Hi, I have been told I have RA/OA/Fibro. I had heart surgery in 2002, and since then have had severe flares of pain in the rib cage area. The docs have told me it's chest wall pain and nothing can be done. The rhuemy doc I saw twice, at a different place and is no longer available to me, prescribed predisone, Plaquenial (sp) and Avara. I never started the Avara, there would not have been any monitering, and the Plaquenial I took for 6 months, but was told to stop if I wanted my WLS surgery. I still take the predisone, it seems to be the only thing that helps. My sed rate is really high, my CRP is high, positive RF factor, these results are from 2002, no one has ran any of this blood work since then, the docs I see here tell me it's not necessary. I've tried to wean myself off the predisone, I take 5 mg a day, but the pain gets really intense. The WLS surgeon doesn't address the issue, he has done his work. I'm trying to find a PCP doc, I realize predisone is not a good thing, but for me it's not really a choice right now, till I can find a different way to address the pain, it never goes away, just better some days that others. So would I try a new arthritis doctor, the cardiologist that did the heart surgery told me it had nothing to do with him, the arthritis doc I saw there told me it had nothing to do with her, the last PCP I saw told me it was completely normal everybody that has chest surgery always has pain for the rest of their life, so everybody tells me it's not THEIR area, and I can't get help. Any ideas?? Sue O

Sorry you're hurting Joyce, arthritis pain definitely does NOT feel good! I hope you are feeling a little better today! Pardon me for being nosy, but why can't you take your arthritis medicine anymore? Is there something else you CAN take? Hang in there, hope things start looking up for you soon! Krista (zapping that pain away for ya..lol)

Hi, This past Saturday, I painted a small bathroom. Then on Sunday, I tried to clean some cabinets in the kitchen and experienced a burning, severe pain in one of my finger joints and elbow. I just had to stop the cleaning. I know its because I can't take my arthritis medicine anymore. I had hoped to start my spring cleaning, but at this rate, who knows how long it will take? I'm 44 and I wonder if this is only the beginning. I am at work today and it hurts to type or use my mouse. This does NOT feel good. Joyce

Creating your own post - how to use emoticons

Emoticons associated with your post's title

One emoticon may be associated with your post's title. (We currently do not support embedding emoticons in post titles; the emoticon image you select to go with your post will appear to the left of the post's title.) To select an emoticon image to go with your post title, click the down-arrow marked Title Images to the left of the area where you will type your post. A menu of images should appear; click on one to make it the title image of your post. The image you have selected will appear outlined in red in the Title Images menu.

Emoticons inserted into your post

As many emoticons as you like may be inserted into the body of your post. To view the available emoticons which you may insert, click the down-arrow marked Message Emoticons to the left of the area where you type your post. You will see a list of textual representations of emoticons and their corresponding emoticon images. To insert an image into your post, type the corresponding text. For example, to include this image :-) in your post, you'd type :-), and to include this one :angel: you'd type :angel:.

Click here to view a list of all members who have posted to this message board.