Hi all,
I am 38 years old and newly diagnosed with RA after having symptoms for the past 6 months. Thought it was carpal tunnel being is how I type all day long at my job as a police dispatcher. I was shocked needless to say and I am still trying to cope with my anxieties and feelings. My rheumy has me on 10mg of Pred daily and I go back for my followup in a couple of weeks where he wants to start me on MTX and Humira. After reading the side effects of Humira, I still am trying to decide if I should or not. I am tired of dealing with the pain and fatigue and all the other crap that goes along with this disease that I have experienced though. Of course mine seems mild compared to reading some of yall's posts who have lived with this disease for years and the experiences and suffering you have gone through. Anyway, just wanted to say Hi and to say I am glad to have found a place where I can talk with others afflicted with this disease and hopefully find and provide support and make some new friends who can relate to all this.
Scott
Hi Scott and Welcome to AI. I am pretty impressed that your doc is wanting to start you off on Humira. Sounds like he is not wasting anytime. I know the side effects of many of the RA meds sound very intimidating, but for most they arent too bad. I was on Humira for a while last year and I didnt have any side effects that I couldnt deal with. I did stop taking it because it wasnt working for me. Enbrel gave me bad headachs and I did have an infusion reaction to Remicade, but really the Humira was not bad in that regard. Good luck to you and welcome.I would like to encourage you to take the docs advice and start both mtx and humira. If RA is treated aggressively in the beginning - you have the best chance of going into remission. It could even be permanent.
Best Wishes and Welcome to AI
Scott! Welcome. My first symptoms were carpal tunnel--or so I thought. You're lucky if you body can handle it and your doctor is treating your aggressively. Good luck to you. I'm a newby too--have had this for about 2 months though in restrospect, I had symptoms for years.Thanks for the welcome.
Yeah I was impressed as well. My doc works out of UT SW Med Research Center here in Dallas and is heading up a clinical research study of aggressive treatment for those diagnosed within a year of having symptoms with the MTX and Humira. The part that impressed me the most about him, is he never used the word treatment...he kept using the word cure and said that they were a hospital on the cutting edge of research into eventually finding a cure for this. I liked that attitude and approach. And being that Humira is so expensive, I more than likely am going to go ahead and consent to the study. It is a double-blind group study with one receiving MTX and a placebo, but he assured me I would be in the Humira group.
Hi scott, Welcome
I take Remicade, mtx and prednisone. I don't know Humira, so can't comment. Good luck sorting this all out as it could take awhile. People tell lme to be patient, ya......
sarah
If it's a double-blind study how can he know you're in the Humira group? In a double blind study the people taking the meds aren't supposed to know if they're in the med group or the placebo (control) group.Hi Scott!
I want to welcome you to the board, along with everyone else. BUT I also want to ask you about your user name. Are you really a ghost hunter? I am a bit of a ghost hunter myself, and would love someone to talk spooks with, LOL!
Anyway, ghosts or no ghosts, glad you're here!
[QUOTE=Gimpy-a-gogo] If it's a double-blind study how can he know you're in the Humira group? In a double blind study the people taking the meds aren't supposed to know if they're in the med group or the placebo (control) group.
[/QUOTE]
I am assuming that since he is the Study Coordinator he has some control over it. Anyway, he assured me I wouldn't be on any placebo but regardless if I was, anyone in the group on the MTX/Placebo that is not improving gets put on the Humira after 6 mos.
[QUOTE=Hillhoney]Hi Scott!
I want to welcome you to the board, along with everyone else. BUT I also want to ask you about your user name. Are you really a ghost hunter? I am a bit of a ghost hunter myself, and would love someone to talk spooks with, LOL!
Anyway, ghosts or no ghosts, glad you're here!
[/QUOTE]
Hi Hillhoney,
Yeah, I've been hunting ghosts for a little over a year now and yeah absolutley we can talk spooks...haha.
Do you hunt with a group, Scott, or on your own?
I have been doing it on my own for a few years now. I have as much of the equipment as I could afford; some digital thermometers, digital voice recorders and cameras and an electromagnetic detector.
We've had some pretty interesting experiences (my family does it with me) and gotten some REAL interesting photographs. I'm really hoping to get to do more this year.
Hi Scott and welcome!Yeah I hunt with a group here in the D/FW area. I included our homepage on my profile if you want to check it out. It hasn't been updated for awhile though. Sounds like you got pretty much what you need. Where do you normally go hunt?...cemeteries or do yall do houses and businesses? Would love to see some of your pics. Although I must warn you...I am one of the debunkers in my group...lol. I do believe though, but I am more of an open-minded skeptic. I have had some interesting personal experiences though.How cool are you guys! I love the diversity of people on this forum!Welcome to the board, Scott! Hope to see many more posts from ya and hope you keep us updated on your MTX/Humira Study you might be in.
I am not much of a ghost liker, they make me hurt myself
hope to see ya around! Hi Scott and welcome to the board!
Hellooooo Scott! Nice to mee you.
I wanna talk ghosts too!!! Karen never includes me....hahahahaahaha I'm kidding.
That is because you scare the ghosts, Katie. Hi Scott - good to meet you. I'm another Carpal Tunnel (bilateral) starter - had surgery on both after about a year of cortisone shots.