a quiet night

[niall451]

hi everyone,i will start on a high and merry xmas to you all x

i have a quiet night on my own as my rock(not the dwayne johnson type,but the emotional anchor type,my wife)is on her works do,so with this post i thought i would give youy my history,i have done in dribs and drabs but not clearly defined and often illegible.

im 42 now but i will go back to my early twentys where i had three years on the sick with an imaginary shoulder problem!!!!! general consultant,arthrogram nothing wrong however my gp signed me off through those three years numerous pain killers because i could not lift my arms more than an inch upwards and outwards without it feeling like my shoulder joints were going to rip apart,i sh*t you not!even rotating my wrists the pain in my shoulder was the same,then it just disappeared "poof"gone, i got a job as an engineer and worked my way up to programmer and found maybe half hour inputting data at chest high console would bring on a bout lasting approx two weeks,then noticed these strange growths on my middle and index fingers symmetrically across both hands didnt think anything of it,in fact i delighted at freaking my colleagues out by flexing my fingers "its like little maggots"they would cry, to my delight,so no real health issues except for acid,and succeptable to colds and bugs, then last may 2011 had a dental abcess was prescribed to low a dose of antibiotics ended up in septic shock fitting in a and e,intravenous antibiotics three days in hospital three teeth out,and a feeling that i was unwell....non specific but nonetheless unwell.so cue a stomach infection..... oh wait i have always suffered terribly in cold weather in my lower legs and shins feel cold to the core and the pain is like being smacked across both with an iron bar(and it really is as i was smacked across the arm with a metal bar so there!)...anyway so cue a stomach infection and as a by the way i pointed out the nodules as my fingers had been aching so bloods were done rheumy referral and i was diagnosed so had my xray and bloods then started on 10mg mtx, this is may this year by the way.saw gp and started reeling off aches and pains knees and front ankle are the pits for me,liver test went upto 146 stopped mtx upgraded from ibuprofen to naproxen with tramadol, paracetamol and amtriptaline at weekends just so i could sleep at weekends as ive had in total about two weeks in dribs and drabs off sick since may,so august comes and wait for it........gout with funniculitus for good measure, loads of pain (and i think i can handle pain even though im a man)but cleared the gout, allopurinol for life now!mtx injections started october stopped last week due to liver count 206! so thats where i am, rattling from treating symptoms not a disease,thanks for reading and really,

happy christmas x

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Blimey that's a tale and a half Niall - do hope they get you on something that works properly for you such as anti-tnf perhaps.

My dad had gout terribly but he was used to trial a drug - perhaps the one you take - and he never flared badly again. But I recall as a kid that I used to worry I'd get gout when I only had chillblains having watched him almost weep with pain once and his skin used to split open on his feet. So the combination of all this must be hellish for you - especially with you being a man and all that! Seriously I do hope things improve and they can tackle the disease rather than just the symptoms for you very soon indeed? Have you been given a steroid shot at all? Tilda x

[saffron07]

Wow wow and wow again. I do hope that you can find some balance and better manageability. I'm knew to diagnosis but have suffered for years. Like you had varying pain for years on end about nine years ago developed vitiligo which spread, then came Chronic TMJ which is like being hit the jaw by Mike Tyson, still manage this now when it flares up. Most nights I wake can't remember the last full nights sleep I had. Diagnosed three months ago with RA hands and feet, always had swelling in particular hands and have had both operated on got carpal tunnel when I had Bupa. Past company I worked for poor pay but great benefits.

My joints always been a problem I'm fairly strong guy and have brute strength but noticed that when ever I carried anything at an angle the pain in my elbows was intense. Recently my left hip has started to seize up, feels weak, pain, stiff and swollen have MRI on Saturday, on mtx, hydrochlorquine and pain relief waiting for DMards to start working better.

Off work now for last five weeks which is not good as I've only been with this company just under a year so SP is very limited could have panned out better.

Now age 49 and remarried some years now but have two adult boys from first and three little ones now which us worrying as a provider.

Will

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What a tale,, think you men suffer from too long and dont go to Drs much?. it is good when the males on this site can talk to another and bond like us girls.. have either of you thought about becoming a volunteer?.. it would be great to have a male volunteer.. we have a smaller number of men than women , but no male volunteers.. my very best wishes to you both in your fight, It is a worry .. think i would kill for private health cover.. but I work for NHS were we join the back of the queue for treatment xx