New medication

[justamom]

You never really know what to do for the best do you when given the option to give you child medication or not. K has been give some medicine for his arthritis and they did warn us about the side effects it a very potent drug used for cancers and rheumatoid arthritis, but like all meds they have side effect.

 

He has to have blood test every 2 weeks to check his bone marrow because it can damage it. we have to give him 3 tablets once a week on the same day each week, we have opted for a friday so that if he does have any side effects (nausea/head ache/aching body etc) then poor kid is sick on the week-end and that limits his time off school (attendance not good)

 

He feels like s**t tonight and feel asleep at 7, this is a kid who stays awake till 2 each night so we know he is not well, we not told him about the side effect just incase because if you say it might cause you to feel like you want to throw up he might "phsycologically" feel like he want too.

 

We know that the benefits outweigh negative side effects but its hard to see him like this but hopefully it will kick in and make his quality of life alot better.. Still scary though

 

justamom

[kirstie]

Justamom,

I know only too well how hard Arthritis can be on aloved one, so you must be finding it extremely hard and painful to watch your child suffer. My sister has juvenile rhemetoid (excuse the spelling) arthritis (dx at 14 is now 34)

I know that she has tried so many different tablets and they don't seem to agree with her, but you're right i do think psychologically it does her no favours to read the side effects although she needs to be aware of what they might be at the same time.

I think that trying to give him a better quality of life is asomething you have to try, bearing in mind i know how hard it is. Having said that sometimes the medications don't agree with them and that is also unpleasant.How old is he? Canhe tell you if the meds are making his arthritis more manageable or if the side effects outweigh that?

The poor wee scone, <'> <'> <'> <'> these are for him. i hope he feels better tomorrow.

Edited March 17, 2006 by kirstie

[Guest hallyscomet]

Hi,

 

I could have gone down this path with medication because of Osteoarthritis because of a car accident.

 

I tried Blackmores Joint Formula with Controitin and even my doctor was amazed at how it all worked, I had suffered pain for about 5 years and it got to the point that I thought gosh, if this gets worse, I could end up in a wheel chair.... The doctor sent me off for and xray and was going to refer me to a Rheumatologist and while I was waiting for the xray results I went into the local health store as there had been a lot of publicity about the success with Glucosamine, especially the one with Condroitin, I had been watching these adds intently and my inner instincts pushed me to go and buy the most concentrated and strongest one I could find. When I went back to the doctors with the xrays he was going to refer me to a Rheumatologist and I know my mum went through this with her knee and they were giving her Cortisone injections in the knee area etc. this really scared me as "I am allergic to pain" so I pulled out the jar of Blackmores "Joint Formula" and showed my doctor, he said I had Osteoarthritis because of my car accident in my 20's and he said its quite common for someone my age early 40's well my foot was crushed and broken in 9 places, so he said I have done good until now......

 

He said that this is really good, "the Joint Formula" and was happy for me to give it a go.....that was a year ago now and I after two week noticed the relief, and after two months taking two tablets a day I was 100% pain free.

 

I will try and get some information and post it here, as I believe this will help you also. Its certainly worth a try, as my pain was so acute, I couldn't walk anywhere without acute pain, like someone was stabbing my foot with a fork from top to bottom. So it is nice to be pain free.

 

Okay I found two one on Joint Formula, its worth reading, but Blackmores recommend another one for Rheumatoid Arthritis/Osteoarthritis, and my Pharmacist has found this one also popular with customers... see the second web link for that one, perhaps you could find its Equivalent in the UK as this is an Australian product.... but they do work.....for acute problems. This seems much better on your health than the method that you say where the blood tests need to be done because of the possible side effects of the medication.

 

I only hope this could work for you....... <'>

 

This one is for Osteoarthritis

 

http://www.blackmores.com.au/products/prod...at=115∏=246

 

 

This one is Lyprinol for Rheumatoid/and Osteoarthritis.

 

http://www.blackmores.com.au/conditions/co...t=103&cond=1121

 

 

Hailey

[val]

Hi - probably just going to repeat most of what the last poster has said - so i'll keep it brief!!

My mother suffered with A really bad but it is bearalble now due to the Chondroitin.

She buys it online from www.healthspan.co.uk and at the minute there is an article by Dr Ann Walker about A.

Might be worth having a read!

Hope it helps.

[justamom]

Thank-you for all the info - with him being on this new medicine do you think he will be able to take the Chondroitin??? as well as his new meds??

[Guest hallyscomet]

Hi,

Just a mom,

 

You could ask the Pharmacist.

 

The problem is if he goes with both types of treatment, he wont know which one was successful. May I suggest he ask the Pharmacist about this, print and copy what you have written and what I have written, and take it along.

 

The other thing is ask the Pharmacist is it okay to just go with what he is taking now until the acute pain is gone then change over to the Lyprinol or Glucosamine/Condroitin.

 

Dehydration is a serious problem in Australia I don't know about with the UK but being in overheated rooms could do the same.

 

Dehydration has caused me serious muscle spasms and backpain, just this week I had another bad attack, for the first time in three years, resulting in acute Lumbar and Hip pain.......so I went out and bought a new bottle of the Joint Formula, plus a bottle of Blackmores Bio Magnesium started taking it last Wednesday, I was in sooo much pain I couldn't sleep, touch my toes. etc, it has been a year since I need to take the Joint Formula thats how well it fixed my foot. So today is Monday and on Saturday I was in so much pain I went to the doctor and he gave me a referral for a back xray, the nerves feel like jolts in my spine. The doctor was very happy with the combination of tablets I was taking, and suggested I just keep taking them.

 

I was unable to get an appointment for xray until this morning, and now I realise the Joint Formula and Magnesium are working, to get rid of the muscle spasms and joint pain in my spine. I read on this internet sight a combination of ice packs and heat packs to the effected area will increase blood flow to the area, allow at least 10minutes ice then 20 mins heat. Still taking the medications

 

Well, I woke up this morning and did 3 hours ironing, my back still feels a little bit tight and I did reach for the Voltaren a few times. But my back is much better so giving myself one more day and I think I will be back to normal. No Need for xray

 

I am sure many of you will agree when you have a back injury as acute as this, it takes at least a month to get better, don't you agree. Well less than a week with the above, I am so relieved I persevered.

 

So please if you are suffering this much, ask you doctor and pharmacist, this method I guess is still relatively new......but it works.

 

I haven't been able to sit at my computer because of the pain. Still not 100% but not far off.

 

Here is some information on the magnesium I took with the Joint formula. There are many brands on the market so make sure it is a good one, ask your Pharmacist. This is the stuff athletes need, like also those drinks that replace body salts like, Gatorade, Powerade, Staminade, sorry these may be Australian brands, but these are excellent to assist the recovery process with any health condition.

 

http://www.mjhealthandbeauty.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=40832882

 

Hope this helps

 

Regards

Hailey

[DaisyProudfoot]

Hi Justamom,

 

If you've been prescribed specialist drugs for his arthritis then I would seriously consider speaking to the person who prescribed the meds before trying any alternative therapies. Quite often the side effects of these drugs do wear off once the body builds up a tolerance but sometimes they don't and it may be worth getting them changed. If he's just been put on them give his body a couple of weeks to build up the tolerance but YOU MUST let his specialist know of any side effects he has been experiencing. I have an auto-immune arthritis called Lupus and it has taken a number of years to get the meds and dosage correct. We're still playing around with the dosage on mu current meds to reduce side effects but for me the pros outweigh the cons and I'm willing to take the side effects for the blessed pain relief effects.

 

Hope he gets soon relief soon

[justamom]

Thanks so much for you posts, I am having a bad day today I watched a programme on telly about a little girl with progeria (sp) and how her arthritis affects and her mom was saying that she battles to put her shoes on. Now, this made me cry because K has the same problems and i have been hurrying him up in the mornings saying get a move on we will be late and now i realise its because he cant do it in a hurry even if he wanted to poor kid is stiff and watching her made me realise what he puts up and he is only 12. He never moans and just gets on with it...

 

Daisy - Before starting any new meds i will consult the rheumy just incase. His side effects from the meds last for 2 days and he has another 3tablets on friday so we will wait and see if he is as sick as what he was this friday i will have to ring her and say they are not agreeing with him..

 

thanks

justamom

Edited March 20, 2006 by justamom

[Kathryn]

Hi Justamom,

 

<'>

 

I hope this medication starts to have some positive effect, or that you manage to find something else that works without making your son feel so ill.

 

I sympathise, as L has a condition which affects her joints and she is never completely free of pain.

 

K xx