Help my Pain go away?

[DMJ64]

My name is Debbie I have been suffering with RA for the last 3 years. I am currently on Hydroxyquine and Oral Morph. I am in severe pain in my lower back, stiff painful fingers and toes. Right elbow and arm. I seem to be getting worse and am struggling to get on with normal activities. Can anyone help please ?

Regards

Debbie

[AgedCrone]

Unfortunately we aren't qualified to give clinical advice Debbie, but have you talked to your Rheumy nurses about how badly your pain is controlled...they usually have more time to listen & therefore know what type of painkiller might work for you.....as well as possibly using a different Dmard.

As you are learning finding the right mix of drugs to control each individual is not just one quick fix.

But there is the mix for you there somewhere ......so summon up the effort and ask for a reassessment of your meds as soon as possible. You have to be very proactive with RA ...if you don't tell the medics they will think you are OK on your present meds.

[DMJ64 in reply to AgedCrone]

Ok thank you. I have contacted my consultants secretary to hurry my appointment.

[Julieladix]

So sorry to hear about all the pain you are in. Wish there was some way I could help. All I can do is send some prayers your way. Are you on any type of biologic drug for your ra?

[Lucy11]

Hi there,

During your entire 3 year diagnosis has your doctor never suggested to change or add additional DMARDS?

I assume you haven't been well controlled throughout this 3 year ordeal, or has it only just started getting worse?

I ask as it's really important to be bold and tell your doctor what your goals are and ask him what his are for you!

Generally, our meds must be adjusted and most definitely during the beginning of the diagnosis as it's pretty rare that the first treatment offered works and even if it does work the dosage is usually titrated up or down depending on how you're doing.

You may have been offered Methotrexate early and perhaps couldn't tolerate it which is why you're now only on the one DMARD?

Without a full description of what you have tried and could or could not tolerate it's hard to give advise but giving pain meds instead of trying to get your disease better controlled with triple therapy or even Biologics if you qualify sounds a bit off to me.

I would do as AgedCrone suggests and ask for a reassessment of your medication. As a side note, RA generally spares the lower back so I would definitely ask what could possibly be causing the lower back pain.

Be Bold! There are other options out there. I do hope you find a combination that can help you feel better soon.

Best

Lucy.

[BoneyC]

Hi Debbie,

It sounds like you need to go back to your rheumatologist and report this. If you've only had the disease 3 years there must be a whole plethora of other drugs you could try. I've had RA for 46 years and running out of drug options, but its still relatively early days for you. Good luck.

[banderson212]

It definitely sounds like there are many other medications you can try. I was in horrible pain when I was first diagnosed and could barely walk. They started me on a heavy dose of Prednisone, Methotrexate and Celebrex and started giving me monthly infusions. Eventually the pain started to subside, though it did take a few months for my body to feel better. I couldn't handle the monthly infusions, so I started bothering my doctor to try weekly shots you can do at home. I started doing that but it started making my numb in the lower parts of my body. I started bothering them yet again (see a pattern here? you really need to push to get your doctor to take you seriously sometimes and make a change) and they changed the shot to a 2x daily pill. I switched and the numbness left! So now, about 5 years after diagnosis I take 3 different pills a day. No infusions or shots. And unless I forget to take my evening medicine for awhile, I'm not in pain. I share all of this to say that there are MANY different treatments for RA and there is absolutely no reason for you to be in pain. It means they don't have you on the right combination yet. Please get in front of your doctor and insist they try something different!