Toxic Overload | Arthritis Information

Is it possible that someone who takes a lot of drugs for their RA symptoms, that their bodies go into Toxic Overload...
I'm thinking of Cordelia here who seems to have had every drug in the book and nothing is touching the symptoms.

From what I have heard the pain and suffering is the same as I experienced at the beginning and without any drugs taken at that stage.
Can't brush teeth, do hair, hold fork, eat, and just generally manage herself.
Cords comes across as a very helpful person to this board and perhaps not as bad as some.
The further I dig, the more I find that she is in big trouble.

It just seems that she would be in no worse shape off the drugs or on them.
This RA and the drugs are killing her and there must be another way.

I'm just scratching my head here and being 3000 km away does not help.

Cords is in hospital but nothing is being administered because her RH is on holidays, so it just gets more bizarre by the day.
(this, .... what I have been told by a girl friend of hers that is even further away than I am.)

Toxic Overload, could there be something in this, not that the docs would own up.

sometimes a drug may cause a problem, but they don't always discontinue the drug but give ya another drug to treat the new problem, and on and on.

i hope cordelia gets some help and finds some relief soon. she has a little girl doesn't she? what a difficult time she's having.

Gosh, I hope cordy gets better soon. I believe in toxic overload. I will try one med at a time, after about 10 weeks if it isnt working I will stop it but i refuse to mix too many meds. Most of the time the side effects are worse than the benefits.

I wish cordy all the best

Hi Stephen, I just can't work it out either, the amount of pred she was on should have knocked the pain into oblivion, and the Rituximab was working wonders, so my theory is that her body builds up antibodies to all the drugs and treats them like an allergen, so to me she would be better off going to an allergy specialist and getting detoxified to the main drugs that she needs such as the pred and the rituximab. I know that was suggested to me at one stage, but my rheumy wanted me to try painkillers with the pred and the odd attempt at the Dmards, or biologics, same problem as Cords though cannot tolerate them, at the moment pred and Oxycontin are working for me but poor Cords seems to luck out with all of them, and then she would be missing Nevie like crazy, and vice versa, which will only make matters worse, she really needs a live in carer, I wish I knew who to talk to to try and get her one, but you would think her GP and RD would be trying to help her in that respect as we all know that stress and tiredness do not mix well with our disease. God Bless her, I hope she improves soon. Please give her my love. Many thanks Janie. ahhh that truly sucks!! who takes care of her daughter?

You know steven, you may have a pt... too many drugs.

Its just a very frustrating disease, i can't remember how long she's had it ?//?

anyway, if her friend sees her, please say a big Hi and prayers , thinking of her..

Soo unfair, and such a b**ch

I wish House.. (its a tv show, cranky dr, but finds out the hardest diseases, to conquer) could cure her.

(((((((((((((((((cordy)))))))))))))

hi bodak not sure what is going on .. maybe refactory ra..
i have become what you call toxic overloaded
my body just wont have the meds and stuck whith pred.. but at high
dose has bad effect.. can not even have steroid inject. last one inflamed
my muscles and gave severe pressure in my head..but pred is working now.
gees rambling now.. maybe cordelia is having a major flare and then
high dose steroids by iv are given.. people whith refactory ra maybe able
for stemcell transplant.. her hospital seems not to good if they are unable
to give the steroids...
Boney
Boney I agree with you that Cordie definitly needs a change in the way she is being treated. Personally I think it should go back and reconfirm whether she actually has RA or if it is some other rheumatological problem that is causing her symptoms. Go back to ground zero and reevaluate everything, redo every test, and yes clean out her system. she is seronegative so it is possible that the RA label got thrown on her and now no one is looking any deeper.

If nothing is working she has nothing to lose by starting over

Stephen,

Does this mean they think her RA is in remission or that her RD is on vacation? I'm not sure what the RH stands for.

Cords is in hospital but nothing is being administered because her RH is on holidays, so it just gets more bizarre by the day.
(this, .... what I have been told by a girl friend of hers that is even further away than I am.)

I have no answers, no knowlege as to why Cordy suffers as she does. I feel empathy, compassion and helplessness. I say prayers that she gets relief and healing.I agree with Buckeye that this needs to be re-evaluated from the bottom up. But what's really upsetting is what's going on in the hospital now. Are they just letting her suffer until her doctors come back? What the ......? I can't believe there's no one on call who can take over on a temporary basis and try to help her. Granted, she has difficulty with many drugs, but there has to be something they can do.....even warm baths, massages, something, for cripes sake. Don't they realize the additional pain is just going to make her slip deeper into her pain and misery? Is there no family with her who can speak on her behalf? Sometimes you need an advocate to do a bit of pushing. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Unbelievable. I don't have anything to add, but I agree that the hospital is unbelievable for standing by and doing nothing, and I think Cords needs a fresh evaluation on her diagnosis.

I do believe it could be toxic overload, but I'm more inclined to think that either they have the wrong diagnosis, or that there's a second diagnosis lurking around.

I feel so bad for all she (and Neve) have been through.

I should clear a few things up here as I am not fully aware of what is going on.

Snippit:

Hi Stephen,

I received a phone call from Cody’s mum this morning to say that she has been placed in Nambour hospital.
Apparently the rheumatologist is away and he needs to be there to supervise the prednisone drip. He is not back until after the weekend so I am not sure if that means she is not on the drip at the moment. It all sounds very horrible.

Sorry if I did not explain things properly in the first place.
Cords does have parents but they are into there eighties.

Thanks for your responses, any views or ideas, thoughts add up and help one to form an opinion.
Thanks for this Snow, it sounds very interesting from the snippet.
Will now go and follow the link.
Cordie~I'll bump you to the top of my prayer list Sweetie. I'm real sorry to hear this.

Anyone that' passing her messages please pass mine also....I'm sure she's not seeing these.

I'm real worried.

Prosorba column's been around for awhile, but looks like it might not be anymore:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosorba_column

"The Prosorba Column went out of production at the end of 2006.

Its potential for non-pharmaceutical treatments of immune diseases remains untapped, but lack of investments by the corporate entities of Fresenius Hemocare for clinical trials led to its being outcompeted by drugs for the sole disease for which it was being marketed (Rheumatoid Arthritis)."

Maybe it's around in Australia, but no longer in the US? It's a good thought, SnowOwl.

I get toxicity from most drugs unfortunately.

My entire body swells up like a balloon and i literally get about an extra 6 inches bigger in my calves alone. I also get swollen lungs and horrible asthma.

Some mess up my eye sight to where i get a fog in the middle of my vision.

It's bad to have toxicity. My worst drug tried was methotrexate. Not only did i get horrible big, but it also made my breathing bad, my arthritis got horribly worse, i was constantly too sick to be 3 feet from the bathroom etc.

I have chemical sensitivity and since most treatments are 100% chemical, i have trial everything they want me on and they watch me carefully.

I also can't be around any bug spray, pesticide, molds and mildews, newly painted or varnished rooms and furniture, can't be around flowers cuz they have pesticide on them, no pine cleaners (one of my worst) etc.

It's not an easy world to live in, i spend most of my time at home and i don't go home to visit family because the city is too full of pollution and that gives me constant strep throat.

it's a pain, i feel for anyone who has any toxicity.

God bless.

Bubba- have you looked into the possibility that your sensitivity is not to the drugs themseles but the inactive fillers. You have dairy allergies ad lactose is often used as an ingrediant. And if I recall correctly you also may have celiacs and gluten products are used a great deal as binders and casings. Just a thoughtHere is a case where an infectious etology needs to be ruled out.

Difficult, like....which mouse wants to tie a bell onto the cat?

Love to help....but????

Ron

[QUOTE=buckeye] she is seronegative so it is possible that the RA label got thrown on her and now no one is looking any deeper.

[/QUOTE]

Buckeye, you make a great point. I strongly feel that RA is a kitchen sink diagnosis. When nothing else is found, this is the diagnosis. I guess it is easier for some doctors to have that diagnosis, then they don't have to explore any further unless the patient is insistent. I think Cordy needs to start over, detox and try to get to the bottom of what is going on.This was so sad to read.. I am sorry you're having so much difficulty, Cordy... You're so postive when on here.. and helpful to all .... I wish there was something I could contribute to your betterment..

hang in there... something will be found.. and I'm in agreement that you should re -address your diagnosis or look for other issues that are holding you back from medical help.

I too have you on the top of my list... *prayers*

Stephen, do you (or anyone else) have an update on how Cordy's doing in the hospital?It's been reported that some pain medicines are actually more effective on severe pain in smaller doses--just the opposite of what one would think! I think we all need to very carefully monitor our medicine usage. I stopped taking my Relafen yesterday because I suspected it wasn't helping me anymore. I've been off my Singulair for almost a month. I've been ok so far. Took two generic Excedrin this morning. [QUOTE=InnerGlow]Stephen, do you (or anyone else) have an update on how Cordy's doing in the hospital?[/QUOTE]I spoke to Cords on Sunday and by her words the IV was having no effect.
She also mentioned that a pain management specialist was to see her on Monday which was yesterday.
Was hoping that I may have received an update from her girlfriend this morning but as yet nothing.
I will make further inquires as to Cords progress during today (Tuesday) ....
Don't forget to tell send her our best. We're all very concerned about her. Looks like a little bit of progress.

Hi Stephen,
I spoke to her yesterday morning and she was saying that the drugs kicked in
about midnight so she had some sleep Sunday night.  As well as seeing the
pain management team she was also seeing the social worker.  This must have
gone okay as they did not ring and she was going to get them to ring me if
the interview was not going well.   She was making notes of her needs when I
rang. 

I will try and speak to Cords today and get the latest.
Will send all your best wishes........

Thanks Stephen, lets hope she gets a home carer through this. You are an angel. Hugs to Cords from Janie. Stephen, thank you so much for keeping us informed about dear Cordy's condition. I'm so sorry she is in the hospital and not able to get the care she needs, due to the absence of her RD! I certainly don't understand that. Surely, this doctor has someone covering his practice while he is away! If not, he should have!

Please let Cordy know that she is in my thoughts and prayers and that my heart is with her! She has gone through a lot, by herself. Of course we are all here for her, but it's not quite the same as having someone to take over some of her burdens. I'm sure she has someone caring for her little one. Cordy's life revolves around her child.

If you can read this, my dear Cordy, please know I am with you in spirit and I'm sending you all the strength I can. Be well, Sweetie.

Much love, Nini

Nini2008-05-19 15:29:27Stephen, thank you so much for keeping us up to date. I hope she know how many of us are thinking of her.Wow! Much love and support to Cords, this is a truely awful situation that she in. Before I read this thread, I was just about to PM you, Stephen, to see if I live anywhere near her to see if I could help, but she's on the other side of the damn country! I hope that those doctors have finally "found the time" to treat her properly. It just makes me so mad.

_popupControl(); Hi guys, I live about 3 hours from Cords, but I am in a bad way too, think it is the colder weather. Also my son has episcleritis, and now has developed joint pain, very widespread, so he is home unwell and is seeing my RD on Monday, HLAB27 + , Drs are looking for an autoimmune disorder, please pray its just a virus. Regards Janie.

janie, I'm so sorry to hear that. Yes, I will keep him in my thoughts and hope it's only a virus.