I'm moving over from the other board. thanks everyone for pointing me in this direction. I haven't been on in a month or so. I did get to the Dr. for a short visit. He put me on Gabapentin 300 mg. 1 or 2 at bedtime. I have only been taking 1 so far. At first it seemed to help, but not so much the last week or so. He increased the Plaquenil to 1 in the am and 1 at night. I am having a lot of left hip pain which makes it hard to sleep on that side. I'm going to the Orthopedic doc on the 30th and then back to the Rheumy on the 1st.
On top of my issues, I have had 1 son recently diagnosed with MS and my youngest has been dealing with some mysterious thing for the past 10 years which they now think is MS as well. His 5 yo daughter was just diagnosed with Juvenile diabetes, yet another autoimmune thing! I cannot believe so much ai all in one family! Trying to get past the "it's not fair", especially to my sweet little granddaughter.
Reading these posts really helps. Blessings to all!
Pickles!!!
I am sorry you and your family are having to deal with all this! Sending prayers for you and family, how you softly in His love and care. Know you can vent here, learn a lot and be supported all you could need!
Hugs!!
Gayle
Thanks for coming back Pickles. With all the pollutants that can affect us I am not surprised by the number of members in your family that have AI diseases.
Here is a sequence of tones that should help those with MS:
http://www.chakraforce.com/Tonations.html#256.
Pickles, sounds like you have a lot to deal with. Stay strong, and lean on us whenever you need to.
Even though we are all creakin' and crackin', together, we can carry any load - and we do it lovingly.
Share it, spread it, and relieve yourself whenever you need.
My prayers to you and your family.
I'm so sorry that you are having such a rough time. Your heart must be so heavy with family illnesses. It breaks our heart to see those we love suffer, especially a child. I love the post by iraisin, and second it!
Regarding the gabapentin, you are still taking way below the usual therapeutic dose. To prevent side effects, a doc starts you out on a 300 mg dose or so, easing your way up to about 1800 mg or more per day. So, you probably won't be getting much relief yet. If you have yucky side effects, you might think about lyrica, a very similar drug with less side effects, and you can start out taking the therapeutic dose right away, meaning you can expect pain relief much quicker. Gabapentin will take awhile to work. Lyrica, of course, is more expensive. Don't give up hope! Hugs!
Thank you Ark Mom, I increased the Gabapentim up to 2 at bedtime, we'll see if that helps at all. Lots of storms in the area tonight so that might be adding to all the pain I'm having today. I have to be really careful of the cost of my meds as my insurance allowance is more than 1/2 gone for the year,
So I don't know if Lyrica would be an option but I will check on it.
Thanks to all of you fr the prayers and encouragement for my family.
Oh, a storm?!!!! So jealous. My grass in the backyard is crunchy and brown as I am only paying to keep the front yard nice and green, hee hee.
I know about the meds cost issue. I have turned down several meds that might help me due to the cost. I love that I can spread restasis out over about 4 months instead of having to refill it every month. That helps alot.
Hope you get feeling better soon. Too bad that even gabapentin, as a generic, is still pretty pricey. I have a script but haven't started it yet, trying to get other meds in order first.
i am so amazed at the kindness and support found in this group of people. I have granddaughters too and I know what you are feeling. My mother, both of my daughters, and one granddaughter (she is 3) have autoimmune issues. The Ruehmy says they tend to happen like that. I hope you get back to feeling well soon, so you can focus on enjoying your sweet family.
Shell
These autoimmune issues run in families and my kids have been affected as well as one little 4 year old grandson. It is hard to bear this as we think it is our fault. It is not!!! We had no clue that we would be getting this and neither did our parents. My mom was sick with what I consider was undiagnosed sjogrens and maybe some other AI disease also.
Just be thankful for the advances made in the treatment of MS. The meds today help keep the disease under much better control and people have much more normal lives. I am so sorry that you have had to go through all this. There is nothing anyone can say or do to make this easier for you or your family. Just know that we all care and are here to listen to you vent. I will keep your family in my prayers. Irish
your plate is full and you all have my prayers <3