Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
I knew since last night that I was going to wake up broken. Im now taking prednisone 2x a day but Im in still so much pain. The hospital gave me tramadol and it does nothing. Today is friday, no school until Monday and I know my kids are going to expect some kind of plans for the weekend and all I want to do is curl up under the blankets and stay there the whole weekend. Anyone know of some herbal or over the counter stuff that can make my pain subside some? Im willing to try anything because my only other option is going to the ER and I really dont want to.
Not feeling good and pain are what are normal with RA.
I took as much as 30mg of prednisone for the first couple of months, but after a few days that helped me over the worst of it. The drugs that actually treat RA (DMARDS–both traditional ones like methotrexate and later, biologics) all took weeks, even months to take effect. But they are the only thing that will eventually get the symptoms under control and let you return to some semblance of normalcy. It took about 9 months for me to find the combination of drugs and dosages that worked for me and prednisone helped me get by during that whole time. I never took strong pain killers except acetaminophen from time to time to handle the occasional headaches from the other drugs. I finally weaned off prednisone after a year. Now, nearly two years since I was diagnosed, I am stable and generally pain free as long as I continue to tolerate my regular injections of methotrexate and Orencia. So it can and does get better for a lot of people. I can't agree that not feeling good and permanent pain is the normal state of the disease and something you should tell yourself you have to accept. It is treatable for most people with the current crop of DMARDS and you don't need to be resigned to always feeling as bad as you may feel today.
You don't say how much prednisone you are using, but sometimes it takes a lot if you are not on a biologic and/or DMARD. And I just found out recently, after 18 years with this disease that you should only take prednisone in the morning once a day (or evening, I guess!). That is because the body needs the cortisone levels to fall off a bit, in order for the adrenal gland to remember how to keep producing its own cortisol. If you don't do that, you could become permanently addicted, esp. if the amount you are taking is high. (My cousin has this issue - for over 60 years!)
Do you have a rheumatologist? What is his recommended treatment plan? Prednisone is ok to tide things over till the meds work, but it is not a good drug to be on long term, and the side effects can become horrid with long term use. (Says someone who has been on it continuously for 19 months this time around!)
I hope you can get on some good meds, and come back to the land of the living. As for the kids, it is not a bad thing for them to learn about your limitations and to be the helpers instead of demanding you plan and do everything for them. What is wrong with them playing outside or in the yard? My kids grew up doing that, and they are mentally healthy! My daughter was 10 when I got RA and she became my helper, because I was not diagnosed properly. That included dressing me, and helping around the house. Did it damage her? To the contrary, she became a social worker, and helps people who are having problems in multiple ways. And that even included urging a client to go to a rheumatologist when she saw obvious signs of RA in her.
A child that learns to deal with suffering and to help, is a more compassionate and caring person when they grow up! Don't fall for the lie that children need to grow up with perfect lives. Change your way of dealing with them, and they will be better for it.
I wonder if your pain isn't magnified because you feel the stress of having to get up and care for the kids and you don't feel up to it.
If there's a grandparent or aunt or uncle in the picture, maybe you can ask them to take the kids for a few hours while you burrow under the covers. Could be that little rest will help wonders.
Don't discount Tramadol. While it doesn't obliterate pain, it takes the edge off and sometimes that in itself is GREAT.
I thought Pred was supposed to be once a day. It's all true about the adrenals being affected by it. Adrenals work on a 24 hour rhythm system. Too much Pred and it will shut them down.......and trust me, you do NOT want that to happen.
OK - you've been through childbirth and I'm going to assume you were awake and it was natural. On a scale from 1-10, let's say that was a 10.
What number is your current pain at?
About the ER - generally speaking, I think it would be a very, very last resort. From my point of view, I wouldn't want to be pumped full of narcots or Pred......because it only wears off and then what?
Call the rheumatologist's office Monday morning and call every day to see if there's a cancelation.
So I take 20mg of prednisone in the morning and again at bedtime. I do have a rheumatologist just have to wait six weeks until I see him again.
That's a fairly high dose of prednisone and it should be helping you. But it is no where near the dosage that was routinely prescribed before the advent of biologics and other DMARD's. I have a friend who has had RA since the 1980's and for years he took 150+ mg of prednisone. He is about 85 now and has been doing pretty well on Humira for the past couple of years. Although his hands are pretty twisted, he even bowls in a league twice a week.
Also - some suggestions in the meantime: Aspercream helps me. You should be able t get pain matches OTC too.
SCREAM to your doc that you need to get in sooner!!!
PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER SHARE PILLS.
Do you know what Embeda is? It's morphine. I'm sure your mother's doctor would be livid if he/she found out she was giving them to you.