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Member
Posts: 14
| Do you feel like it's worth the risk? I'm devastated with the prognosis and the cost my insurance won't be covering each month. Side effects I've been warned may happen with meds and low success rate of treatments despite the flowery tv commercials. Not to mention the rest. I don't think quite honestly I can afford the monthly cost in my budget and still keep feeding horses too. Would like to hear choices or options those with RA have had to make please. Thanks a bunch. Did the pain progress quickly or slowly from a number 4 on a scale of 1 to 10? Thank you. Also...scary question but how did it affect your riding? Did the pain make it impossible before the risk of hurting your joints become a factor?
Edited by payshent 2015-01-02 5:49 AM
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
 
| Most of expensice meds have copay assistance. There is finicial help out there. I am sick with sinus infection/bronchitis which i cant take my ra meds. But i am determined not let ra get the best of me. Dont let the pain get the best of you. Sorry about my spelling i am cross eyed this mourning. If one med doesnot work for you, tell your re doc, switch to another.
Edited by daisycake123 2015-01-02 6:05 AM
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
 
| So sorry to hear this. I have a relative with RA and after much conversation she quit eating grains and processed foods - which cause internal swelling in our joints . It took a few weeks but her level of pain was drasctically reduced and she was able to reduce her meds by half. Good luck. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 680
Location: Texas | rodeomom3 - 2015-01-02 7:29 AM
So sorry to hear this. I have a relative with RA and after much conversation she quit eating grains and processed foods - which cause internal swelling in our joints . It took a few weeks but her level of pain was drasctically reduced and she was able to reduce her meds by half. Good luck.
I agree with this, one of the most important things you can do is change your lifestyle to an anti-inflammatory diet. This is HUGE in combating this disease. Once you eliminate the chronic inflammation from your body via diet, you will be very pleasantly surprised. It will be a hard adjustment to make lifestyle wise, but there are no harmful side effects and no monthly payment for changing your diet. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2135
Location: Somewhere else | My orthopedic doctor got me hooked up with a pharamcy that is awesome. The most the meds cost me for my arthritis is $20. If I didn't get it through this company the meds would be $4000 a bottle. It's called Dureux (or something like that). Halstead Pharmacutical is who I get my meds from. It's the best thing I've gotten so far & has helped the most. They even deliver to work so I don't have to go stand in line at the pharmacy
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 I Sell Dreams
Posts: 1654
Location: Freestone TX | I have RA and still work with my horses. My shoulders, hands and knees are the most affected. The biggest thing is having to stick with horses under 15 hands tall so I can lift a saddle and get on. I take methotrexate. That drug makes me very sleepy so I take it on a weekend night so it won't affect me the next day at work. The other is meloxicam. That one has no side effects. My insurance covers most of it and my out of pocket is minimal.
I am on a fruits and veggies diet, and have been for almost a year, but it has not helped with any joint pain. I originally started it to help with the RA, but even when it didn't make a difference, I continued with it because I liked it. |
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Member
Posts: 14
| Thank you...I am already trying hard to work on the diet part and it has been going fairly well. Mostly I'm scared I guess. I was hoping this was all just from working hard outside, then cooler days, then winters..the shoulders, neck stiffness, hands and toes hurting. I thought I was the one in my family who had escaped getting the RA since my mom, aunts, sister, niece, all got it many years younger than me. I saw their joints cripple. Then I got this diagnosis last week and am shell shocked. I appreciate hearing from you all. I have to tell you all that you have my deep respect because I am so scared and none of you seem to be. You seem to have it together. I want to be brave like that but I feel like I got the rug pulled out from under me. I hope this will get better as I get more used to this change. Seems like in a way it was better when I didn't know why I was hurting. That sounds stupid. |
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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | I have RA and have since I was a teenager and probably have longer than that. In my early 20's it was so bad I couldn't even get feeding and cleaning stalls done without serious pain. For me I avoid all processed foods. I eat or organic or grow what I can, which thankfully is most of what I eat. What helped me the most is switching to Raw Dairy and avoiding conventional grains, sugars and veggie oils. I love bread but do my best to stay away from it. If I do indulge it is sprouted organic grains. I also eat tons and tons of healthy fats, lard, butter coconut oil and no I am not over weight because of that. As far as supplements vitamin d, k2, epicor and green pastures fermented cod liver/butter oil blend. I try to get my other essentials from food. I've also had really good luck with MSM and Cytle-M. Being proactive and getting your inflammation under control is key and knowing how much you can do in a day and not pushing it too much and SLEEP! Sleep affects me more than anything. |
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Expert
Posts: 1226
| A good friend of mine has RA. She went to a gluten free diet with hardly and red meat. She said it helped a lot. She rides a few times a week. She so told me that when she had bad days it's usually related to her period and stress agitates it too. |
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10D Crack Champion
| Get with a good rheumatologist. RA is an auto-immune disease. Make sure you have been properly diagnosed and checked for any other auto-immune disorders. There are many auto-immune disorders with similar symptoms and often times they go hand and hand. You might be just fine for now taking an anti-inflammatory as needed. As with anything I am sure diet can make things worse. I think hormones can make it worse too as another person posted. Staying active is actually what you need to do. Riding would be good for that even if just at a slow pace.
Edited by sodapop 2015-01-02 11:41 AM
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
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keep a eye on ur neck i have ra in my neck and probably why i am in a wheelchair as i only cracked the c5 6 7 in neck but i am paralized now |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | My sister is 52 and has RA and had both of her knees replaced this year and is back riding. She has good and bad days but staying active has helped her but she says she can't over due it. I can't remember the names of the meds she is on.
Prayers you find the right meds. |
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