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...
so i've been averaging an appointment every 4-6 weeks. i've been off my meds for a couple of weeks now - today makes two weeks since my last enbrel injection and 1.5 weeks since my last mtx dose. i was advised to stop taking enbrel while i'm fighting this stupid f*cking upper respiratory plague and i decided to take myself off mtx so i can have a couple of less toxic weeks and maybe squeeze in a tattoo session.
my rheumy is ready to call it quits on enbrel. she's starting the paperwork and craptacular preauth process for humira. she said we could try simponi or cimzia, but i thought humira would be a good next option. i know it worked for a family member for a number of years, and it has a long track record. we're going to stick with 20mg mtx weekly. still not taking any prednisone or rx anti-inflammatories or painkillers.
as soon as my cold is gone, i'm hoping to get a short tattoo session under my belt and then start humira. of course i would get sick when it's med switch time, which would be the perfect time to take a break and get a tattoo. plus my birthday is friday and we have dinner plans with family on sunday. yesterday was the first day i started feeling a bit better, and today i feel a bit better again, so hopefully i'll feel 'normal' by the weekend.
my rheumy is ready to call it quits on enbrel. she's starting the paperwork and craptacular preauth process for humira. she said we could try simponi or cimzia, but i thought humira would be a good next option. i know it worked for a family member for a number of years, and it has a long track record. we're going to stick with 20mg mtx weekly. still not taking any prednisone or rx anti-inflammatories or painkillers.
as soon as my cold is gone, i'm hoping to get a short tattoo session under my belt and then start humira. of course i would get sick when it's med switch time, which would be the perfect time to take a break and get a tattoo. plus my birthday is friday and we have dinner plans with family on sunday. yesterday was the first day i started feeling a bit better, and today i feel a bit better again, so hopefully i'll feel 'normal' by the weekend.
So what's the tattoo of? I've got several and might add some color to a black line tat of a Pegasus I've had for a looooonnnnnnggggg time. (More gray line than black now)
i also have angelfish on my chest, white ink scrolls on my ears, a traditional memorial piece on my upper arm, a traditional ship on my calf, a traditional woman on the other side of the calf, a bunch of old crap on my back that i hate and would love to cover up one day, and some random stuff on my lower leg. almost all of my work is custom and i have SO MANY MORE PLANS that having rheumatoid disease is going to freaking ruin because of my immune system. when i had my traditional woman done last november, i developed cellulitis because apparently methotrexate alone messes up my immune system enough that i can't heal a whole tattoo at once.
As for the Tattoo, hey I say go for it. I see you are no stranger to tattoos. You only live once and if that is what you want hey there is no time like the present. I had one done a while back. Sounds fabulous. Let us know how you heal afterwards.Were the others before RA diagnosis?
You were on Enbrel for a while. If it's not doing it, time to move on.
i hate those damn commercials though. of course, i never played soccer with my kids. or any kids. or any sports. so....
I had a love hate relationship with Enbrel. It helped me but also opened the door for germ fests in my respiratory & sinus.
Not a big fan of those commercials either. So misleading not to mention they barely touch on the true RA.
It's all about selling the product.
Good luck with Humira.
Sammy
it was about a thousand times harder going through aetna's speciality pharma when we set up enbrel. i'm very happy my rheumy's office is now doing it this way.
i am relying on you for these up to the minute reports on how all our lives are going to transform us, much as kale will, when we start eating the appropriate quantity, at the appropriate time, and in the appropriate manner (you have to be facing east), with respect to Humira, since I do not own a television.
how would I have known? I always wanted to be a shuck telephone poles and be a line worker, or date one, which was it? I can't remember, irrespective, now I know that this bucket list item of mine is going to come true.
Alternatively, I also yearned to be Donna Reed (do I have to wear that apron?) so thanks for letting me know about the freshly squeezed OJ. I look forward to that happening.
Oh wait a minute, I already took Humira.
I forgot.
Ros