My Rheumy Appointment Yesterday

[Craw]

Hi everyone

Thought I would let you know how I got on yesterday.

I have been off the MTX for 7 weeks now due to being short of breath and having a dry cough.

My consultant said that my doctor done the right thing stopping the MTX and he said that I cannot restart the MTX until I have seen the Respitory Specialist.

He could tell me that an appointment has been made but could not tell me the date and I have not heard anything myself yet.

He said the nodules on my lungs are due to the RA and also said that there was scarring on my right lung but he did not think this was the cause of my problems.

He said it could be Adult Onset Asthma but was not sure.

He checked me thoroughly as I have pains in quite a few joints, in particualr in the upper left arm and left knee.

I got the left knee xrayed yesterday and he has made an appointment for a MRI scan on this knee.

I got a injection in my bottom to help all the other aches and pains.

He also told me to increase the Sulpha from 4 tabs a day to 6 a day, I also take 2 Hydroxy a day.

Also as I have not been sleeping well due to pain and waking up too hot he asked me to go on Amitripyline.

I took Amitripyline a couple of years ago but hated the way it makes you feel in the morning.

Anyway I took one last night and slept not too bad but feel very woozy today.

I took it at 6.45pm to allow it time to get out of my system for work this morning but even now at lunchtime I am still really sleepy.

I will keep taking them and hopefully the woozy feeling will go away.

I know we all hate taking the MTX but I am missing it as things are just getting worse for me without it.

Hope I don't have to wait too long for the appointment to come though.

Thanks for listening

Mary

[Hidden]

Sorry to hear your not having a good time at the moment, hopefully your body will adjust to the meds soon, and the sleepiness abates. Take care. xxx

[lynn-bel]

I am so lucky as MTX seems to suit me. I cant fight off infections or colds like I used to but I try to keep myself healthy so as not to catch them in the first place! Sulfa. didnt suit me at all, had a violent reaction to it! Funny how people have different reactions. I hope you get sorted soon and get on some meds that work for you. I do take quite a few supplements that help me a lot. If I feel I cant sleep well, I drink camomile tea about an hour before going to bed, it helps me a lot to get a good sleep.

Best of luck and keep on their case! Don't let them go off track and make sure you are happy with what they prescribe.

xx

[cathie]

These complications are horrible arent they. Watch out for my blog when I get the MRI scan I understand that its to check the progress of my disease. Keep OK.

[Hidden]

It sounds as if you have a good and thorough consultant although I'm sorry you've had these additional developments re nodules on your lungs. I hope everything improves with the rise in dose of Sulfa. I'm like Lynn-bel in that mostly I tolerate MTX (apart from some sickness since the intro of Hydroxy) but I had a really adverse reaction to Sulfa within a few weeks of starting that meant that my GP would not prescribe it for me again. Tilda x

[Craw]

Thanks for the replies.

I took another amitripyline last night and slept quite good and although I am still a bit sleepy today it is not nearly as bad as yesterday.

Also I am not in as much pain today as I have been so looks like the injection is working.

Mary