No experience, Denny, but obviously with maris on this one. Edit: And the Son of God, for that matter.
Bummer! Well see what you can do with Maris' advice. Maybe one of these days, I will pick up Mags and we will see how you are coping. Ha!, probably a short time would do, hey?
Went to the doctor yesterday and it's confirmed. Lupus it is. The good news is that 6 weeks ago when I first saw him, he gave me prednisone, an anti inflammatory, and tramadol. Over the course of those 6 weeks, almost all of my joints no longer cause me pain. My hands/knuckles/wrists are still stiff and sore in the mornings, and oddly, the bottoms of my feet. Yesterday he prescribed new drugs to actually address the Lupus as well as the pain. It's clearly manageable. W00t!
Lupus is an autoimmune disease. For about 4 months, I didn't treat it because I thought it was just tendonitis. I went to an urgent care clinic here that specializes in sports injuries, thinking they were the best suited to treat the problem. What Lupus does is cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of the body. The fact that it progressed and affected so many of my joints on the left and right side fits the Lupus diagnosis. The blood test results also confirm it. Today I started a chemotherapy medication that is good at treating Lupus. Tramadol is a non-opiod pain killer. To me, it's similar to codeine in effect, but it doesn't bother my stomach as much. From what I've read about it on the M.D. type WWW sites, there's no real long term side effects, and people have taken it for 10 years. I'm on it the rest of my life, it seems. The prednisone is a different proposition. Long term use has side effects like lowering bone density and immune system. You're right that it makes me feel really good, but I want to get off it as soon as possible. The doctor is weening me off it while the other meds start taking effect. One of them takes weeks or months to start benefiting me. I am so much happier today than 6 weeks ago, to say the least.
Good to hear you've found a way to manage it Denny..hope you are relatively pain free and stay that way.
Tramadol puts me on edge, I don't like it at all. Some have said that it delays ejaculation. 1/5 stars.
I was told I had gout 20 years ago. My toe was numb, like I got a shot of novocain in it, and I was running a low grade fever (99.6) much of the time. The doctor at the urgent care clinic suspected gout. Gout is a buildup of sediment from excess uric acid in the blood. The sediment settles in the joints and causes pain for some. The common complaint is a sore big toe. The lupus symptoms are much worse.
It was the most excruciating pain I've ever felt. I've had attacks in my big toes, the balls of my feet, my ankles, and once in my elbow. If I owned a pair of bolt cutters I'd be walking around toeless right now...
I have a good friend with gout and he can't eat shellfish anymore or...drink beer at all. Both those things send the gout through the roof...so, no toes or no Coors Lite? This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home...ouch!
Good to hear Denny, now do they have anything to cure your libertarianism? Glad the lupus is manageable. Remember it's exacerbated by stress, don't overwork yourself.
I've been known to slip in through open windows and doggie doors. I can disable your home automation just by clapping my hands. barfo
