Hey all!
I read alot but don't post often. Usually I feel that you all have it so more
together than I do so there isn't much I can add.
I have been having a hard time lately. My RA has always been active but
lately it has been crazy. My little boy will be two at Halloween and while I
love to hug and hold him every minute-he does get heavy. Good thing he
is tiny-3 percentile for weight! Anyway, I have always had swelling at my
sternum but lately it has been HORRIBLE! It finally got so bad that I called
my RD in tears. She wanted me to come right then but I had to find a
subsitiute for my classes. I had been doing a lab with the 8th graders so I
needed to get a teacher who could handle "controlled chaos". I could
finally get out early in the afternoon but she was short staffed so she
called my primary care dr. and I saw him. He is awesome and his mom
and sister have RA so he is very familiar with it. He was actually voted top
doc in the area. Lucky me I just found him in the phone book. Anyway-
after running a few tests he said that it is costochondritis as I have had in
the past but that this was a really bad flare. Actually he said "wow, that is
quite a chest!" and then he turned bright red and walked out of the room.
He came back in and said "let's start that conversation over" I would have
cracked up but it hurt too much! Anyway he upped my pred to 40mg
until I see my RD this Thurs. This annoys me cause I just lost 10lbs. Not
much but a start. I guess I'll just have to watch the diet more carefully.
Anyway-It just hurts soo bad. On Friday during my planning period I put
my head down behind my computer and cried. Not normal. I can take
pain every where else but this chest stuff is the worst! I'll get another
chest x-ray on Thurs. to make sure it's nothing else. He told me that if it
gets worse to just come but the office and he'll fit me in. He really
wanted me to take a week off but that's not possible. I have no sick days
and a week off would be without pay. I can't cut my paycheck in half. I
just moved into a new townhouse and of course that's increased my rent.
alright..I am done with the whining. I was just looking for advice. Has
anybody else delt with this before? My RD wants to up the Remicade to
once a month but once again..I will have no sickdays. I get one for each
month that I work. ARGH. Luckily my 3 principals are awesome. One is
super religious and every morning says that he's praying for me. The
other is one of those intellectual type and reads up on everything so he
always asks medically how I am feeling and wants to help. They actually
covered my classes do I could leave early. After some of your horror
stories about coworkers I am very lucky.
I hope you have a good day. I am going to go back to the VA tech, GA
tech football game. Go HOKIES.
Becky
Hi Becky,
I have no advice for you. Just wanted to say how great it is for you to have ppl like that to work with.
I been having pain in my chest lately. When I do get this pain, it seems to only last for about 24 hours then it's gone. I know how bad that feels, but I guess I'm lucky that it doesn't last too long.
Hope you feel better soon, Becky
Kelly
I have a case of costochondritis from using a weight machine that I wasn't supposed to use. It is the worse pain..so jabbing! Normally my RA pain that is new goes away overnight, but this stuff is hanging around. It has been six weeks for me but it has lessoned up some. At least it doesn't hurt to breathe anymore.
My rheumo said he could give me a cort injection if it doesn't go away. If is isn't better by the end of Oct, I am going ahead and having it done. I have my 2nd and 3rd rib-area affected.
Hope you will be feeling better soon.
I retired last year after 24 years of teaching so I understand how demanding it is. It is about as hard to be out sick as it is to be there as planning for a sub is tough.