All posts tagged: RA progression

October Journal

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It is tough to be stuck. It seems like it has been going on all year for me. No breakthroughs. No new ideas. It is more the need to cope with a lot of stuff.  Too much stuff for this old brain. My rheumatoid arthritis is not any better. I’ve been on most of the biologic wonder drugs. The most they can do for me is to reduce symptoms by 20%. It probably is better than nothing.  Twenty per cent is considered therapeutic by the medical profession.  I doubt any of the drug gurus have had rheumatoid arthritis. I assume they are just robots. So, there are no new practical advances in managing RA. I doubt most of us would want to have electronics placed in our brain or to have gizmos attached to our blood vessels. They need to come up with something less invasive.   I continue my journey with regular flares. When I leave the comfort of a night’s sleep and start moving for the day, I am in pain. It is …

My take and my experiences

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Like many Americans, I have spent the last eight months in shock at the systematic destruction of our democracy. We are rapidly regressing into  a  corrupt dictatorship where a select few have rights. The rest become increasingly low wage workers with no rights.   No education. No healthcare. No meaningful work. No safety net. No vaccines. No scientific research. The new Dark Ages. We definitely need new leadership. I am speaking up now before we lose the rest of our liberty.  Remember our slogan from ourAmerican revolution, Give me liberty or give me death. Patrick Henry. We are Americans and we don’t want to go back to the stone ages. That said, let’s talk about rheumatoid arthritis. The health of my  joints has continued to decline. My complications from all inflammation include atherosclerosis and osteoporosis. Bad for the heart and the bones.. So far, RA treatment  addresses symptoms. The biologics  help those symptoms  for a limited time. Recently I had an endoscopy. There were red patches in the lining of my lower esophagus, stomach and small …

Journal, Cannabis and Tramadol

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Today was a good day for me. But first, the boring stuff. Let’s talk about the medical.  Since the VA had my Tramadol prescription, they require a urine test occasionally. My urine test came back positive for cannabinoids. So now my prescription has been cancelled. No one told me. No one asked about my pain status.  Lucky for me #1 cannabis will either manage your pain or you will not actually care that you have it. The added bonus is that it reduces inflammation, an RA killer. Lucky for me #2 every month I took the left over tramadol pills and put them in another container, enough to last a long time.  What I have been doing lately is take one tramadol in the morning and the two at dinner time. My RA is tough in the morning, but it can be tougher in the afternoon. Fortunately, I have just about gotten the dose correct. My will is a work in progress with a visit to a lawyer next week. Today I got the deed. …

Journal entry 3.25

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When life hands you a bucket of sour grapes, you really don’t need to cry or get angry. You can if you find it helps.  But the older I get, I find there are just too many speed bumps along the way. And since I don’t really have as much energy,  I need to save my energy for things that make me  happy. Okay there is the occasion for anger, but best to keep it a memorable thing not a habit. Matilda and Her Alien have moved on to book two and the BlueStone Colony, The colony is growing.  Matilda and Bertrand have a new story. Thomas and Timothy rescue more of the college student experiment/ Big Furry People. We meet furry children  who are as cute as teddy bears.  Marigold and Tess are newcomers.  Rescue of the mutant BlueStone continues. The original sixteen babies start nursery school much to the delight of their teachers. Matilda and her Alien is now available in paperback. I have had rheumatoid arthritis for twelve years. I have also …

Day to Day with RA

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Today is a good day for me. The Kevzara stopped working. I retried low dose Methotrexate but immediately started having side effects. So, I stopped that too. I now depend on Medrol, Tramadol and Cannabis. Both the Medrol and the Cannabis are big helps. Titrating cannabis gummies can be tricky, but once you get used to it, it is the answer for now. I like taking 2.5 mg at a time. Low dose. Keeps the inflammation at bay. When I do have a bad flare, I up my cannabis dose accordingly and I stay in one place for a while. I have complete pain relief, but I don’t really care. It is nice. I use the WANA brand. The company started in Boulder but was sold to a Canadian company. Cannabis is legal in Canada as it is here in New Mexico. My primary doc signed off on the medical cannabis program. It saves but is also an access point for more potent cannabis. The WANA brand come in tight closing boxes. The normal label …

The complexity of using cannabis

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Francis is having his early morning nap atop my pillows. The pigeons are busy raiding the bird feeder. I’ve had my morning cup of Starbucks French Roast. Now for  the RA news. The good and the bad. Cannabis for rheumatoid arthritis is a mixed bag. Two days ago I had one of  the worst flares I’ve had in a while. The good side of cannabis is that it will take  away the pain and the inflammation of RA.  In order to do so the dose needs to be high enough. For me that is ten milligrams  which is in a regular  gummy or one eighth a gummy at fifty milligrams in the thousand milligram package. Another issue of using cannabis for RA is the complexity of using cannabis gummies. The first time I tried cannabis I became dizzy.  I recently had a hip replacement and I did not want to fall. I stopped using it. The next time I tried it, I microdosed and it worked. As I built tolerance I  increased my dose. Now …

Spondylolistheses

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Spondylolisthesis  frequently occurs in the lower spine. A vertebrae is gradually pushed out of position. I had a spinal fusion years ago. The vertebrae above it was gradually pushed out of position. The classic symptom is not being able to stand without pain for more than ten minutes at a time. It can block nerves coming from the spine and cause paralysis and severe pain. I have pain in my lower back radiating to my left hip. Sometimes when getting up from a chair or getting out of a car my feet are numb and take a moment to have feeling  return. Additionally, I believe the murder suspect mentioned that he had trouble with sexual performance. Severe pain can be a problem. The slippage can also cause bowel or urinary problems. Physical therapy, over the counter NSAIDs are recommended (not for the elderly), rest, oral  steroids  and steroids injected into the back might help. Surgery is last resort. I take pain meds, steroids, and cannabis for my RA so these measures might help my back. …

Adapt or Perish

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“It isn’t the strongest of the species which survives, neither the most intelligent, but rather that which adapts best to change.”  Charles Darwin He must have been talking about rheumatoid arthritis. The most difficult aspect of RA is its unpredictable nature. RA may be simmering.  Suddenly, without warning, a severe fatigue, an exhaustion so bad its immobilizing,  arrives to totally disrupt your day. New severe pain in your right foot makes walking impossible. The simmering pain becomes more than simmering and the constant hurting becomes discouraging. A drug that has worked so well stops working. A very short list of RA’s unpredictable nature. What to do? Adapt and survive. The number  one consideration is your attitude. You will need to come to the understanding that you have a chronic, progressive  illness. It is not going away. And YOU are in charge. You have the balancing act between controlling symptoms of RA and the side effects of medication. You know the importance of RA medication is to avoid crippling disability, which is guaranteed without proper medication. Consider …

RA and Heart Disease

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The number one cause of death for those with rheumatoid arthritis is cardiovascular in origin.The mortality rate for those with RA is 2.5 times what is normal for everyone else. The increased rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in those with RA is caused in part by accelerated atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) due to the chronic inflammation of RA. Atherosclerosis is the most common cardiovascular manifestation in RA. Inflammation is bad for the body. It causes damage. Early aggressive treatment for RA may reduce the inflammatory process and reduce the number of deaths due to atherosclerosis. Paradoxically in RA, a low BMI (less than 18.5) has been associated with a high CVD risk. RA doubles the risks of most heart related disorders including Those with RA have twice the risk of heart failure. The risk is higher in those with seropositive RA than  it is with those who are seronegative RA. RA patients do not have the typical signs of heart failure so they might be treated less aggressively than they need to be. Rheumatoid …