the body. someone

mentioned it earlier, er, late last year, October I believe. A

Superior Nature cleanse. found it at

http://www.healthcareherb.com/whycolontea.html

What you get is a couple packages of chinese herbs, and Digest Chi

capsules. The tea is brewed as one would normally do herbs, three

kinds. The main flushing takes place the first day, and the rest of

the days, about 7, you continue to take two kinds of tea, twice a day.

The tea you take only one day has senna in it, and that is the main

thrust in the beginning. The teas weren't obnoxious, and kept things

going, if yanno what I mean. it was gentle though. I ate/drank

mainly mineral broths, and water. It seemed less invasive than the

others recommended, and I definitely have more energy. Still keeping

up with mineral broths, in fact, becoming quite attached to them.

New year, new rules!

Lynn

in CA.

[Guest guest]

Dallas,

Welcome to our group. You sound a lot like me when I first started

Xolair almost 3 years ago.

Remember, Xolair is not a fast acting medication like an inhaler. Some

people see results almost immediately, others take longer. It took me

just about a year to see any results. I was ready to give up too. Give

it some time. My doctor made me stick with it. I am glad I took his

advice. Trust your doctor's judgement.

I also suggest that you go back and read previous posts. The subject

of " how long does it take " is covered many times.

Once again, WELCOME

Doug

Group founder

Co-owner-moderator

[Guest guest]

Welcome! We have had a few folks take up to a year to see any

meaningful improvement. I'm sure Doug will tell you his experience,

if he hasn't posted already. Stick with it!

Addy

PS - those few times where your asthma was better for a day or two

for no reason...that's probably the start of your improvement!!! It

was for me!

--- In , " dallas5527 " <dallas5527@...>

wrote:

>

> I'm new to the group and was so glad to find it! I've been on

Xolair 6

> months and so far haven't seen much, if any, improvement. Is there

any

> hope that it could take this long? I am or have been on on every

> conceivable asthma med and have been using 2400 Pulmicort daily,

which

> my doctor totally disapproves and insists I lower it. If Xolair

doesn't

> work I won't have any options left except prednisone.I have had a

few

> times in the last month that for no reason my asthma is much

better for

> a day or two. I don't know whether it's the Xolair or just less

> allergens in the air. Dr. says if no improvement within the next 3

> months he will take me off xolair. Asthma has ruined my life for

the

> last several years, and although I've had it most of my life, it's

> gotten much worse.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, Leonie!

If your knee is worse than usual, that is probably a good sign. ; ) I have

found most of my joints get worse for a time before they get better. My

left knee was hugely swollen for years, and the swelling is down so much now

I can actually use my left leg to climb stairs again!

My doc doesn't seem to care if his patients suffer a herx reaction, so he

started me on 200mg daily of mino plus 250mg of azithromycin. Let me tell

you, I did have a miserable herx. It lasted about 6 weeks before I realized

I was starting to see improvement. I've been on it since March of this

year, and I continue to improve. Have you tried icing your knee or keeping

your leg up as much as possible? I found that helpful.

Hang in there. It is worth the journey!

Blessings!

Terri

_____

From: rheumatic [mailto:rheumatic ] On Behalf

Of leonie cent

Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2008 5:21 AM

rheumatic

Subject: rheumatic how long does it take?

hello all,

how long do i have to wait till the AP kicks in at 100mg M W F ? my right

knee is so swollen i can hardly walk on it in the morning. i don't want to

take more celebrex as i have a gastric ulcer which is killing me if i don't

take nexium. might see if i can get on hydrocortisone for a while instead -

assuming it doesn't make candida worse.

i guess i should have got on AP much sooner. should have done it years ago

and now worry my joints are too far gone to reverse the swelling. it would

be good to find something to help bring down the swelling in my knees... or

does it go down eventually when the AP kicks in ? it's hard to see a light

at the end of the tunnel right now.

does anyone think i should take more mino ?

thanks...

~Leonie

leoniecentbigpond (DOT) <mailto:leoniecent%40bigpond.com> com

02 62556202

[Guest guest]

Leonie,

If it's only your right knee and it's hurting that bad, you probably

have a meniscal tear, which the AP will not fix. Swelling of a knee

indicates synovial fluid buildup, a classical symptom of a tear. See

an orthopedic surgeon for a diagnosis, which will entail an X-ray,

then an MRI. The surgeon, or any rheumatologist, should also drain

you knee without delay.

If the MRI confirms a meniscal tear, arthroscopic may fix the

problem. That's an outpatient surgery which only takes 45 minutes and

is through three small holes in the skin. You can literally walk away from it.

I will see an orthopedic surgeon about my right knee this Tuesday. If

you wish, email your phone number and I will share my experiences by phone.

Sincerely, Harald

>hello all,

>how long do i have to wait till the AP kicks in at 100mg M W F ? my

>right knee is so swollen i can hardly walk on it in the morning. i

>don't want to take more celebrex as i have a gastric ulcer which is

>killing me if i don't take nexium. might see if i can get on

>hydrocortisone for a while instead - assuming it doesn't make candida worse.

>

>i guess i should have got on AP much sooner. should have done it

>years ago and now worry my joints are too far gone to reverse the

>swelling. it would be good to find something to help bring down the

>swelling in my knees... or does it go down eventually when the AP

>kicks in ? it's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel right now.

>

>does anyone think i should take more mino ?

>

>thanks...

>

>~Leonie

[Guest guest]

cooky hydrocortisone and cortef are the same - natural replacement of

hormones. i find i tolerate hydrocortisone compounded better than

cortef. i think the fillers in cortef may bother me. it's prednisone

that's the really nasty one.

monique

[Guest guest]

Your right. I just always assume people think hydrocortisone is the same

thing as prednisone so that when they say it's the same then I can tell them

about Cortef and hydro and the difference. I feel if you just say hydro it

is doing something a disservice in the long run. Does this make any sense to

you? :-)

cooky

_____

From: rheumatic [mailto:rheumatic ] On Behalf

Of Sauve

cooky hydrocortisone and cortef are the same - natural replacement of

hormones. i find i tolerate hydrocortisone compounded better than

cortef. i think the fillers in cortef may bother me. it's prednisone

that's the really nasty one.

__