Perhaps my expectations were too high. I started methotrexate 2.5 months ago and other than a rocky first 5 weeks - I felt great after that! A little gaggy the two days after meth, but tremendous results with the RA. Just last week a flare has started - tired, nauseated, flu like, "down" and I'm on lexipro (anti depress). Can't touch shoulders they are so tender, pokes here & there of pain, more stiffness, etc.
Question is: Am I expecting too much - even tho the meds are helping tremendously compared to what it was before, will I still have days.... ???
I woke up crying as I had the hit by a truck feeling - I felt I HAD to go to work - God forbid the place goes on without me....smile. I broke down in a meeting and my boss sent me home - and told me not to ever feel like I HAVE to be there when ill.
THANKS! This is like having a close friend to rely on. My husband will always ask me.. "what did the forum say about that"....
I'm relatively new to ra, about a year or so now. I'm on humira, prednisone and placquenil, along with ad's and other stuff. My rheumy said that even with treatment, we will have flares. When I called her almost 2 weeks ago to report the flare I'm in now, she told me that she had 30 some calls that week. I guess early October and early March and the two bad times for people with ra. I think the goal is to cut down on the number of flares and the severity of them but I don't think all of us will ever be flare free.
Its hard when you are thinking you have it somewhat under control, than BAM you wake up and can't move and are so depressed and tired, etc. Love and hugs!
Yep, flares and the feeling of being hit by a truck are still there even with taking the "Big Guns". The only way you will not feel like you have been hit by a truck feeling and flares is if you go into remission.
I am on Humira and have been since Feb '06, and I still have days where I feel "sick" and want to lay in bed all day and sleep, and I have days where I just wake up with more pain than normal or more stiffness than normal.
I think I had high expectation for when I started Humira, but only after I felt sooo much better the day after my first shot. I have been in remissions a couple of times, teenage remission and preggo remission and those really spoil you, as you think you are "normal" and then one day BAM you wake up unable to move or do anything normal.
Yeah, once we get the taste of feeling normal - for us JRA'er's - expectation are high as you do not want to be seen as a gimp and not "normal" and then on top of all of that is the everyday pain, swelling, and stuggles that RA throws at you.
Hope the flare goes away soon, feel better!
Alot may also depend on the amount you are on. I started out on a much lower dose than I'm on now; but steadily increased it as I began to have problems.
Yes; you do have to accept some problems that's true; but if you are on a lower dose one or two more pills may make a huge difference.
Once I got to 17.5mg I had to include Humira. After 6 months of that I went to weekly. Give it a little time; but not too much. If you aren't feeling better soon you doctor may suggest an increase.
The beginning of fall and spring it's almost a sure thing you'll experience the changes. Not only in the weather....but in your joints as well.
Hang in there.
Is it "flare season"? Cause I woke up with the hit-by-two-ton-truck feeling after 10 hours of sleep. :| And I've been doing soooooooooooooo well the past week >.< aarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!!!!! All day I've been struggling to keep up with life and I'm back to the tell-tale signs of dropping everything all the time and having horrible handwriting. It looks like I was trying to write on a grain of rice with a carrot. (Don't ask, it was a GREAT mental image to me...) And my feet won’t stop TINGLING. Wah. Okay. I feel a little better after whining.
Milobean, we all expect a miracle. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. But there is the idea of being realistic about it. We all have to be realistic. You should still see someone if you’re truly, truly unhappy about it all. Even if all you get out of it, is the doc helping you SET your expectations. Ya know? Good luck to you!
That is one really nice boss.
But the truth is you will have to work sometimes when your RA makes you ill. Even with great treatment there are days, even weeks that are lousy that just have to be tolerated. None of this stuff is a cure. I hope you feel much better soon.
I see my rhuemy every 8 weeks, I'm not the best at speaking up for more treatment. I've learned to tolerate a little too well.
I'm really grateful for the good days, weeks and months. They are all the sweeter because I appreciate the good days.
Marian, that cheshire kitty face you have both scares and thrills the crap out of me. I *LOVE* (it's a freaky obsession really) Alice in Wonderland, so I wanted to lick the screen when I saw the kitty. But on the other hand....it's really pretty creepy...Where'd you get it?My friend Hula made it for me.
I realize that manical grin isn't always appropriate but I do love cats with attitude!
I wish Hula would come play with us again. She has a great sense of humor - she helped get me through more that one crummy day.
Laughter is good and it heals!
If the flare cannot be controlled by extra rest, a little more pain medication etc. or just keeps getting worse, then certainly call your doctor. There are flares that must be treated with extra medication like med packs of prednisone. Or, if you find yourself in a continuous one or a repetitive one, then upping your other meds can make a reall difference. When they dropped me below 25 mg MTX, I could FEEL the difference. I hope that they don't have to do that again.
Still, with everything they have me on, my RA and OA are not under control. I'm hoping new doctors will shed some better light on the subject.