My entire body feels swollen. I'm supposed to get my cimzia started kit today, but I'm so over this NOW. I ache in many, many joints. I am in a fog, have no energy, and am getting very, very depressed. I hope cimzia doesn't let me down. Just had to get it out.
Hang on! Hang on! Don't give up-help is on the way! I just started Enbrel injections and I expected it to work immediately-NOT! It's going to take a couple of months to kick in-Lord, give me patience-I NEED IT! Lol!
I will say this though-my ugly crusty rash on my elbows is GONE!! Woowoo!
Hang in there! Hold onto hope. I don't know where you live Grovyreba, but I'm suffering terribly this week with sunny good weather arriving. Everything is stiff and swollen hurting way more than usual. It will pass. Try the Cimzia and see if it helps! Fingers crossed for you!
I hope the Cimzia works for you. Plenty of us here can empathize with the way you are feeling!
Do you have an anti-inflammatory med you can take for today to get you through the pain? I don't normally take Mobic, but on really bad days I do.
I too wish our meds worked within an hour of taking them, but life is not so simple and magical. Start counting your weeks after starting the new treatment and hang in there.
Hi Groovyreba,
Sometimes we just need to vent and the great thing is…we are all good sounding boards 
Just hang in there and if you need to, come back again tomorrow and vent.
We care here!
The Gap, it really is the worst time with this disease. But you will have to be a patient patient with the meds … we are talking weeks and months. I will tell you though, that I started to feel emotionally better right away. My pain wasn’t any better, but I had the feeling that something was being done, and the “something” held the possibility of improvement. No guarantee, but the hope alone made me more able to tolerate the misery.
And I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I will anyway. I could feel a change in my body – a subtle alteration in my energy level – almost immediately. It was, as I say, very subtle and nobody else would have noticed any difference. But a few others have commented that they felt it too when they began treatment. That feeling gave me the hope that Enbrel was going to do something positive for me. Granted, it didn’t do it for about three months, and the full effect wasn’t apparent for at least six, but hope is a wonderful thing.
Enbrel hasn’t eliminated all of my pain. But for me it has been the best anti-depressant ever (OK call me crazy) and it eliminated my brain fog and crushing fatigue. I still don’t have the stamina I wish I could have, and my mobility is still quite limited (long story), but overall, Enbrel has given me back some quality of life.
Good luck, have faith, and take good care of yourself, Groovy. I’d say keep your fingers crossed, but that probably hurts. LOL
Dry eyes is one of the “benefits” of PsA. They can burn, feel gritty, or (oddly) tear profusely. Try some lubricating drops, and if that doesn’t work, check with your eye guy (or gal).
Sometimes we want (need) immediate relief from the pain and yes suffering that we endure. I have had a break from my med's so that I could have back surgery. This seem to be the worst time of the year for me. The cold nights and the warm days with the transition to summer. The beginning of winter is the same for me. My finger feel swollen, my feet and ankles don't want to move and then allergies on top of that. The surgeon wants me to walk to help the healing process. The foot pain is now worse than the back pain. I developed a rash at the surgery site. I am allergic it seems to every adhesive know to Doctors. So I wait to start back up on my med's. I can tell you that they do work because each and every day that goes by my joint pain increases, My feet, hands, wrist, and knees can testify that the medications work over time just as the pain returns overtime when not taken. I have been off of them for about 6 weeks now. Because of the surgeon's schedule the surgery was delayed an additional 10 days. I was off my meds for a full 30 days prior to the surgery and now with the rash I can not start them until it is under control. I too want to start back up on my med's. I hope that you do not suffer but take time to reflect on your blessings and the Joy that you have in yourself. I still love spring time it renews my energy just as nature renews it's self. I love the fall as well with each different color of each fallen leaf, The mountains get a fresh dusting of snow which melt almost to the top each day. It is in no other words "wonderful".
I agree - I will take the warm sunshine on my face and walking during the days with my dogs even though it means the climate change Cold>Warm is here and it's my worst time of year for pain, swelling, stiffness and affects my balance.
Anyone else experience "Costochondritis" as a side effect of PsA? I have it under my ribs, lower left side. At least that's what the rheumy said he it is.
Yes I have costochronditis in my sternum and my ribs sometimes I can’t sleep at night and I get awful pains in the middle of my chest moving or sitting up or lifting things. It’s another side effect of PSa I’m told!! Horrible tho!!
Re: Costochondritis - I think I need to get a 2nd opinion... my pain is lower ribs, and I think costochronditis is sternum area,,,,, do you ever get pain way down almost under your ribs Cathie?
It sounds like you’re doing what you can right now. The waiting for meds to kick in can be the worst. . I hope you find some relief soon! I get the eye issues and costochondritis when I’m flaring and the added irritation and pain can put me into sensory overload. I feel most overwhelmed by PsA when I have lots of different parts of my body flaring at once.
Yeah I get it under my ribs too. The other day right where you bra sits agony!! Just have to make sure I get my proper rest to cope and painkillers by the load!!
Faye - yep. Never knew it had a name, but I always knew it was the cartilage between my ribs/sternum.
I am into the MTX eleven weeks now with Gabapentin, Toprimate and Diclophenac,as my anti inflammitory. I am feeling like a different person. I did not realize just how different until I missed a few doses of a one of them last week and discovered just how much difference it made in my ability to move without pain. Hope the Cimzia does as you expect and gets you through this rough spot, the fog can zap you of all your energy so fast. Keep getting it out ...... much better than stressing out :)
I don't wear a bra but after seeing a recent episode of Seinfeld, I am seeing some possibility. There has been I few times in my life where I was really dying. once in SE Asia after jumping out of an airplane in the wrong spot and the folks camp we landed in weren't happy to see us, another time I had some heart problems and a "shocking experience", once more with a scaffolding collapse BUT the only time I ever thought I was dying, was when I had a nasty case of costo. I had my wife call the priest just to cover my bases (I haven't been a Catholic for years) Its also the only time I have ever had "injections" provide some real relief. The other thing that works (for me) is a little treatment I call "Baked Alaska" I use a heating pad on my back and and ice pack on the front. I'm not sure if it has an actual effect or if my body gets so dang confused it doesn't know what to do.
Cathie Hart said:
Yeah I get it under my ribs too. The other day right where you bra sits agony!! Just have to make sure I get my proper rest to cope and painkillers by the load!!
Lamb the thought of you in a bra or a bro-sseire gives me pause (and I hate to tell you Seinfeld has been off the for years, it was a rerun....)
I like mixing up my pain signals too. It is the same idea of when we clench our upper are and dig our nails in when you injure your hand. The spinal nerves can only send one signal at a time. So if you create a new signal closer to the spine than your "injury" your nerves will send that signal only send. Heat, ice, very firm pressure they all work.
My father was a vet and I worked for him long before I became a nurse. He taught me "if you can give a shot to a horse and not get kicked you have good technique"! I always used his technique when giving shots to patients. I pinch and tap their arm above where I give the shots. Unfortunately it worked a little too well. Pt's kept requesting me for their injections to the point where I could spend my entire giving injections and not getting my other work done!
You mean Seinfeld isn't going to be renewed?