i am sorry for you. did you talk to your rheumy? that doesnt sound good you are having a flare for about 2 months. what are you taking for you pains? i think you need to talk to your rheumy and see what meds he can give you. i know this is a very lonely disease. once you feel better then you can TRY TO start your normal life again. though its not 100% possible, but you can try.
i think you need a new combo of meds. good luck. take care of yourself.

Hi and I am so sorry you are having a difficult time. To months for a flare sounds like 2 months too long. hat doctor are you seeing and what medications are you on. Something needs to be done to make you feel a bit better. Let us know what is happening.

This site is here for some support :) I agree with the others that 2 months is too long. Sounds like you need new meds. That doesn't mean no flares, but they shouldn't last so long. Mine last from 1 day-3 days usually. Before I started my meds I had one that lasted over a month. I was reduced to tears on a regular basis. I understand how you feel.

I'm 39, with 2 and 12 year old boys. I'm on LTD and have for several months. I totally understand. I am so limited. I won't take my 2 yo anywhere that isn't somewhat enclosed or fenced in - he is a runner and I cannot keep up with him. It's an awful feeling.
What meds are you on? If you don't mind me asking, do you take an antidepressant? I would be a complete and total mess without mine.

Thank you all for your sincere and caring replies. It makes me feel better just talking about it and being heard. I am currently taking ziac for high blood pressure, metformin and lisinopril for diabetes and kidney protection (I have had several severe kidney infections on and off for the last year and a half), hydrocodone, plaquenil, gabapentin for the arthritis (and prednisone as needed), antiviral meds for the shingles, prozac for depression, and ambien for sleep. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Again, thank you so much for your support.

Welcome to the forum. You seem to have a lot of health issues besides RA, and many different meds. Is this all recent? Is it one doctor prescribing all of these meds or several different ones? Could be some of the meds are interacting with others.

My suggestion would be to start there, just to make sure that some of your issues are not being caused by all the meds you take.

Best wishes.

So sorry for your pain. Please check the side effects of the meds you are taking. Some side effects are joint pain. If your ribs have inflammation you should see your PCP and have your lymph nodes checked. Some of the meds can react with each other. Try to stay involved with people. It's not good to be alone too much.

Hi Twyliah, Welcome to the group. I agree with the others, it does seem as if your med regime needs to be looked at by your doctor. You need to have a plan of treatment for the times flares occur. When I have my crummy days, I try to think of something that makes me smile. Old "I luv lucy" or Carol burnett re-reuns are usually good for laughs. Looking at family pictures also helps. Good luck, hope things get better.

I have very recently started getting trigger point injections in my ribs for the rib pain I have been having for over 15 months now. It takes the edge off. He uses bupivicaine and triamcinalone.
You may want to ask your rheumy about adding another DMARD. How long have you been on Plaquenil?

I started plaquenil 2 years ago but had to stop taking it after a few months because of a bad headache I developed. I am trying it again now at a lower dose to try to help with the shingles. I think it may be time for a new DMARD. I will talk to the rheumatologist about it. I am feeling better today than I have in a while. I love the list idea (I make lists for everything) of listing things that bring me joy and trying to do one a day. I am definitely going to begin that. My rheumatologist knows all of my meds, but I will discuss them in more detail this next visit. I have an appointment coming up on the 20th. I am really glad I joined this group. Thank you all again for all your comments.

It quite possibly could be the shingles that has you down so bad. I had shingles in January and for 2 weeks before they developed I was in bed, I did not get back out of bed until a month later. My rheumy told me shingles can do that to you.

Hope you get some relief soon!