Change in Appearance Due to Meds

V.,
There are TONS of alternatives! You should be aware of the other side effects of the medications that you are on. Did they warn you about the bone denisty loss?
RA is NOT the problem it used to be!
Contact a holitic provider, in my opinion one that works with Chinese Medicine, and ask questions!
-Dr. Heather

V.,

Ironically, I am a patient at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Prednisone does have those yucky side effects. I am taking it right now for my RA, because I am pregnant. However, I don't usually.

You don't mention in your post which meds you have tried, and what has happened with them. I have gone through some NSAIDS, and that didn't really solve my problem, and I tried Enbrel, and that didn't do it for me, either. I have taken Remicade for several years, and it works WONDERS for me. It works overnight, I don't need any other meds while I'm on it, and it keeps me feeling like I don't even have arthritis, about 95% of the time.

Not all meds work for all patients. But there are a lot of them out there. If you haven't tried them all, then don't give up! Other than the ones I mentioned up there, there is also Humira and I think it is Arava that are used for RA. These are DMARDS, which stands for Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs. These not only help you feel better, but they slow down the progression of the disease, and slow the destruction of the joints, so you will be less sick overall.

Talk to your reheumatologist about other med possiblities, and if you don't like the answers, find another doc. I love HSS, and they've done wonders for me, so take a look at what they can offer you if you look for another doc. I actually travel from the Poconos into Manhattan every 6-8 weeks to see my beloved rheumatologist, because he gave me my life back.

If you come off of the prednisone, the swelling and fluid retention will go away. The facial hair will have to be removed, but won't keep growing back. The weight will be with you, but you can take it off with diet and exercise.

Good luck, V.! We can live with this disease, especially now, when the med options are really great. I hope you and your doctor can find something that works for you, without having to take the hated Prednisone!

Unfortunaltely that is how prednisone affects all people. But the medication should help you so that you may play with your daughter, could you imagine how you would feel without it? To feel better about yourself you should treat yourself to special things that make you feel better such as get a facial, manicure, buy a new outfit and space it out. Just doing the little things every once in a while really helps. And keep talking with your rheumatoligist, new medications are always coming out, maybe someday one that would work for you without all the side effects.

Do you have an email I can send you some testimonials of Melaleuca products and rheumatoid arthritis?

Hi V.,
Would you ever consider alternative medicine? Although I don't have the same health problems as you do it has helped me. Some people would never consider it and I respect that. Here is a link to non-traditional therapies. Good Luck.

http://www.mercola.com/article/rheumatoid_arthritis/index...

V.,
I am a nurse at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Unfortunately, that is a side affect of Prednisone. I would suggest getting a second opinion. Not that your doctor is wrong but maybe someone could suggest a different approach. There are alot of great doctors at my hospital who deal with this disease and hopefully they could give you a solution.
I just had a baby 10 weeks ago and I know what it is like to not feel happy about yourself. Just remember that your child thinks you are beautiful and so does your husband(that is what is getting me through!!). Good luck to you, D.

Hi, I don't know if this will help or not, but it's worth looking into. My husband has Crohn's Disease and had to take Prednisone on and off for several years. Prednisone does have bad side effects. His doctor encouraged him to try to wean himself off of it, but every time he did, he would get a serious flare up of Crohn's Disease and had to go to the hospital (at least 2 times). A different type of steroid came out called Entocort, which is digested differently, and has fewer side effects. The doctor told my husband that he could try it. That was about 2 years ago. He did and he has done well on it since then. Better than when he took Prednisone. He doesn't have to take as much Entocort either. It's worth asking your doctor about, I don't know if it would work for you or not, but it's worth seeing about the possibility.

I know exactly how you feel, although my illness is not the same as yours, I am single and was diagnosed with a brain tumor when I was seven months pregnant with my daughter, in which I had an operation to have it removed and found out it was cancerous. After taking chemo and radiation, not only did I lose my hair, but it grew back only around the scar, so I have a bald spot on the top of my head, my teeth are falling out and rotting due to the chemo and I have gained weight. All I can tell you is be thankful that you are happily married, it is difficult for me to date, because what is a man gonna think when he sees a 36 year old with rotten teeth. I am out of work and a single mom, with no car, so it is hard for me to meet anyone, oh and during surgery I had a mini stroke so I am off balance on my left side. V. all I can tell you is just be happy that you are married, he obviously loves you for who you are, not what you look like, and be positive and know that you are beautiful no matter what you think you look like on the outside, I am still trying to learn that. Good luck and let me know if this even helped you.

R.

Hey how are you? My name is C. and i am 25 and i have rhuematoid arthritis too. I was on prednisone as well i definatly gained weight and you could see the change in my face. I hated it, but i dont think that is your only option. my doctor didnt want to keep me on that because i was young and because of the side effects. i am on Embrel now and it has worked wonders. i went from barely being able to walk to almost forgetting i have this. try asking your doctor about Embrel. i took the prednisone cuz it was the only thing that relieved me of the pain, but i hated being on it, i just wanted a little relief. Who is your doctor??? Email me at ____@____.com. maybe we could talk a little. I have a 15 month old son, and my doc said my pregnany was the trigger that brought it on. Anyway, hopefully we could talk, talk to you later. C.

Definitely V.!!

I have a weak immune system and get a lot of infections. One of them being my lungs. I have asthma and since respiratory infections worsen my asthma I am often on prednisone and have done therapy with it to bring my lungs etc into shape for surgery etc.
I have all those issues you mentioned. I do know it can change, except the facial hair never really gets better. At least mine didn't. I don't know if this your only hope or not. I would definitely talk to the doctor about it.
You need to shift your outlook. You need to realize that the outside is not the determining factor. If you suffered with the RA you would be in pain, moody, cranky, irritated, suffering non stop. What kind of person would you be if you were like this? Is that the person you would want to be? I know it is easier said than done. Believe me I do!!!!!
I hope you get some more answers and if all else fails and you still feel there is nothing different you might want to see a counsellor or something, someone you talk to about how you feel. It is not easy to give up control of your body and even worse when something makes you feel better physically makes you feel worse emotionally/mentally. It's not easy to accept. I went through a phase where I disliked myself and thought myself weak because I my body couldn't do what it needed to do to be healthy and I had to take all these crappy meds to feel better and then they just made me look bad. I was angry about that!

Take care and I hope you find some answers
N.

Hi V.,

I myself have Rheumotoid Arthritis. I was diagnosed at age 25 4 weeks following the birth of my first son. (I'm now almost 32) It was explained to me that new studies (at the time) suggested that it was brought on from 'foreign cells' left from the baby. (who knows)

But, in response to your problem with Predisone, I totally hate the drug. That was the first drug they put me on and I totally lost it mentally. As well as gain weight. Since it affected my moods so severely, they stopped it and began me on Remicade and Methotrexate. The Remicade is an IV med that worked well for me. The Methotrexate is actually a chemo drug and it contributed to hair loss. So then I was taken off the Methotrexate and put on Arava. Arava was pretty much like the Methotrexate.

Unlike what happened with you, with my second pregnancy (after weaning off all the RA meds) my RA went in total remission. I felt great through my pregnancy. My family used to joke with me that if I stayed pregnant, that my RA wouldn't come back!

Same again with my third pregnancy. My bloodwork showed my Rheumatoid factor go down as well as other numbers that contribute to my RA lab work. (C-reactive protein, etc.)

The one drug that I have found since being diagnosed with RA, is Enbrel. I use that once a week. Its an injected medicine that you inject yourself with once a week. (used to be 2 times a week) Enbrel is one medicine that I definately reccomend. In the beginning, my numbers were off the charts and I was considered to have Severe/Acute RA. Now my numbers are way down and I feel a lot better.

Let me know if a you have any questions. I hope that helps a little!

A.

My husband is often on prednisone due to his TERRIBLE and deadly asthma condition. He'll go for a while not on it, lose some weight, and when he's on it he immediately puffs right up, especially in his face, which he too HATES! He almost looks like a different person. But ya know what, he's still the same person, and I still love him. This isn't your fault, if you have to endure looking puffy, know that you're a beautiful person anyway who happens to be puffy from some damn medicine that you can't help but take. Personally, I'd probably be doctor hunting and trying everything and anything to see if anything else could work! But prednisone works SO well for SO many different diseases and symptoms... and it's always going to make you puff up, that's what that medicine does, unfortunately. That's why athletes take it, to bulk up, to be stronger, to feel less pain when they get hurt, etc. It makes you stronger all over in every way, from the inside out. But it can damage your eyes/sight. And it can damage your liver, too. For the sake of overall health if I were you, I'd keep searching and trying different medications if you can. But if all else fails, that puffy look isn't your fault. Just like when you're pregnant. You're going to get a belly, that's life. But it's temporary. When (and I HOPE) you get off the steroids, you'll be "you" again. I know, it's hard to feel like you're "you" when you look in the mirror and see a different version of you. I've struggled with weight issues all my life, going up and down like a yo yo, and I too become depressed when I'm too large and swollen looking! When I get fat it's because I just plain overate. When you do it's not your fault at all, somehow I could find some small comfort in that if I was you, I think! I feel not only ugly and fat, but ashamed at myself for not having willpower, that adds insult to injury right there. Good luck I wish I knew more about your disease so I could tell you more difinitively what medication options are out there. Oh, one more thing: since I'm a hairdresser, I see TONS of women with facial hair. Wax is your friend. And guess what? MOST women get facial hair when they go thru menopause, so all those older women you see out there? Most of them have facial hair growing, they just get it waxed off, you can't even tell :) so if all else fails know you have that option in the meantime.