I've been diagnosed with arthritis

[Bakersdozen]

I detect a tone of POSITIVE THINKING!  This thread is filled with upbeat, positive reflections on life's toll on the body.  How refreshing!   

[Ray4852]

I Think you have the same stuff I have right now. It sounds to me you have the gene HLA- 27. has your eye doctor tested you for this gene with blood work. If you have this gene. You have to see an Rheumatologist right away. They will do more blood work. My problem started in the eyes first. After 2 years it spread to my hands and shoulders and now I have it in some of my toes. My doctor keeps asking me hows my back feeling. Some soreness but not bad. I can develop the same stuff you have now in your back. I think the medication I’m taking is blocking it from spreading to my back. I take Methotrexate and Remicade to control the inflammation in my body. I hope you have a good insurance policy. Remicade is very expensive. 6 thousand every 8 weeks. Your doctor will start you out with Methotrexate right away. Don t let the side affects scare you. The disease is a lot worse. Don’t fool around with this disease. It will destroy your body. Work with your doctor. This disease has not slowed me down. I still can do my normal activities every day. Bee stings wont cure my problem. A good Rheumatologist has  help me.

[Ray4852]

Pete

we can talk in the PM box

[efmesch]

Ray says: " Don t let the side affects scare you."
Ef says---that's a harder thing to say than to do----Whenever I read the leaflets that accompany a new medicine it scares the whits out of me.  I think the authors of horror novels are the ones they hire to write the "warnings".  Once I brace myself and try it out, and wake up the next morning, still alive and happy, I recover,  but I won't say I wasn't scared.  It is totally unbelievable just how many petrifying sides effects some of these medicines can have.  Even taking aspirin has become an "I dare you to try it" experience. 
Maybe, the positive effect of the medicine is a result of realizing that you pulled through the "danger zone" without having developed: ulcers, palpitations, headaches, exhaustion, hemorrhoids, blisters, etc.etc. etc., you name it.
In one short sentence, the drug companies write just about everything as a warning so as to cover their a-- against possible legal suits.  After all, they warned us and we still took the medicine.

[brooksbeefarm]

  Good post ef, i have told my doctor twice now after reading the (possible) effects of the meds. he wanted me to take, that i think i'll stay with Wild Turkey. That i know what it can and will do, butt if i die i'll be happy and won't care. He just grins and shakes his head and tells me to let him know if i change my mind. Jack

[Ray4852]

EF

I take Methotrexate and Remicade for my arthritis. The side affects on these two drugs will scare the bees away. My disease is more dangerous than these drugs. If I refused to take this medication. I would have no eyesight today. Every joint in my body would have inflammation and destroyed body parts. The pain would kill me. I would have no lifestyle. I did the right thing. Medical science is helping me maintain my lifestyle. EF read the side affects on these two drugs. What would you do if you had my arthritis. You can try the organic way, If that worked my insurance wouldn’t pay 6 thousand every 8 weeks for remicade treatments. That’s almost 40 thousand for the year.  I thank god I have a good insurance policy.

[Ray4852]

Jack

why go to the doctor if you feel that way. People are living longer lives today because we have better medications. Our rotten lawyers are giving medical science a bad name. Most of the time its not the medications that kill the people its their lifestyle that killed them. Bring in a lawyer and we have another lawsuit. Who pays for this you and me. That’s why most people cant afford health insurance.

[Slowmodem]

Prayers to everyone suffering. My wife has a touch of it so I can empathize.

[efmesch]

Ray---keep taking those medications and don't let my post upset you----I too get over the fear of the medicine's leaflets and take them like a good boy.  So far I'm still here, alive and kicking in spite of the warnings.  I just wish they weren't so scary.
I don't believe in "alternative" medicine as a cure for everything.  If everyone would try that way, we would be living much shorter lives and suffering a lot more while still alive.  I wish I could manage everything without any meds, but there's no denying it, they do much more good than harm and I'm still here to testify to their efficacy, just like you.
When I was a litttle kid I wanted to get rid of my eyeglasses so I tried the methods recommended in a book "Sight Without Glasses".  I learned to accept my glasses before anything the book recommended had any beneficial help   Think of the poor people with bad eyes, who lived before glasses were invented.  ---But they aren't natural----forget it.  If you want to see, you wear them.  If you want your health, take your meds. Period.

[Jen]

"Don't be cruel to him---he's showing you his affection for you.  I'm sure he realizes you're still capable of getting up on your own, but he wants to be with you.. You don't have to take his aid, but don't just shake him off, let him know that you eppreciate his thoughtfulness.

     This is so true Ef. Some time ago, I read a wonderful passage about the 'joy of giving'. When another person says "Here let me help you with that" or stretches out a hand to help you lift out of a chair, or purchases a prescription for you, or does a load of laundry for you... And you refuse their kind hearted help, you are actually taking away THEIR 'joy of giving' and to some extent demeaning them for offering. "Appreciating his/her thoughtfulness" is a great gift to one another 

[Ray4852]

EF

I didn’t get upset over your post. I know a lot of people get scared when they read the side affects of medications today. I don’t read the side affects much on meds today. I take a glass of water and wash it down. Everybody is different when they take them. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones that don’t have trouble taking meds. My body seems to tolerate them. One thing we all cant stop. We all are going to die. But the drugs we take today are making life better for the next generation. 50 years ago people suffered with their medicals problems. 50 years from now people will have it better than what we have it today.

[efmesch]

Ray,    Amen

[brooksbeefarm]

Ray
I wasn't saying all meds. are bad, i do take some. The one that comes to mind was for a toe nail fungus, the cost was $500.00 a bottle (i think for a months supply?) and recommended to take for a year . I have good insurance and it would have paid for it, but after i read all the side effects it could or might cause to other parts of my body, i decided i could live with a toe nail fungus.Come to think of it, maybe if i soak my feet in Wild Turkey? hummm. Jack

[Gypsi]

Wild Turkey would probably cure your toes!

[brooksbeefarm]

If it doesn't burn my toes off first. I don't want any of you think i'm a drinker of the hard stuff, the only time i drink Wild Turkey is when i get a soar throat and since my uncle passed away in 2004 i might drink a case of beer in a years time. I quit all that when i met my soul mate and started a family and probably the reason i'm still here Jack

[Ray4852]

Jack

500 hundred dollars for a bottle of toe nail fungus is cheap compared to what I’m paying for my arthritis medication.  Toe nail fungus is very hard to get rid of. I know they have a few drugs where you have to get a culture test first to see what kind of fungus you have. They also test your liver when done using it. The cost of meds today are very expensive. Somebody has to step up and do something about our healthcare system in our country soon. We once had the best healthcare in the world. Today we have the worst system to take care of our people. Its sickening. We spend billions on useless foreign aid for other countries that turn around and try to kill us while we let our people rot at home to die because our healthcare system is controlled by the special interest.

[brooksbeefarm]

Truer words never spoken Ray. I wonder how many on the forum can remember when the doctor would come to your house? I don't know how old i was ? i had Whooping cough and Pneumonia at the same time and the doctor came to our house and gave me a shot, i over heard him tell Mom and Dad that if i made it thru the night i would be alright . Nowaday they make you an appointment with a specialist that can be 3 to 6 months before he can see you. Jack

[pistolpete]

Ray: Yes, I do have the HLA B27 gene, however my arthritis is more spine specific.  The biologics that you are on apparently do nothing for the spine, but will help should inflammation spread to other joints.  I have been seen by an Internist and a Rheumatologist and it looks like I will have follow up appointments every 6 months.  I will be seeing an optomologist shorlty.   I don't mind talking about my health in an open forum, but if you want to go the PM route that's fine too.

[Ray4852]

Jack

I think the early 1950s was the last time a doctor could come to our house for minor sickness. Today if we get sick we have to go to the hospital and wait in the emergency room for hours before someone can see you. They pick the ones first that need the care and the minor cases wait up to 24 hours. I sat there once with my friend who had a broken finger, we waited 6 hours before they took him in for treatment. What a joke.  I agree we have to wait up to 6 months before we can see a specialist. Every part of the country is different. Some areas have more specialist than others.

[Les]

Ef, I always thank him for his offer.......he knows I am a determined soul and just rolls with it.  Actually, I don't know where I would be without him.  Most things I need to get accomplished he is right by my side.....I am blessed.