Sunday, May 11, 2008 christine asks

Q: Is it usual to have a severe flare of ra after having surgery.My hubby had arthoplasty foot surgery

My husband had artroplasty surgery on both feet on the 3rd of March due to deformity and severe pain caused by ra.Initially after surgery his ra symptoms in all joints decreased and he was doing really well. Now two months on he has the worst flare of all time and is in severe pain.His mobility is limited and is having to get help to get dressed in the morning.All his joints are affected but the worst pain is in his neck and shoulders.Rheumatoligist is looking towards enbrel but have now found latent tb from blood tests and await a CT scan in the next few days to determine if this is in his lungs and if so he may not be able to take enbrel.He is on Tramadol for the pain but doesnt seem to be helping.Dont know which way to turn it is so sad to see someone you love in such terrible pain.Can anyone tell me if a severe flare could happen after surgery.He is currently on sulphasalizine,plaquenil,lodine and cannot tolerate methotrexate.He was on gold for a while and initially worked great for him but after a few months disagreed with him. He also has had two heart attacks and on medications for this also.

Kind Regards

Christine

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Answers (2)

Hollybgroovin, Health Guide

5/12/08 12:45pm

Unfortunately it is normal to have a horrible flare after a surgery as you can't take a lot of the medications while you are trying to heal. Have you let your husbands doctor know how badly he is doing? You need to make sure his rheumatologist knows, even a call to the nurse will help as the doctor may want to put him on other medications while he is healing. As far as his pain goes, unfortunately most rheumatologists or primary physicians aren't adequately treated in pain management. Speak to his rheumatologist about a referral to a pain specialist who is trained in managing pain. Make sure all his doctors know what is going on as it sometimes takes all the doctors working together to get this under control. I am sorry to hear that your husband is having so many problems, and I pray for relief for him soon! Good luck and best wishes!

meema

9/ 2/09 12:54am

My RA started after taking antibiotics and off course the humidity of Central Florida made it worse. I soak in a warm tub of Borax, yes Borax. I put about 1/2 cup of Borax and soak in it. I also use it in place of shower soap and I take about 12 tri-boron a day. Six in AM and 6 in PM. also acidophillus and Vit C because of the damage caused by candiditis from antibiotics. I also take a good brand of magnesium and drink Vit D milk. I am now moving to a climate that has low humidity. I also take manganese to get the copper out of my body. Copper swells in the heat and it makes everything hurt. I removed the copper line and replaced it behind my fridge, no copper pots, filters on fausets etc. Google or Yahoo all this information and educate yourself and your husband. Good Luck

Q: Is it usual to have a severe flare of ra after having surgery.My hubby had arthoplasty foot surgery

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