Ulcers | Arthritis Information

Ugh my long message just got deleted. Have been on 15 mg (max dose) mobic & aciphex since Feb. Have been anemic the whole time, despite prescription iron. No symptoms of stomach bleeding though. RD was going to give me 2 more months to stay above 12 (kept going between 10 and 12) and then refer to gastro. But he didn't really think mobic to blame. But past few days I've had indigestion. Then 10 minutes into eating tomato soup tonight (because jaw still sore), I felt awful, had to lie down, then horrible burning pain in stomach for 15 minutes. So I guess that's an ulcer, huh? I guess I should skip Mobic until Thursday RD appt? Will not be pretty if I do. Any expierience? Thanks.

Maybe there is something you can try that is not so hard on your stomach. About your low iron. Is it from the RA? Have they tested you for other problems that can cause low iron?Katie. the other thing is was going to suggest is maybe the aciphex is not cutting it. Try some other ppi's such as nexium. The aciphex may not be the one for you.lorster2008-09-28 17:30:27 [QUOTE=KatieG]

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Maybe an ulcer, maybe gastritis, maybe something else. Call the rheumatologist tomorrow morning and see what he thinks you should do. I had NSAID-induced gastritis a few years back - damn it hurt. I thought for sure I had an ulcer the size of Texas, but nope - just gastritis. A few months of no NSAIDs, coffee, beer, tomatoes, or orange juice, and plenty of Prevacid and Rolaids did the trick.

RD doesn't know about the anemia. I wasn't anemic until February--which is when I stopped breastfeeding so I could start meds (so I got my period...could be part of it), started mobic (could be part) and mtx (could be...but my white blood/platelets are fine and they would go down before rbc if it were the mtx). RD thinks it may be unrelated to RA. I don't know why he doesn't think it's RA related anemia, I guess b/c the prescrip iron isn't helping, he thinks there may be internal bleeding. But there had been no evidence of that. He told me that if I were 60 he would have sent me to a GI person in a heartbeat, but hesitated with my age. It could also be fibroids? But now that I've had this symptom, I'm thinking ulcer. My rbc was 12. something 5 weeks ago, not sure about last week, but will find out on Thursday. I will get above 12, which is "normal", then one month later back down in 10's and 11's, then back to 12 something, etc.

Thanks JR! I haven't had a red bull in ages and had a big one this afternoon, so I was asking for it--but a few months ago I was having one every day (sometimes 2) with no problems. I can't imagine 2 months without nsaids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Are you sure it isn't a gall baldder attack? I thought I was having severe indigestion/acid reflux a few months ago, turned out to be my gall bladder, had "100's" of stones. It almost felt like a heart attack, the pain even radiated around to my back. Just a thought...Thanks for mentioning that. I shouldn't assume. I've felt crummy all day but I injected MTX last night--I am usually okay though. I just felt bad, laid down, first I had pain in lower abdomen, left side, then on right side in my back, then the burning. I tried to get up and it was excruciating. Had my husband come and sit with me until it was gone, it took a while. I dunno. I am okay-ish now, but hungry and don't want to eat, and tired (despite ritalin and ridiculous 20 oz red bull--I don't know what could keep me awake!) will consider that...I tell you what, I was sooooooo happy to have that thing removed! It hurt so bad, anytime I ate something that would make it flare up (which was everything I loved to eat) and it would hurt like that for 4 hours or so and then just go away. I lost about 10 pounds in 2 weeks because I hardly ate anything for fear it would flare up. Once they got the sonogram results and saw how many stones I had they scheduled me for surgery in two days, I was thrilled! That was the 1st time I was actually excited to go "under the knife".Anemia is pretty common with RA:

Anemia of chronic disease. Certain chronic diseases — such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and other chronic inflammatory diseases — can interfere with the production of red blood cells, resulting in chronic anemia. Kidney failure also can be a cause of anemia. The kidneys produce a hormone called erythropoietin, which stimulates your bone marrow to produce red blood cells. A shortage of erythropoietin, which can result from kidney failure or be a side effect of chemotherapy, can result in a shortage of red blood cells.

Anemia of chronic disease. There's no specific treatment for this type of anemia. Doctors focus on treating the underlying disease. Iron supplements and vitamins generally don't help this type of anemia. However, if symptoms become severe, a blood transfusion or injections of synthetic erythropoietin, a hormone normally produced by the kidneys, may help stimulate red blood cell production and ease fatigue.

Alan

Wow just to keep you confused. I am not saying that you should not see a GI. You sound like you should. Burning pain in your back as well as the pain in lower left side could be gallbladder or a UTI. So i am sure they will. but ask them for a urine sample while you are at it.

I had my gallbladder out. Never had stones. But my brother had those symtoems once and they said it sounded like stones.

Just the way i can tell if the pain in my back is more related to my kidneys than my RA is when i feel that burning pain. I get cramps in my very lower abdomine when i get a bladder infection. I do not get my monthly cycle anymore. I had bad cramping for a month and it was from a bladder infection. So you just really never know.

Question? Do you take ritilin for fatigue or for ADHD? I tryed Provigil for CFS did not care for it so much. Do you think ritilin would help?It's funny, I was dx with ADD at 18, took ritalin for 2-3 years--it worked great--got out of the habit of going to a psych, and stopped taking it. Then I was informally dx CFS (post-mono--still don't know if it was really CFS or early RA). Anyway so I decide to go back on ritalin b/c I was done with being pregnant/breastfeeding for at least a few years, and I see that it is now being used for CFS!! Why didn't I think of that back then? I would have felt guilty to use it for just that, like I was abusing the system...

I love ritalin, esp. since it's been around so long and understood really well. I do have ADD and that may be one reason I have no problems with the side effects. I was having to drink lots of caffeine before that i don't have to now. I mean, I was falling asleep at my desk without caffeine before. Of course the ritalin also makes me a lot less ADD without thinking about it or noticing that I've taken a drug, but that's another story.

So thumbs up from me...I don't have any problems with appetite or sleep. But I guess my psych has me on the right dose

Alan thanks for posting that. I don't know why the RD isn't thinking of that. I think I need a second opinion about the anemia, he gets really freaked about it (he was only doing bloodwork b/c of mtx) and I don't understand why he doesn't see this more.

I have noticed that I have been needing to get up to pee at 3-4 am recently, like when I was pregnant (which i am not!!). Not an urge, but it seems like more volume. So I was sort of worried about my kidneys but I just had mtx bloodwork last week so we'll see...

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If you have to get up to pee, it sounds like your kidneys are working. If they weren't, you wouldn't have to pee as much.
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