It is a known fact that people with RA live a shorter life than those without RA. Is it the disease itself or the medications that we take?
I would guess a combination of the two.Jay, that is my feeling too. Especially the MTX.
YAY...I'm glad I just switched to injectable MTX, more for my body to absorb. Just keeps getting better and better.Don't forget the lack of exercise... people with limited mobility and chronic pain typically (NOT always!!!) are not as active as their non-arthritic counterparts.
http://www.arthritis-research.org/newsletter.htm
I learned that those of us who take MTX live longer than those of us who do not. Seems that we die of heart disease just like the rest of America except 4 years earlier. Evidently reducing inflammation has a happy effect on slowing the development of coronary artery disease.
The site above is a very good one - used by rhuemies and patients. The national databank of rhuematic disease always has some of interest in the newsletters.
The last time I spoke with our AP dr., he said there were two new studies out about RA. He said one was about how the drugs have gotten more powerful, but that people were still dying sooner anyway. Like, the bigger drugs control the symptoms better, but still don't make a difference in the long run, I guess. So then since the average life expectancy for women in America is 72 we should expect to die at age 68. I wanted to go a bit longer than that. By at least 15 years.So I'm a fat anxious smoker...worrying is my hobby.
I cant possibly die before my hubby, I've told him since the day we got married that he's going first... you know whether I have to help him with a pillow or not!! You guys crack me upHmm, I think I like Marian's answer on this one. I pick hers to believe. The part about the exercise, diet, etc. also makes a lot of sense and certainly figures into the whole picture. Wish I was more disciplined, like my husband.
And you can't forget that we might all get hit by a truck tomorrow!!
[QUOTE=marian]
It also appears that happy people who have things that they are really interested in live longer too.
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[/QUOTE]
Well, once my great grandmother could no longer get around, she told me, "Everyday, I pray that I will die." She lasted about fifteen years past that, going from bedridden at my grandparents' to a nursing home. I don't think she had any interests, except getting life over with, and I can remember my grandfather arguing with the staff because they wouldn't give her dessert because she was diabetic. "She's 89 years old. If she wants a piece of cake, give her a piece of cake!"
I know she didn't smoke, but lived a long time with my grandmother, a chain smoker. The only other thing I remember her saying A LOT was, "I don't eat no mayonnaise." I guess that was the secret to her longevity LOL.
Hi all, this is an interesting discussion. Staying out of those nursing homes is number one on the list!!On the death by drugs thing,my dad who is 88 yo,has been taking prednisone for many years.His fingers are turned down into his palm,like most old cases of RA seem to,but like I said,he's 88 and has done methyltrexate?(spelling)along with the prednisone,but none of the new injections like humira,enbrel,etc....
my only point being that none of them are a death sentence,and if you call my dad,you'll go away laughing.He's a real live hum-dinger.....I guess my expanded point may be,that one of the secrets of long life,might be laughter...or at least not being all sour and worried.(easy to say sometimes,hard to do sometimes)
I have the curse of RA also,but can't take methyltrexate(sp) because my liver is bad,so the shots aren't doing me nearly the good that other patients have because they can combine drugs.
They tried to give me Rituxin yesterday,but I went into hives,heavy breathing,throat swelling closed,etc.,to that one is out...
So,i've just done what I always do,give the pain a name,and make it my friend...
sorry for the rambling...It's just nice to be in a place where at least someone is intersted.(I have stopped talking about any of it to my co workers or anyone else,because it turns out everyone is in pain of some form or another).
everybody hang in there....good luck..Dave S.
The hobby part of my life is what keeps me going. I used to do cross stitch almost obsessively, now not so much because a) I really, really need to get a new contact prescription and b) if I do it too much it hurts my hands. So I picked up a new hobby. Off roading (in a Jeep, of course). I know it sounds extreme, but it isn't bad at all. When I am the passenger, I just have to sit in the seat and enjoy the view. My husband and I have a lot of time to just talk. When I am the driver, I am going so slow that it doesn't hurt me. The biggest obstacle that I have is climbing into his trail rig. I am 5'8" and I almost have to swing in. Once I get past that, I am in for the duration. (Okay and it helps to take a little bit of NSAIDS beforehand.) I believe that this new helps me in several ways. 1)I am out in nature and sometimes it is just breathtaking. 2)I spend a lot more time with my wonderful husband. 3)I don't focus so much on what is hurting but rather on what line I am going to take to get around the big rock ahead while at the same time avoiding the massive tree trunk. 4)I get to be in a group of people who are supportive and fun. I could go on....
I keep telling my RD that I want to treat this aggressively. I have a ton of things to do before I sit down and give up....maybe about 95 or so I will reconsider this.
Shorter life span or not, I refuse to give in now...I am enjoying my lifel.
Andrea
Hey, Dave S., welcome, glad you found us. Yes, we will listen to you because we "get you" and what you're going through. I like your attitude, you're a fighter. Can I use you for my inspiration after I've used up some of my other heros here?
Lynda, about the retirement home, my step-mother just moved into one and just loves it. She was living alone, near family and she had help come in daily, but she was starting to vegetate because all she could do was sit in the house if there was no one to help her (she can't walk anymore). At the home she takes trips, does arts and crafts, games, you name it and she sounds like her old self. I can't believe it but I was even thinking I'd like that for myself some day. She's definitely better than she was.
Patients with RA die on average 10 to 15 years earlier than our counterparts. This is due almost entirely to higher rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The theory is that the cardiovascular disease is more prounced because of the constant inflamation in our bodies although some rheumatologists disagree with this suggestion and blame it on reduced disability. No one has yet done a convincing study which shows that more aggressive DMARD therapy will change these long term outcomes.
This is a very hot topic right now because of research recently released that suggests that while life spans are growing in the general public over the last 30 or 40 years that those gains don't apply to us. Keep in mind that the study was done on patients in the mayo clinic, mostly white people of european ancestry from minnesota.....what does it mean for the rest of us? Wish I knew.
TNF-Blocker Plus MTX Slashes Heart Risk in RA
[QUOTE=Lynn49] Many study participants were also taking concomitant aspirin. [/QUOTE]
That's a crucial piece of info right there. How many? How did those not taking aspirin compare to those who did? Isn't daily aspirin known to reduce your risk of heart attack? Could you take aspirin instead of a TNF and get the same results?
I also take aspirin...My RD recommended it.I actually do this type of research for a living and am familiar with the study presented. Although the ACR resutls are encouraging, I truly don't believe we have enough longitudinal data to answer these questions. Most rheumatologists believe that you have to have RA for many, many years for the inflamation to lead to cardiovascular disease. The drug companies would like us to believe that these drugs will reduce CV disease but its a hard study to design. Remember that to them we are a "market". Its not that there haven't been tremendous advances in treatment in the last decade but boy is there ever still room for improvement. How many people without RA will develop heart disease over the course of 6.5 years? I know that their are statistical methods to control for these things but as one trained in this area, even the best model doesn't control for everything and researcher pick the model that works best for them if they can defend these decisions. The truth is always in the study details. Sorry to sound critical or cynical but I've done this type of work for 20 years and even now work with some of the top rheumatologists in the country. The funny part is when they say to me, "let me tell you about patients with rheumatoid arthitis.......if only they knew...........
I think RA needs to be treated aggressively for other reasons - mostly because its like a big boulder rolling down the hill, its easier to stop before it picks up momentum but in all honesty, I don't think we really understand this disease very well. Other than that, we need to do those things that lower our cardovascular risk as best we can - try to exercise, reduce our intake of red meat, watch our salt, stress levels, our cholesterol and more than anything, not smoke.
I wonder if TNFs also prevent pregnancy? Maybe we should do a study, and let 'many' participants also take birth control pills? Could we report the percentage who did not get pregnant and conclude it was from the TNFs?