Arthritis Insight-Newsletter October 8, 2003

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Home Community Newsletter Vol 5 Issue 167

Arthritis Insight Newsletter * Vol. 5 Issue 167 October 8, 2003

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Welcome to the 167th issue of the Arthritis Insight Newsletter. All back issues will be posted at community/newsletter
Feel free to pass this newsletter around to others who may be interested.

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The information in this newsletter should not take the place of advice and guidance from your own health-care providers. Material in this newsletter is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Be sure to check with your doctor before making any changes in your treatment plan. Information presented here is the opinion of the authors and has not necessarily been approved or endorsed by the medical advisors.

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Notes From Tina
(Tina@arthritisinsight.com)
Tina Underwood aka KrissyJo

Alright, I am looking for a few volunteers. Hey!! I see you hiding behind that monitor!

I need a few good people to be the judges for the September Arthritis Warrior. I also need a volunteer for a bi weekly job. Karen has been so kind as to gather all the arthritis and health news for us every week, but we need to give her a bit of a break. I need one person to gather the news every other week. It's not a hard job, but it does take a bit of time. Lastly, I need someone who would like to go through our links pages and make sure each link is current. Also, we'd like that person to gather some new links for us. Anyone interested? And if anyone is REALLY ambitious, our site map drastically needs updated. But that's a lot of work and will take a lot of time.

Okay! Done begging! It's been a week of milestones for my kids. Saturday my daughter attended her first high school dance (pictures here: community/photo/page70.html) and Monday my son turned 13. AKKKK!! I now have two teenagers. What happened to my babies? I really think that kids should have to stay 3 forever. Or at least until Mom is ready to grow up. I don't want to be old enough to have kids this old!!!

I guess you can't stop life from moving on. sigh. See ya all next week.

-Tina

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Ron's Ramblin's
(Ron@arthritisinsight.com)
Ron Griffin aka IndyRon

The week from Hell has begun, or at least it feels that way. Yesterday I had a wonderful visit to the oral surgeons office. Of course, as with everything that I do medically, there was a lot more involved than originally estimated. I ended up having 4 implants and a bone graft done while I was in the chair. Needless to say, both my face and my checkbook are now pretty sore. This is yet another thing that I can thank the good old arthritis meds for. They have played a large part in ruining my teeth (because they caused "Dry Mouth Syndrome"). What part of my body is this stuff going to ruin next.

I also had my nerve conductivity test last week. As anticipated, they found that I have nerve damage which is related to the arthritis in my cervical spine. This damage has caused numbness in my hands and has caused my arm muscles to start to atrophy. I see the Orthopod on Friday so we will see what he has to say about it.

Now, that brings us up to today. I walked in this morning and found a foul odor coming from my fridge. Yep, you guessed it, I have been gone a couple days for the surgery and when I get back, the fridge is on the fritz. Now I am waiting for the repair man to get here so I can see if it is repairable or whether I need a totally new one.

Will it never end.

~Ron

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Your Weekly Giggle
Fairy Godmother

An old lady is rocking away the last of her days on her front porch, reflecting on her long life, when ,all of a sudden, a fairy godmother appears in front of her and informs her that she will be granted three wishes.

"Well, now," says the old lady, "I guess I would like to be really rich." POOF her rocking chair turns to solid gold. "And, gee, I guess I wouldn't mind being a young, beautiful princess. POOF! She turns into a beautiful young woman.

"Your third wish?" asked the fairy godmother.

Just then the old woman's cat wanders across the porch in front of them.

"Ooh can you change him into a handsome prince and make him my husband?" she asks.

POOF! There before her stands a young man more handsome than anyone she could possibly imagine. She stares at him, smitten.

With a smile that makes her knees weak, he saunters across the porch and whispers in her ear, "Bet you're sorry you had me neutered."

Check out all the jokes at:
fun/jokes
Send yours in today!

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Tina's Tips
Tina@arthritisinsight.com

Arthritis can affect your ability to do even the simplest of tasks. I've heard some people say, "Accept your limitations." I'm not sure accepting them is the way to go. I prefer to challenge those limitations, work around them, finding alternate ways of achieving the same goal. Every week I'll share some tips I've found to work around those annoying limitations and I hope all of you will send in your tips too. We may not be the next Martha Stewart, but sometimes the simplest things can help so much.

Penny sent us gobs of great tips, here are three more:

If you do not have a shower chair or do not need one all the time, a plastic kitchen stool works wonderful. I sit on it sometimes when I wash my hair in the shower. It doesn't take up the space a shower chair would and only costs a few dollars.

To help in the kitchen rearrange your cabinets to put the things most often used within easier reach. Save your bottom cabinets for things you only need once in a while.

Using plastic bowls to cook most of your food in the microwave keeps you from having to lift heavy pots on your really bad days.

Thanks Penny, for taking the time to send those in!

Check out more tips at living/tips.html and send in yours today to Tina@arthritisinsight.com Keep those tips coming!

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Whats New

Question of the Week
Dealing with family.
community/question

Photo Album
Even more photos from Gimp Picnic 2003!
community/photo/page70.html

Alternative Therapy
Some information on the Alexander Technique
medical/alternative/

Photo Album
KJ's 'girls' are all grown up and dressed to the nines.
community/photo/page70.html

Member Directory
We wondered why we had no new members to add to the directory for the past few months. Why didn't somebody tell us that the submission form wasn't working?!?!?! Well, it's fixed now and we have added two new members.
community/directory/

Member Websites
Mark Mills, that talented guy, adds three new websites.
community/websites/index.html

Newsletter
This week's issue is available for your reading pleasure!
community/newsletter/

News
Yup! Friday is newsday.
news/

Member Stories
Two new stories. Did you send yours in? We're waiting for you!
community/stories

Check out all the latest updates at
updates.html

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Arthritis Insight Chat
community/chat

Time to get the party started! Got some extra time? Can't sleep? Drop into the chatroom to talk to other members that know exactly what you're going through.

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Cooking with Char
Char LeFleur
char@arthritisinsight.com

Hello friends! It seems that here in Iowa we are being treated to a bit of Indian Summer. We had a hard freeze last week and this week temps in the mid 80s. As they say here in Iowa, "If you don't like the weather here, wait 5 minutes------------it will change." But it will be winter before we know. And it is only a bit over 2 months to Christmas! Are you ready?

But Fall is apple time, and a recipe from a reader has suggested the subject for this weeks column.

Marty has shared wonderful recipes with me in the past, and this one is no different. Thanks Marty!!

Apple Dumplings

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 8 pieces
1 pkg. Crescent Rolls (8 rolls)
1 stick butter
½ c. water
1 c. granulated sugar
½ c. brown sugar
cinnamon/sugar mixture

Wrap each apple slice in a crescent roll triangle. Place in a baking dish. Sprinkle brown sugar between the individual dumplings in the bottom of the pan. Heat butter, water and sugar and pour over dumplings. Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar over the dumplings. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

And how about a classic-a basic Apple Pie.

Apple Pie

6 cups thinly sliced apples
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie

Directions
1 Prepare your pastry for a two crust pie. Wipe, quarter, core, peel, and slice apples; measure to 6 cups.
2 Combine sugar and cinnamon. The amount of sugar used depends on how tart your apples are.
3 Arrange apples in layers in pastry lined pie plate. Sprinkle each layer with sugar and cinnamon. Dot top layer with small pieces of butter or margarine. Cover with top crust.
4 Place on lowest rack in oven preheated to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes longer. Serve warm or cold.

And how about a classic Apple Crisp?

Apple Crisp

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
2 quarts peeled, cored and sliced apples

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.
3 Take half of the mixture and pat it into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4 Cover crumb mixture with apple slices, then sprinkle apple slices with remaining crumb mixture.
5 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes or until apples are tender.

If you have comment, questions, or suggestions, or have recipes you would like to share, please send them to Char@arthritisinsight.com.

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Back to Basics
From the FDA:
Help Your Arthritis Treatment Work
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/arthrtis.html

The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, is part of the United States government. It is FDA's job to make sure medicines for arthritis and other illnesses work and are safe.

-- Ease the Pain, Help Prevent More Damage

Arthritis can strike at any age. It hurts the joints, where two bones meet. It damages the joints and makes them stiff and painful. Sometimes it's so bad it can cripple a person.

Correct treatment can ease the pain and help prevent more damage.

You can help your treatment work. This booklet tells how.

-- If Your Joints Have Signs of Arthritis, Talk To Your Doctor

If you have arthritis, the doctor may prescribe a medicine for you or tell you to use a medicine you buy without a prescription, like aspirin.

You may need to take more than one medicine.

Joints With Arthritis May Have:

- swelling
- warmth
- redness
- pain

Before Taking New Medicine, Ask Your Doctor About It
Ask:

- How should I take this medicine?
- Are there any special instructions?
- What side effects could there be?
- If I have any side effects, what should I do?
- What should I do if I forget to take a dose?
- If you took the medicine before and it caused problems, tell the doctor.

Tell the doctor if you are taking other medicines. And ask if you should keep taking them.

Read the Label Of Medicine You Buy Without a Prescription

Like arthritis medicine, many medicines for headaches or colds or flu have pain killers in them. Some common pain killers are aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen.

So before you buy any medicine, read the label to see what's in it.

Does it have a pain killer? If it does, ask your doctor or pharmacist if it's OK for you to take it.

Be Careful With Medicine

- Never take any medicine for arthritis without your doctor's advice.
- Never take someone else's medicine.
- Keep all medicine away from children.
- Throw out medicine that reaches its "Discard" or "Exp" (expiration) date.
- Remember: There can be problems with any medicine, even those you can buy without a prescription.

Rest and Exercise

You may need extra rest when your arthritis gets worse, or flares up. But even then, it's good to gently exercise the joints that hurt.

Gentle exercise can ease the pain and help you sleep better. Ask your doctor how to exercise your joints.

Learn About Your Arthritis

It helps to learn about your arthritis. Many people do this by joining a group with other people who have the disease.

To find a group, look in the newspaper. Or ask your doctor or the hospital. The local Arthritis Foundation office has information, too.

Remember: Never take someone else's medicine.

Watch Our for 'Cures' That Don't Work

Some people with arthritis can't find any treatment that helps very much. That's why there are so many ads for gadgets, health foods, and supplements to treat arthritis.

Many of these have never been tested. They're just a waste of money.

Protect Yourself With the Facts

Pain and stiffness often come and go by themselves, for no known reason. You may use an untested product and then feel better. But you may have felt better even without the product.

There is no cure for arthritis. But correct treatment can ease pain and stiffness.

If you use worthless products, you delay real help. So the damage gets worse.

Remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true

What If Correct Treatment Doesn't Help?
If all else fails, an operation might help. Talk about this with your doctor

Do You Have More Questions About an Arthritis Treatment?
Ask your doctor or other health-care worker.

And ask FDA. There may be an FDA office near you. Look for their number in the blue pages of the phone book.

You can also contact FDA through its toll-free number, 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332). Or, on the World Wide Web at www.fda.gov.

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Member Stories
Harry's Ankle Replacement Story

Let me introduce myself, I am a 54 year old man, happily married to the most beautiful woman in the world and I have psoriatic arthritis.

At present my pain is under control, well as much as can be expected that is, but I am happy with it. In the past years I have gone through many analgesics. I am now taking a combination of Methatrexate and Morphine for break through.

I think I am going into a remission of sorts and am very happy whit myself in any case.

My bride and I are going on a three day vacation on the ocean. This is the first vacation we have been able to take in nine years. I am so excited that I keep the travel brochure open to our room picture and must have read the thing a dozen times.

Still I find a degree of anxiety just below the surface. In the past years I have kept a sort of "no expectation out look on life." I figured that if I hold no idea, or dream close than I cannot be disappointed if something goes wrong.

Also I have noticed a certain amount of fear at going so far from my "nest" here at home. Exposure to a lot of people carries with it the pale of shame for me. Medication and the disease have radically altered my appearance. I am dependent on a wheel chair to get around and this is the first time taking my chair out anywhere.

I am sure other people have faced this situation and did well but here is nothing like the first time to kick up the butterflies.

I do have a plan to cope with this "outing." I plan to not have a plan and deal with anything as it may come. I of course will have all the odds and ends that come with traveling with a wheelchair and arthritis hammered down. But when it comes to incidents that are bound to happen I will deal with them as they occur and I shall do my best to not obsess over them.

Well, wish me luck, I'll need it, Oh and if possible slip me into your time with our maker. Harry of Perry Hall Maryland

To see the rest of stories go on over to:
community/stories

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Notes and Insights:

Birthday Board!
Happy Birthday to JBUG, Brigitte LaBelle, Theresa, Shauna, Joanne and LilSaha!!!
Check out all the birthdays at
community/birthday
and make sure to send them an arthritis-friendly e-card:
cgi-bin/postcards/postcard.pl

Join the Arthritis Dieters!
This is a group of people with arthritis who want to lose weight with others who know of the challenges of living with is arthritis. All those medications that make living with arthritis tolerable, but pile on the pounds. This group has been set up to give us a protected group where we can talk to others who know what it is like.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arthritis-dieters/

Wanna help?
Having surgery? Starting a new drug or treatment? Filing for disability? Keep an Arthritis Insight journal so all of our members can share and learn from your experience. If you want to keep a journal just let us know.

Write an article!
We always need articles on all subjects relating to arthritis. C'mon folks, we can't do this without you.

Ken Akers Cheer Fund
Donations to the Ken Akers Cheer Fund will be used to send flowers and gifts to those community members who are hospitalized, flaring or just in need of some good cheer.
community/kenscheerfund

Thank You!
A great big thank you to NeedaBasket.com (http://needabasket.com). NeedaBasket is now Arthritis Insight's official gift basket company. They are giving us a great discount and are donating baskets for our Arthritis Warriors.

Special Offers for Arthritis Insight Members
Whenever possible we will try get to our sponsors to agree to discounts and the like for our members. Here are our current special offers:

Sore No More (http://sorenomore.com) gel will send a free sample of the pain relieving gel to any Arthritis Insight Community Member who emails them at dma@glogerm.com.

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Weekly News Summary
Karen Sears
kaekae@arthritisinsight.com

REGENERON ARTHRITIS DRUG FAILS TRIAL
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:REGN - news) said on Tuesday its experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug did not prove significantly effective in a mid-stage trial, sending its shares down as much as 20 percent. The drug did not show a statistical benefit to patients taking the drug over those that did not. The Phase II trial showed, however, that those patients taking higher doses did better than those on lower doses.

BLOOD TEST MAY PREDICT RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
The presence of certain antibodies in the blood may signal the development of rheumatoid arthritis years before symptoms begin. That's the conclusion of a new study published in the October issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism, which found one-third of people with rheumatoid arthritis had antibodies, called anti-CCP antibodies, in their blood long before they ever felt the first symptoms of the disease.

WHAT WAS THAT?
If you find your hearing isn't what it used to be, don't automatically blame it on getting older. Correctable causes of hearing loss include earwax, inner-ear infections, side effects of common medications, circulatory disorders, Paget's disease of the bone, and rheumatoid arthritis, according to Montgomery County Community College.

RACE, ZIP CODE PREDICT KNEE PROCEDURE
The color of your skin and your address play a major role in how likely you are to have surgery for knee arthritis, says new research which finds black men have the procedure much less often than whites.

LANDMARK CASE LEAVES BRITAIN FOOTING BILL FOR OPERATIONS ABROAD
The British government may be forced to pay for patients on long waiting lists to be treated abroad after an arthritis sufferer won, in principle, a landmark ruling in the courts over her hip operation in France.

MEDICATIONS CAN CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN
If you're like the millions of Americans trying to lose weight but can't, NewsChannel5's health team anchor Lee Jordan reported that the problem could be in your medicine cabinet.
Some medications cause weight gain, so you need to pay attention to what you're taking.
"It's not something that's discussed ahead of time either by the physician or the pharmacist and there are numerous medications on the market that can cause someone to gain weight or make it more difficult for people to lose weight," said Dr. Darrell Hulisz, University Hospitals.

NOBEL PRIZE IN MEDICINE TO BE ANNOUNCED
The medical world buzzed with hopes and hunches as the world-renowned Karolinska Institute prepared to award the 2003 Nobel Prize for medicine. The prize to be awarded Monday includes a check for 10 million kronor, or $1.3 million, and bestows a deeper sense of academic and medical integrity upon the winners.

FITNESS BUFFS, AVOID THE STRAIN
Sprains and strains are among the most common injuries to plague fitness buffs -- and even those of you who aren't that active. The bones in your body are connected by ligaments and supported by muscles and tendons. A sprain occurs when one of the ligaments stretches or tears. This type of injury is most common in your ankles, knees and wrists.

ONE IN SIX ADULTS SUFFERS ARTHRITIS, SURVEY FINDS
More than four million Canadians -- one in six adults -- already suffer from arthritis, and the number is expected to climb by one million per decade, according to the first comprehensive survey of the common disease.

More health news can be found on our site:
news/

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Contribute

Have you written something you think our subscribers would like to read? Send it to Tina@arthritisinsight.com and maybe we'll use it in our newsletter.

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A Closing Thought
FOURTEEN THINGS THAT IT TOOK ME NEARLY A HALF OF A CENTURY TO LEARN

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
If you had to identify, in 1 word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, & never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
You should not confuse your career with your life.
Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
Never lick a steak knife.
The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.
The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.
A person, who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)
Your friends love you anyway.
FINAL Thought for the day: Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

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Arthritis Insight Newsletter Copyright 2003

The information provided by Arthritis Insight.com should not take the place of advice
and guidance from your own health-care providers. Material in this site is provided
for educational and informational purposes only. Be sure to check with your doctor before
making any changes in your treatment plan.
Information presented on ArthritisInsight.com is the opinion of the authors and
has not necessarily been approved or endorsed by the medical advisors. The
information contained on this web site may not be published, broadcast or
otherwise distributed without prior written authorization.