MissyMouse wrote: I was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1983. Was on chemo from
1983-1985. Received a bunch of blood and platlet transfusions during that
time period. As a result, I contract Hepatitis C. On April 13, 2007, I
finished 48 weeks of very difficult treatement for the Hepatitis and was
clear of the virus at the end of treatment.
Unfortunately, one of the risks involved with Hep C and it’s treatment is
RA.
Ardeith writes: I would guess…and it’s an unprofessional guess…your
immune system was severely compromised by the leukemia and Hep C…which
let the RA get its start. RA is, they tell me, an autoimmune system
disorder in which the disease attacks primarily the fluids and such in the
joints, but it can affect every other organ in your body too.
Oh, yeah, I read a report recently that said one of the causes behind RA
might be from some of a woman’s own cells crossing the placental barrier
when she is pregnant and entering her baby…which relates to the child
developing RA later in life…guess we can blame it all on Momma, huh?
My mother had it too…
Doesn’t Hep C damage your liver? Perhaps your doctor is keeping close watch
on how MTX affects your liver too?
MissyMouse wrote: Although I haven’t had any of the bad flares since
starting the meds, I still have daily pain which seems to be spreading. I
suffer from pretty annoying fatigue and this constant feeling like I’m
"coming down with something".
Ardeith writes: There is no cure for RA…only medications which control
the pain and damage to a greater or lesser extent. Every patient is
different. Medication that helps one patient may have no effect at all on
the next.
I live with a low level of constant pain from the RA…in my hands and
wrists mostly…but a lot of pain in my spine which my doctor says is not
RA, but osteo- and degenerative arthritis.
I’ve never been told what causes the fatigue…but it’s real…not
something you imagine. You body is in a constant struggle against the pain
and damage…I think that’s what causes the fatigue…the constant
struggle. But I’m not a medical professional…just another patient.
Women in menopause have problems with fatigue too, and in that case the
professionals say it is because your body is going through a total hormonal
changeover…it’s working hard at it, even if you are not aware of it on a
conscious level.
Of course, you feel like you are coming down with something…your immune
system is being insulted constantly…if you were exposed to a flu
virus, your immune system would be trying to counter that, and you’d feel
like you were coming down with something, wouldn’t you?
The best education about RA that I know of is on the Arthritis Foundation
web site. Go check it out…
Ardy
