Arthritis?

[Bob_Skurka]

My apologies if any of this sounded preachy

AMEN And what you wrote to Dargo is what I was trying to say but didn't say as well as you said it!

If I see one more Aleve commercial "just one Alve,and my arthritis pain is gone!", I'll explode.

I think sufferers of RA are in a whole different category of pain than the folks lucky enough to ONLY have Osteoarthritis. The diseases share part of the same name but they are DRAMATICALLY different in what they do to your body. Aleve will help people with Osteo, but unless you take massive doses, it won't even touch the pain caused by RA, and it sure won't work for more than a couple of hours and won't be very effective even for that short duration

 

[3RRL]

Well,
I took the first step and went to the Doc. He set me up for a physical, x-rays and complete blood/lab work. He also gave me a referral to a very good Rheumatologist in Pomona. Not my town, but well worth the drive. My doc is a D.O. so he is very hands on. He wants to review the tests so he can talk with the Rheumatologist in a manner that best addresses my problem(s). That way, the Rheumatologist will be more informed of my over all health instead of just looking at lab results. He explained a lot to me and is quite "up" on this.
Thanks again.
Oh Roxy,
The reason I said my wife thinks I'm nuts because she is under the impression only women suffer from that (fibromyalgia). I told her so we'll see about that? I have associated muscle pain all the time and at least to check that out too. Like you said, similar symptoms?
Dargo,
I see you are still actively training but obviously reduced your routines? In my day, (late 60's and early 70's) I trained very heavy with many of the big boys out here in Southern California (including Arnold and others) My best total was 1950lbs as a 242'er and I'm sure it has a lot to do with how crappy my joints are now. I still exercise daily but it is only that ... no weights. I've cut down to 189lbs at 56 and in pretty darn good shape other than the daily pains.
I'm glad I read this thread. Thanks for starting it Nat and all the great input from everyone else.

 

[roxynoodle]

Well, a much higher percentage of people with fibro are women, but men can get it too and that's another one that can unfortunatly affect children. They will probably also run an ANA blood test on you because lupus causes muscle pain as well as arthritis. 90% of lupus sufferers are women but that means 10% are men. That's not insignificant. I don't remember the stats on fibro but I know men get that also. In fact, it affects 3% of the population, which may be higher than RA. A lot of people don't consider it a real disorder though, which drives me nuts. If I have 14 pressure points on my body that give off tremendous pain when touched, it's real! My ex husband never believed me that I couldn't carry heavy or long objects over my shoulder. Well, now I know why, my shoulders are where 2 of those pressure points are. At the time all I knew is that if I did I got a pain that could bring me to my knees. And when the fibro flares up, so does the RA and vice versa. Right now I'm paying for my 8 hours of putting up the stone veneer yesterday. Joints all swollen and red. I still think it's better for me to continue my lifestyle as much as possible because otherwise I tend to feel like a useless blob waste of oxygen.

And, for everyone seeing a doctor for the first time for possible RA/related disorder symptoms, please bear in mind that the average length of time for diagnosis is 4 years. It can be frustrating as all heck. I wish for all of you, a speedy diagnosis but it took nearly 10 years for me. I especially hated people asking what was wrong with me and my having to say, I don't know, no one knows. A lot of them just think you are nuts then. Others see your red swollen joints and are more understanding or they think you will give it to them. Just hang in there though, eventually there will be an answer for you. And try to remind yourself that as bad as it is, you don't have to look far to find someone who has it worse. I actually feel better finding people on this forum who understand.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Right now I'm paying for my 8 hours of putting up the stone veneer yesterday.

I over did it this weekend too. Nothing as strenuous as what you describe, but cold weather, working outside, and falling down a couple of times left me with not only bruises and sore muscles, but also with some very sore shoulders and hips. Tylenol is not doing the trick. I hate taking vicodin for the pain but feel that I have no choice. Prednisone would do the trick but the steroid effect on the body keeps me from taking that drug.

 

[Nat]

Bob, Maybe everybody alread know this, but I have found that taking Motrin and Tylenol Arth pain reliever mixed together helps some. My sister is a nurse and she has had me taking both at the same time for years, something about the combination makes it better. I take 2 of each when needed. I know this is more than they reccomend, but I'm also 215 lbs and I've always heard the the dosage on the label is for a 140lb person.
I've found a Rhumitoligist (sp) and am waiting for an appointment. I went to a flea market on sat. and after walking around all morning my heels and ankles hurt like the dickens all day sunday. I felt fine this morning so I cut out a window in the foundation , through 12" block and installed the window today, guess I'll be taking the day off tommorow to recuperate. What the hay, al least I can still get something done even if it makes me pay for a couple days, Later, Nat

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I've found a Rhumitoligist (sp) and am waiting for an appointment.

That is the first step to feeling better! One thing about threads like this, they actually provide some help and some hope to people

As for the Motrin/Tylenol mix, I'd not heard that one. I know for children it is often recommended to ALTERNATE those two drugs every 4 hours. The child first gets one, then 4 hours later the child get the other one, then 4 hours later gets a second dose of the first one, etc.

 

[roxynoodle]

I over did it this weekend too. Nothing as strenuous as what you describe, but cold weather, working outside, and falling down a couple of times left me with not only bruises and sore muscles, but also with some very sore shoulders and hips. Tylenol is not doing the trick. I hate taking vicodin for the pain but feel that I have no choice. Prednisone would do the trick but the steroid effect on the body keeps me from taking that drug.

Well, here I am a week later and I'm still in a bad flare up. I'll be going to the doctor today. Prednisone and steroids in general do not agree with me. They can make me feel worse than I do to begin with. We'll see what he says as far as what I can do to reduce this inflammation. I know I need to go though because the inflammation is in my chest too and I'm having some mild myocarditis (sp?), which makes my heartbeat seem unusually loud and sometimes it skips a beat. Pretty freaky when it happens.

I am the weird person who can take vicodin and still work and drive. It actually makes me kind of hyper. I only take it as a last resort though. I have a nurse friend who claims it is not addictive, but yet I know someone who does appear to be addicted. She will even steal it from her friends and family if she finds it in their house and her doctor put her in a treatment program. I only go through about 20 pills in a years time because I want to be careful with it. I always think, there will be a worse day than today, save it!

 

[N80]

Interesting discussion. A lot of good info. Some less good. I won't spend any time nit-picking technical stuff. The advice to see a rheumatologist, or an internest with experience with rheumatological diseases is a good idea. Any competant internest or family practice physician can tell you if a consultation with a rheumatologist would be beneficial.

There are two things that I'd throw out:

First, rheumatoid arthritis is often misdiagnosed in both directions. Sometimes the diagnosis is missed. Sometimes it is made erroneously. It can be a tough disease to nail down, even for rheumatologists. This frustrates people who really want a firm diagnosis like you can get with strep throat or high blood pressure. And sometimes this makes them think their doctor doesn't know what he's doing. I get lots of reports back from rheumatologists with 'tweener' diagnoses like seronegative RA or unspecified connective tissue disease. So find a good doctor that you trust and be a patient patient. Diagnosis can be difficult and treatment can be hit or miss. And for those few who criticize doctors in general for not having a magic pill, well, it may come as a shock, and many of us might not like to admit it, but we can't fix everything and often times 'fixes' can be nearly as bad as the problem. That's not an excuse, its just reality.

Second, I think folks need to be careful comparing the effects of RA vs osteoarthritis. While RA is a systemic illness and can be severe, the truth is that OA can be equally as painful and debilitating. OA can destroy hips, knees, hands and feet and result in deformity, severe pain, loss of mobility and independance. Erosive OA and OA of the spine can cause significant morbidity. OA is much more common and often no more than a nuisance, but severe and debilitating OA is hardly rare. And similarly I have patients with RA who have it very mildly and have little pain and take no meds. So just be careful about general statements about which one is 'worse'.

 

[roxynoodle]

He gave me Mobic to try. It is an anti-inflammatory (NSAID). Other than not taking it with other NSAIDs like Ibuprofen and watching for signs of GI problems, is there anything else I should know about this med?

 

[N80]

Just like all NSAIDS it can cause liver and kidney damage. This is uncommon and typically only seen with long term use. Routine blood tests done once or twice a year are sufficient. Mobic is less likely to cause GI (stomach) bleeding than some others but it is still a possibility. Generally an effective and well tolerated medication.