Medical stuff

[pecunium]

Michael Jackson's death has actually had a direct effect on my life.

One of the more reasonable explanations for his death is the possibility he had a mild form of Lupus, and; because the symptoms were mild was less than consistent when it came to taking his meds.

Result, secondary artheriosclerosis.

Lupus, for those who don't know, is an auto-immune disorder, with inflammatory processes.

Guess what Reiter's Syndrom is? It's been known for people with Reiter's to have anomalous heart attacks. I have it. I have minor little aches and pains which I know are related. On the other hand it doesn't seem so bad I need to be popping the Indomethicin all the time.

Except, maybe I do. Which sucks. One, they upset my stomach. Didn't used to, but lately... taking my meds is like having a hangover. Not fun. About the time it fades away, I get to take some more. Even with the Omepremazole, it sucks.

I'm hoping that (as I get back to a routine usage) it will fade. If it doesn't, I'll be bringing it up at the VA when I start seeing my new rheumatologist.

Comments

[broceliand.livejournal.com]

Came over from ginmar's. I have to take meds which upset my stomach as well (I have MS), and I've found that promethazine works better than anything else on the nausea my meds cause.

[broceliand.livejournal.com]

Oh, and eat before you take your meds. Meds + empty stomach = nausea

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Ritual is:

Food:

Coffee, Omeprazole

Time/more food

Indomethicin.

[editrx.livejournal.com]

I hear ya.

I take over 16 different drugs a day because of my lupus (and the systems it affects, which sometimes change, which means more meds for different syndromes or secondary diseases which join the cause).

My ritual now?

• Wake up (sort of) and take 4 pills.
  
• Fall back asleep to avoid nausea (unless it wakes me) for an hour or so.
  
• Wake up fully and eat breakfast.
  
• Take, oh, half a dozen or more pills.
  
• Take a nap of an hour or two, because I'm too nauseated and dizzy to do anything else.
  
• Wake up (if it's a good day), take shower, get dressed.
  
• Lie down on bed to avoid more nausea from the shower motions.
  
• Get up (if it's a good day), work.
  
• Evening: take some meds with dinner. Usually these don't cause nausea. (Thank the gods.)
  
• Take another half dozen pills before bed with a snack -- lie in bed awake with nausea or pain until I can fall asleep.

And people ask me (constantly) why I insist I really can't work outside a home environment. Hah!

I know they've somewhat improved the testing for women's heart syndromes, where it affects the small arteries instead of the usual suspects -- but is this becoming standardized testing for those of us with inflammatory rheumatological diseases? Do you know?

(My weight gain from the back injuries and age is starting to worry me; I'm a prime candidate. Though I watch my cholesterol like a hawk and am on meds for that plus for high insulin resistance [which is a new one for me -- lucky me!].)

BTW, when I was taking something in the same category as the drug that's making you nauseated, my gastroenterologist gave me metaclopromide (Reglan). Worked like a charm -- until I developed a hand tremor, which is now permanent. Turns out this is more common than not, and there's a big class-action suit against the drug company now. What I take now is far better, far safer, but is (surprise!) not available in this country -- unless you have it compounded at a compounding pharmacy (it's legal, just no one makes it). The generic is domperidone. You can get it in Canada from any pharmacy, too. (I found it cheaper to have it compounded; same price, as it's not covered by my insurance, but I save postage and hassle.) It's a thought to ask your rheumatologist about.

is this becoming standardized testing for those of us with inflammatory rheumatological diseases?

[(Anonymous)]

"is this becoming standardized testing for those of us with inflammatory rheumatological diseases?"

qualified yes.

"Things have improved hugely over the last decade for women, but I would say that the connection between SLE and heart disease has been established and recognized a lot longer than the general problem of female cardiac problems."

CEM

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

if you want, i could send my mom over. when i was sixteen she managed to scare me bad enough so i started taking mine on a regular basis.

it's not that it's bad now; it's that it's eating your body little by little by little, and the meds hold that back. this makes it hard to remember to take the meds, when the effects you're taking it for will only be evident thirty years down the line when you can still walk.

please do know that i'm about to go into my rheumy in two weeks and explain to her that i'm not taking my methotrexate because the pills make me nauseated and the injections creep me out. so, not precisely perfect on this myself. don't tell my mom.

i don't know your medication history so i won't talk about your options because if i do you'll already have tried them all. ;) but there are lots of drugs out there for arthritis of various sorts.