Information and opinions on health from Martilla at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/112067/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/112067/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/112067/index http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/143824/ac Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:37:23 -0400 Martilla I had the worse flare yet this past week or two. I feel like I am still dealing with it. I started Methotrexate last Friday and am taking Prednisone. I have been in so much pain that I called work today after almost a week of staying home to let them know that I will be requesting short term disability to try and get over this and getting adjusted to my new meds. I went ahead and saw my PCP today and asked for a referral to PT to get help... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/143824/ac http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/143569/med Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:32:33 -0400 Martilla Well, I am starting a new journey of getting to know another RA med :Methotrexate.      I went to my rheumy today since I have been flaring non stop on Plaquenil and methylprednisone. Finally the rheumy acknowledged today that my current traetment was not working. I had been going to the rheumy seems like every 2 weeks and missing tons of work lately.      He told me it was time to try Methotrexate and I... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/143569/med http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/141551/li Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:57:08 -0400 Martilla Ok, I went back to my rheumy today because I wanted to get on Cymbalta since I am flaring badly. Well he asked me again if I wanted to get off the PLaquenil and I told him no firmly but nicely. He said my blood tests were all negative and I replied that I could have RA and be negative, plus I told him I have been on Plaquenil for awhile now going on 4 mos. He told me that I don't have visible swelling, never mind that I hurt in a bunch of... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/141551/li http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/141227/co Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:23:28 -0400 Martilla Well I went to my current rheumy appt 2 days ago. He touched some of my joints which hurt and I told him. I told him about my 2 bouts in the last month that kept me from work,(missed total of 3 days last month), that my ankle hurts for the past 3 weeks and same foot had burning /pain in a specific pattern for past week and a half to the point that my pants rubbing on my leg create pain, and other pains I had. I told him my GP had to adjust... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/141227/co http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/140226/co Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:49:55 -0400 Martilla I contacted my rheumy's office last week to get some type of clarification on flares and how I can become so fatigued and achy that I am not able to go to work. Well I called today to see if he had addressed my request and he called me back. He tells me that he doesn't have enough evidence to say I have RA but that he does for fibro and he can give me a written statement as how it can be debilitating when fibro is exacerbated. I am confused... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/140226/co http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/139705/hr Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:06:40 -0400 Martilla Hello, I have FMLA submitted and approved by HR, I talked to the HR person and pretty much was told that "we all come to work when we don't feel good but we do it anyways" So it seems if I'm in a lot of pain I still have to go to work. It is frustrating, I am still trying to get the right balance on my meds and the last one to be added was a disaster and I was not able to go to work yesterday and I get comments that maybe I am not able to do... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/139705/hr http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/139401/di Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:47:14 -0400 Martilla Hi, as some of you might remember by know from all my postings I was diagnosed not too long ago with RA and now Fibro, I have been taking Plaquenil for a little over a month now and can't take prednisone. Muscle relaxers were added to my meds. I am having a hard time at work with extreme fatigue and my dept not being very understanding because is so new to them and I sincerely think they might believe i'm over playing my disease. My company... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/139401/di http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/139111/tr Mon, 30 May 2011 01:31:13 -0400 Martilla Hi, I talked to one of my friends today and she has had Fibro for many years. I told her about my diagnosis and she told me hers is controlled with Guaifenesin. My rheumy told me that is not approved for that. I started thinking: they use antidepressants now for fibro and they were not meant for that at first either. I am seriously thinking of trying the Guaifenesin, cheaper and safer than a lot of the other meds. Anybody else taking the... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/139111/tr http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/139034/di Sat, 28 May 2011 00:58:30 -0400 Martilla I went to my new rheumy today and he did a really thorough health and symptom history. He believes my RA is not really severe and wants me to stay on Plaquenil and have a baseline eye exam. He also told me that some of the findings point towards fibro but that my lack of restful sleep could be exarcerbating my aches and pains. He prescribed Flexeril and in a month I need to see him again. At that time if the Flexeril has not helped me I might... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/139034/di http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/138979/to Thu, 26 May 2011 20:44:43 -0400 Martilla Hi, this week has been such a stressful week at work and trying to figure out FMLA did not help. Let me tell you sometimes a good crying is the only way to feel better. Tomorrow I have an appt with another rheumy which actually diagnosed me over ten years ago but my symptoms were mild back then. I moved,changed insurances,jobs, moved back, more insurance changes and Drs. One other Doctor told me it must had been a false positive for RA because... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/112067/138979/to