I hear you all talk about your eye drying out. My eyes are ok but my nose is dry. I started about 3 months ago and I just thought it was some thing at work. Now that I havent been working it is still dried out.
I don't feel stuffy and I can smell just find.
I use to get like body jerk when I would go to bed at night. You would like I was have a seizure, but it happen only when I would fall a sleep. Doctor said it is just a stage when you started to fall a sleep some people get like that. Some thing about brain not falling a sleep before body. I don't know maybe I didn't hear him right.
What I'm getting at is I havent noticed it any more since I have been on the meds.
Maybe I'm just weird (well I already know that)
Well any way I could sleep and I still cant get into chat room so I tought I would post some thing here.
Hi 1newbarb.
For the dry nose, look up sjogren's syndrome. Doesn't mean you have the syndrome, but it tends to run along with RA. You might just have dry nose because winter's coming anda because, as we get older, we get drier in general, here and there or all over.
My doc says sjogren's tends to be slow to develop, affecting one area and later another (tends affects mucous areas--eyes, nose, mouth, etc, though some cases can affect internal systems). Something to mention to your doc, anyway.
There are various things they can do for the dryness, and if it is a start to sjogren's, they need to know about it. Not usually anything to worry about though, as I understand it. But they may need to treat it so the dryness, wherever you feel it, doesn't cause damage to tissues and so forth.
The jerking when you fall asleep is common and normal (though if you still feel yours is not, ask your doc again). My husband wakes me up sometimes with his falling asleep jerks, and I wake myself up with mine. Kind of like a big sneeze in response to pepper--the muscles seems to sort of sneeze in response to starting to sleep.
Hope you sleep better tonight.
Agree with RKSara, you need to let the doctor know.
In the meantime, there are two really simple solutions that can make you feel much more comfortable. At the drug store, they have a saline solution (basically water in a nose spray). You can use this as often as you need to because it is just sterilized water and it's cheap. Get the generic and it's usually less than . I just carry a bottle with me and keep one close to the bed.
The other thing to do is use vasoline. This helps with the dryness.
You might consider a humidifier in the room at night. With furnaces going, a lot of people need to do that anyway.
If it gets severe, as in multple nose bleeds, you want to ask to be sent to a Ear/Nose/Throat specialist.
But if you RA is under good control, Sjogren's, if you have it, should be under good control as well. You just want to watch for the dryness in your eyes, throat, mouth and nose. Lots of little things can be done to make you more comfortable.
Thanks for all the information. I'm sure it is just the weather or some thing I maybe just over reacting since I just got dx.
I hate to call my doc. He does not have a good bed side manner. He has never gave me a physcial. I just tell him what has swelled or hurt. Of course it is gone by the time I see him. He is working with changing my meds around for me. I told him about my stomach on that mtx so he up folic acid.
When I ask him stuff he looks at me and says you know the answer. I told him well I'm sorry but this is all new to me.
He's right I do on some stuff. He is the only one around here. He is suppose to be really good.
Well thanks for the input it means alot when people reply back.