Another new member here | Arthritis Information

 

Hello everyone! I am so happy to have found this forum. I am waiting for my lab and x-ray results as well as the followup visit with the rheumatologist. I started in December last year with bilateral shoulder pain and was told it was impingement syndrome. Seven months later and after 2 orthopedics and 3 rounds of Medrol Dosepack, I'm still having trouble which now includes pain in both wrists, hands, and ankles. My rheumatologist feels pretty sure that this is RA but is waiting on the lab results to confirm. In the meantime, I have been placed on Prednisone 5 mg and Celebrex 200 mg once a day. I can feel some improvement but definitely not pain free. The stiffness and achiness is ever present but at least I can lift things and open doors again . She has mentioned that if confirmed as RA, she wants to try Methotrexate. That scared me to death but after reading some of the posts here, I feel a little better about it.

Just wanted to introduce myself and say hello. I hope to learn more here.Hi Bonita...welcome!

Try not to let fear of the drugs necessary to combat this disease get you down.
This disease can be very scary all on it's own with out the added concerns about the drugs.

MTX has been a godsend for me and I really don't think I'd be here now if not for MTX and the other drugs.

I wish you well for your appointment and hope that they (Docs) can get on top of this ASAP.
Hey there.  I have been on methotrexate for what seems like forever. lol  Actually about 8 years.  The nice thing with it is that the dosage is very adjustable.  So, if you have to take it, you have some room to work with.  I really hope you get feeling better.   MTX for three  years here.. Thank you to everyone for  the encouragement and easing my fear of the drugs.  I'll let you know when I know.  I didn't like the idea of taking MTX and Prednisone, people said my hair would fall out and I would gain lots of weight.  Well my hair didn't fall out and I did not gain weight, in fact I lost weight.  After four months I am off the Pred, and I have great relief from the swelling and pain.  I am glad there is MTX.   Stephen, I heard these same things. Thanks for helping me feel better about how well it works. Glad you are feeling better now.Hi everyone!

I finally got back in to see my rheumatologist and review my x-rays and lab work. My x-rays looked good but my rheumatoid factor was high at 281 and my sed rate was high at 91. My test showed a slightly low hemoglobin and hematocrit and some slightly high globulin levels (whatever that means.) So now it's officially RA. My Prednisone was increased from 5 mg a day to 10 mg a day and I feel that helping already. She said I can take up to 400 mg of Celebrex a day but I'm still taking only 1 capsule for fear of stomach bleeding. All of this is still so scary to me. I was started on Methotrexate 10 mg/week for the 1st month and Folic acid 1 mg a day. My ANA screen was positive but my doctor thinks it may be from all the inflammation. More blood was drawn for a Lupus panel and if it's positive she will start me on Plaquenil.

Hard for me to believe that last month, the only medication I was on, was atenolol for my blood pressure and thought I had bursitis in my right shoulder. Life can sure change quickly! Just venting. Thanks for listening.
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