Positive and Negative
Delayed treatment of seronegative RA is costly..
All posts tagged: Meloxicam
Cancer Number Three and RA
It is almost a month since I had a robotic radical hysterectomy and it has been four days since I had my first chemo. I feel pretty good all things considered. Additionally, a minor surgical procedure placed a power injectable SMART PORT under my skin connected to a catheter that was threaded into my jugular vein and down to my superior vena cava creating fast access to my body’s circulation. It is not as bad as it sounds. Sloan Kettering has a PDF that explains the procedure. My skin has been tender, but the lidocaine ointment works and relieves the discomfort. My RA is complaining with all joints hurting morning and again evening time. Walking hurts my feet even though I have custom shoes and custom triple layer inserts. I am glad I take methotrexate injections, Plaquenil and meloxicam. I take 6 mg Medrol and can boost the dose into a dose pack if needed. So far, I am holding steady. With RA I think it is important to move. Aerobics are nice but …
On becoming the bionic woman
I wonder how many of us are walking around with replacement parts. Joint replacement has become common and it is successful surgery. I have several friends who have both knees replaced or both hips replaced and they are fine with it. And now, I am about ready to embark on my first joint replacement. My left hip will be first on the chopping block. This is a bad visualization. I am trying hard not to think about what the surgeon will be doing. It is scary and gruesome. A Frankenstein thing. Instead, I am focusing on the bionic woman thought. I will be in much better condition once I complete the rehab process. I will have a fabulous new joint. Won’t I be lucky? I will. I have spent the summer in extreme pain. My doc had a tough time identifying my hip issue. After all, my hip had good range of motion without pain. An MRI revealed my hip deteriorating badly plus a bad labral tear with pieces loose in the joint. My pain …
RA, Biologic Medication and the numbers
Reading the fine print on a medication insert is not done by many of those with RA. I suspect the big reason is the amount of time it would take to understand all the information or even to understand the information of value to you. It does seem like too much work. But there is a time to buckle down and read the inserts. I am at that time. I need to make new decisions with my Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) treatment. I have tried three of the biologics. One didn’t work. One worked about 50% for nine months and then left me to a bad flu and a worse flare. The third just made me sick. I felt like my life was being sucked out of me. It was not a good feeling to have. For the last six months, I have sustained myself with methotrexate injections coupled with hydroxychloroquine, meloxicam and methylprednisolone. I love methylprednisolone (Medrol). It makes me feel better. I morph from a cripple in excruciating pain into someone feeling almost well. My …
Four years of RA
I was diagnosed with RA four years ago, this month. The first few years were whirlwinds as I was also diagnosed with two cancers that each involved surgery and radiation treatments. My RA moved to the back seat then to the front and again back and forth. Now it is center stage. In 2015, I was started on infusions of Orencia. Once I realized that the biologics only help your RA by about 50%, I settled in and appreciated that they helped that much. In July the next year, I developed a horrific flu. I haven’t had a flu for years. It was exhausting. Plus, the Orencia was not working any more. I started having bad flares. My rheumatologist stopped the Orencia. After a few weeks, I was started on infusions of Remicade, a TNF inhibitor. By the third loading dose, I was having a severe flare plus I was having a bad reaction to the Remicade. I was ill. It took two months for the Remicade to clear my system and for …
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