Question by Molly81: anyone with Rheumatoid arthritis notice increase in pain as prednisone tapers off?
I started on 15mg daily of prednisone for two weeks then 10mg for two weeks and felt great now I am on 5mg and pain is starting to come back, I really dont want to go back to how I was. I have two kids to look after!! What can I do? Anyone have any diet tips or any info about RA?? I will do anything not to feel the way I do!! Please help

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The Ultimate Guide To Arthritis Treatment & Pain Relief B&W Edition – Alternative Therapies + More: The Must Have Book For Anyone Whose Suffering From Rheumatoid Arthritis Or Musculoskeletal Ailments

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I am 27 years old and it was discovered that I have Juvenile (then Rheumatoid) now Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) when I was 10 years old. It was realized due to the fact there was significant inflammation in my right eye. They did all sorts of tests on me and decided there was no cause for my disorder (funny the disorder came to be re-named idiopathic, which means “cause unknown”). I had some joint problems and a limited range of movement in my knees and hips, and the biggie was my eye. I had cataract surgery when I was 12 years old. I had had injections in my eye prior to that as well as oral steroids to try to combat the inflammations in my eye and other body parts. I struggled with my eye for a long time afterwards, and my bad joints have now just become a fact of life for me. But I have recently started having headaches behind and above my right eye, the same one that I had problems with. My left eye is unaffected, by the way. I decided to go to the ophthalmologist who had tracked my progress previously (it had been 5 years since I had seen an eye doctor due to the fact that I had no insurance). I figured that my headaches and further blurred vision was due to the proteins that stuck to my lens (called senechae..sp?) that was due to the inflammation. Unfortunately, the doc looked at my eye and said there is very little coverage of my lens with the senechae and that I had a “cupped optical nerve”. GLAUCOMA! It was caused by the “pressure” in my eye being continuously too high. Now I am really worried that I won’t ever be able to see again! I have seen a retinal specialist who has referred me to a glaucoma specialist, and also a rheumatologist to be placed on medication for my jointal arthritis. I am so terrified that they will find something wrong with me that no medicine can really help. Each visit with a specialist is going to cost me from $200 to $800, along with travel expenses because one one of the specialists is in my state. I have medicaid, but it does not cover my out of state expenses since the specialists don’t accept out of state medicaid. This is getting ridiculously expensive and scary. I just wish I had some support in all of this. So, has anyone else out there been through this? None of my friends understand it and my mom is the only one who comprehends what is going on because she has been there with me every step of the way. My husband is supportive in it, but he barely understands the common cold, much less a complex rare arthritic disorder… He is there with me, but I have no idea how to explain it all to him. One must understand the workings and parts of the eye before they can comprehend this disorder and what it is doing to me, and he did not excel in his health courses in school. I just want a friend who understands for support, who I can discuss this with. I need the hope and strength of a companion with a similar disorder or even the same one. Please contact me at therin_acean@yahoo.com if you would like to talk. This was written on 10-21-09 but I would respond years from now if I got a letter. Thank you for reading this. God Bless You!

It all started 3 weeks ago, I was running a fever, pain in stomach and swelling after I ate to the point I looked pregnant. I also have very excessive belching after I eat with nausea. Went to Dr. and they said gastritis.
1 1/2 week later still fever, pain in neck, chills and just feel bad. Went to Dr. and checked me for viral meningitis, rocky mtn. spotted fever and done chest x-ray, everything came back NORMAL. Put me on strong antibiotics then 1 week after taking antibiotics I develop a lump under jaw bone on left side. Went back to Dr. and ran more test checking more stuff but everything was fine. Kept me on antibiotics.
Then 2 days ago I develop a pain burning feeling on left side of armpit radiating in left side of breast up to my shoulder. Kinda feels like it did when I had kids and breast had a burning pain in them. I still have nausea and last night vomiting. I am not pregnant, had a tubal ligation done 11 years ago. I am 36 years old and have Rheumatoid Arthritis which I take immune suppressant drugs for that cause cancer.
Anyone who can shed some light would be helpful. I have went to Dr. 3 times now and I feel I am getting no where. Every week I have new symptom. The blood work came back with no infection but I was running a fever and had lump in neck. Lump is now gone 1 week later.
I forgot to mention that I had my period 2 weeks ago so I know this is not hormonal from periods.
The kind of Dr. I went to was a family physician.

my 22 y.o. sister has rheumatoid arthritis and i can’t bear to see her like this. Western treatment has been unaffective and too expensive for prolonged usage.

Is there certain medication that should not be taken with Sarcoidosis. I have recently lost someone to this diease who was being treated for Rheumatoid Arthritis. She was receciving a weekly injection ( not quite sure of the full name but its nickname is Gold Injection) and i’m just wondering if this would have effected her in anyway as she was told she could not have it one week because of having just a cold?
Also do doctors find it really hard to diagnois between the 2 illnesses or should it have been picked up over the past year and a half? She had all the symptons and now we have researched it, it seems obvious to us, should the doctor not spent time looking over his notes a bit more to realise the treatment for artheritis wasn’t work??

drug for rheumatoid arthritis

I am 19 and i have had rheumatoid arthritis since i was 8, it went away when i was like 15, but it is comming back again! i had been taking the kemo therapy drug called methotrexate, but i stopped when my symptoms went away, now my doc want to put me on embrel! it is like $1300 a month! but what ever helps! has anyone taken it, did it work and what were the side effects?
i think it is called enbrel with an “n” sorry.
by RA i mean rheumatoid arthritis, not just sore joints, it is a crippling disease.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and have recently been prescribed Prozac for depression associated with the RA, but I have heard horror stories about depression medication and am now scared to take the medication. My doctor told me verbatim, “This medication is your happy pill”. I don’t know what scares me more, the medication or the fact that my doctor told me it’s a “happy pill”. In any case, I’m worried about becoming a zombie or suicidal. Anyone got some answers for me?

This is a long one, but please bear with me. I’ve got nowhere else to go!

So I’m 20 years old, and for the past few years I’ve had progressive joint and muscle pain. I was perfectly fine until I was 16 when I injured my back, and since then everything’s gone downhill. The injury healed normally, but since then it seems to flare up with inflammation every couple weeks or so and lasts a few days to a week. My hands were the next to go, I thought it was carpal tunnel at first, but it’s in both hands (I’m right handed), and I have pain in my pinkie and the outer part of my hand as well, which rules that out. Also my fingers are beginning to curve inwards and bulb out, if that makes sense My knees started acting up next. They just feel weak, kinda wobbly and they crack every time I bend them. Sometimes at night it feels like I have restless leg syndrome, but even moving around doesn’t help. Ankles are next. I injured them pretty bad a couple years ago, and I’m not sure if I broke or tore something, but if I’m on my feet too much they swell and get pretty painful. Elbows and shoulders after that. My shoulders feel like there’s heavy weights on them, and my elbows feel like I constantly have tennis elbow. Recently my entire body feels stiff, I’m starting to notice that the weather has an effect on how I feel. Dairy products, even calcium supplements trigger the pain. A lot of times my muscles feel like they’ve been strained, even though I’m usually in too much pain to do anything strenuous. I’m tired even after a full night’s sleep, and in the morning it seems like I have to force myself to get up. I was never this way!!

Here’s the thing- I’ve been tested for rheumatoid arthritis several times, and each time has come back negative. I’ve had tons of blood work done, and everything is always normal. I live in a small town, and every doctor I’ve been to tell me that it’s in my head, that it’s growing pains, one doctor even accused me of being a drug dealer trying to get pills to sell! They just don’t seemed concerned!

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