I was wondering about some thing. Have you guys heard that you usual have RA for at least two yr before RF shows up. I know some people it don't show up at all.
Since I had a postive RF, high sed, and crp does that mean I had it for a while.
My ALT has been high the last two months. The doctor knew he really did'nt say much about. I get another blood test next month. How Offten will I have to get blood work and have to see the rheum doc.
Now that I'm taking 4 mg of folic acid a day and 7.5 mg of mtx once a week that has been helping my stomach from the mtx.
The med most be working I havent had any problems for at least a week now. Well not any thing reall bad.
I have notice that my middle fingers seem to be curved a little toward my little finger.
I'm wonder is I had this RA for a while and I just thought the pain was from my accident.
I don't know how Roxy and you others do it and have pain al most all the time.
My heart goes out to all of you.I think mine started in the late 90s when I started getting headaches
everyday, also felt like I had the flu for 5 years, everyday. Then that leveled
out and the pain started, first with feet and ankles and now wrists, fingers,
thumb, elbows, shoulders and back. It is a lovely disease, lol. But I saw all
the warning signs, blamed it on everything. Took 5 years to get a
diagnoses. Has been a long road and it has slowed me down. I just hope
the clouds will start to clear and life will move on.
I have never heard the 2 year thing before....I dont know how much weight that holds. I had mild symptoms for about 6 years and never had a pos. RF...then I got the big bang in Feb 06 and was still neg untill last month. So I know I dont fit the time line.
You should expect blood work at least every 2 months while your on MTX.
I went to my GP two different times over those first 6 years and just never felt bad enough to go to the RD. I knew I had it, my mom has JRA and I just expected that was what I had. I swore I would never take "those chemo drugs" for arthritis. But when I woke up one day in Jan or Feb and couldnt walk anymore....well I had to give in and go. The RD diagnosed me right away, and within 2 weeks I was on MTX...then Plaquenil breifly, then Enbrel which gave me killer migraines, then Humira which didnt work. Now I am on Remicade. I had my 3rd infusion on monday which was the last of the loading doses. This week I had the worst flare I have had in months. Sooooooo right now I dont have the highest expectations for the remicade. But I still may see some kind of improvement..or something. If I dont well then....I dont even know.
I just read that 80% of people w. RA have a negative RF for the first year they have the disease. And of course, some never seroconvert.
I'm wondering the same things: do high blood tests mean the disease is more severe?
What's considered a high RF? Mine--my first positive one, after a year and a half of symptoms--was 25 (with normal values of 0-13.) Is that relatively high or low compared with other RA patients? And does it mean anything with regard to how I can expect to feel?
"1. Does a high amount of RF mean that I have a bad case of arthritis?
High concentrations of RF may persist or fluctuate and do not necessarily correlate with the severity of signs or symptoms. While it is true that high amounts of this autoantibody are often found in people with active cases of rheumatoid arthritis, high RF levels may also result from Sjögren’s syndrome or other inflammatory conditions. Increased RF levels in your blood can also mean that you have endocarditis; systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus); tuberculosis; syphilis; sarcoidosis; cancer; viral infection; or disease of the liver, lung, or kidneys."
I told my daughter that I have been pain free for about 1 1/2 weeks. She said well that is probably because you have been laid off that long. She is right it probaly is why I feel better.
I already have problems with memory from accident. I think the meds are making it worst. My family have notice a change in my memory.
Still concerned about my ALT being high for two months. If there is some thing going on should I be changing meds? Doctor not saying much. I havent took my liptor for 3 months so it cant be that. I have only took mtx. Two times now.
Any ways I have a important question. I have to go sign up for that corba insurances today at my old place of work. I'm not sure if I should just get the basic insurance or the higher one. It is only me on insurance my daughter is on her fathers plan.
Also should I get the presciption card? Are the meds high for RA? Mtx is only 20 dollars. He has been giving me free celebrex. and Folic acid not bad at all. I can get some of my Meds cheap at walmart on that 4 dollar plan.
I want to thank the person that gave me the information about cobra.
1newbarb, with RA I'd get every ounce of insurance I could possibly get, making all possible sacrifices to do it. RA is just a you-never-know disease, and unfortunately the surprises are more likely to be not good good ones.
Some RA meds are cheap, but the more advanced ones are very, very expensive, I think some in the thousand dollar+ range per month. Don't know if or when you'll need them, but if you do...
How long can you get free celebrex? If you can get it free forever great. If you have to buy it without insurance it's 0 a month for taking 2 pills per day.
I know it's tough to make decisions about insurance. As much as possible, I hope you can go the better-safe-than-sorry route.
We just increased our insurance plan level, and it costs a lot more, but I feel less panicky knowing we have the most insurance we can get.
I think I remember reading somewhere that the ALT liver enzyme can go up to three times the normal limit and still be considered ok when doing ra treatment. I think my lab uses 45 as the top of the normal, so apparently you will be ok up to about 135. I see my rheumy tomorrow and will ask her if this is correct!Buy the insurance and do not let it lapse. This is key to ever getting ins again.The only other way to get medical care if you lose your insurance is to fall below the poverty line and apply for state aid. I tried to keep my COBRA, but without income while I was applying for disability, it was impossible. Now, I have the state medical. But I don't know what happens if my income ever goes up and I lose it. There are almost no plans that will take you if you have RA. However, if you are on a group plan through an employer, you can get coverage again. Although in some cases you may have a waiting period for coverage of RA problems from 3 months to a 1 year.
In my opinon, pre-existing clauses should be outlawed. We can't help that we get sick. I don't believe any of us planned to have RA. Oh, yes, RA, that's something I would like to add to my financial portfolio. Yeah, right.
In AZ the state high risk pool insurance costs 0 per month full fare (sliding scale). So it really does not take too long to become destitute. But at least even in this backward place where cripples are expected to drag themselves up by their bootstraps, there is the high risk pool.I didn't know there was a high risk pool. How did you find info on that? I've been looking for a long time. Right now, I'm on AHCCCS which is great financially because they pay for everything. And, with all the tests and upcoming surgeries, I consider it a blessing.
But if I get my LTD disabilty, I'm scared I'll get kicked out because it will be over their monthly income amount.
I have a friend who is a human resources administrator. She lost her job and could not find another. Her cobra ran out and she ended up in the pool because of COPD.
I'll see what I can find for a link.
Thanks, Marian. That's nice of you. At least you have informed me that there is a way. Just that relieves some of my concerns.I had to call her to find out...
She got her coverage because of HIPAA (she ran out of cobra). An individual can not be turned down but it has to replace a plan...This is FEDERAL Law. *(It even works for AZ)
I mis-understood it to be a high risk state pool like Wisconsins. I am sorry. It is where to go when cobra coverage runs out after 18 months. It became available in 2003.
We need a national health insurance. Some things just don't work when they are for profit. It just is not morally right to insist on a profit in health care for the chronically ill . (You aren't allowed to sell babies either - there are some things people should not do for profit.)
I can not think of another civilized country that does not provide some kind of health care for all of it's citizens.
More on hipaa health care portability act
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HealthInsReformforConsume/
I learned medicaid counts as creditable coverage and will help minimize the pre-existing condition exclusion. Each day of coverage is subtracted from the new policy's exclusion period for the per-existing condition.
She said I need to get the cobra until I find another job with insurance. 400.00 a month that's not including medicine card. that is 500.00 deduciable and 80/20
I call today and talked to a social sercuity lawyer today. My family said I should go ahead and apply now so if the time came I couldn't work then they could send the papers in at that time. I hope I can find a job with all of my other disablities. I know when I was working it was hard. My shoulder would lock up all the time. And wrist.
They are great now that I'm not working
Attorney says it don't work like that you have to have a doctor say you can no longer work. Then it could take up to two yrs to get a court hearing. I'm in Ohio not sure if it is like that every where..
I don't want to have to sell every thing I own just to keep cobra. That is why I need to find a job to get health insurance.
I get workers comp right now becuase of my accident at work in 2003. They make up a differents because I can no longer go back to what I use to do. Sure is not the same.
Now that I'm laid off I have to look for 15 jobs a week or no money. I understand that because of a lot of fraud people. Some days I don't even want to get dress let alone go look for a job.
I have restriction from my head injury and back which is no lifting over 30 lbs. Frequent postions change. And jobs that are not a lot of multiable tasking. Not real fast pase and not a lot of stress.
Hard find a job like that!! I did find one but I had to lie a bout my restrtison to get the job. When I was in orintation the girl would pass me at first. She said I couldn't handle the stress and my memory was to bad. But I talked her into letting me try becuase the new floor I was going to was not going to be as stress fool. I had a hard time I forgot a lot and had to ask over and the other girls would look at me like what is wrong with you I already told you. They all thought I need to get checked out.
I'm kind of glad I did get laid off I don't hurt now.
I Know there is some thing out there for me. God has the right job for me.
1newbarb -I filed for SSDI over a year ago with my doc stating that I cannot work and am in my 2nd appeal going to ALJ. Just wanted you to know it does take a long time and the younger you are the longer. I have 4 docs confirming diagnosis. I am 49 and also wanted to let you know that after you have not worked for 5 yrs you lose your chance to apply for SSDI. They don't always tell you the fine print and that is why I had to go ahead and apply which I did after not working for over 4 yrs.
I also am a Christian and without God I would not be making it through these days.
Take care and God does have the right job for you just wanted to point out these things as one can lose their chance at SSDI.
Fear not for I am with thee.
You might try and see if Vocational Rehab can help you. There also places that help people with disabilities find jobs. Do a search on disabities jobs and a bunch of sites come up. The other thing you can try is contacting a Disability Advocate in your area. In this case, do a search on disability advocates and your state. Your state employment office might also have some services available.
With your combination of disabilities, this might be useful for you. If you can work at all, the government does have a lot of programs to help you get re-employed. In fact, you might have a better chance of employment than someone that doesn't have a disability because some companies have to meet certain quotas on hiring the disabled. If you can find the right organization, they can help you through the process.
I wish you the best because I cannot imagine how hard it must be to face looking for a job under your circumstances. Your other options are to try applying for SS and then apply for SSI in the interim. In AZ, this is not hardly any money, but they do pay for my medical and I also get food stamps. There are some community programs that may help you with rent and utilities. It does take a long time and it is a difficult decision. But it sounds like you might qualify. Maybe you should talk with your doctor about it.
Being able to do it depends on how much support you can get from your own savings (who has these), your family and your community. If you have family that can and will help you survive that is great. But don't despair if you don't have these. I didn't think I could make it but day by day I'm doing it. I don't have a choice. I just can't work any more.