no advice just huge hugs...sometimes doctors dont get how you feel because they cant walk in your shoes and i find it hard to explain to them how i feel or that they dont understand your concerns.
my problem is pain and sometimes i think lifes so unfair but no matter what youv got to keep fighting.
sorry to babble hun just wanted to know i know how hard it is (not arthritis)
i really hope you find a answer hun and that you can get some relief from it
take care
rach xox
p.s is there some kind of register over in aus of practicing doctors - if so maybe you could find you doctor that way?.
I think any condition that involves chronic pain just totally sucks. Sometimes the hardest thing is being a young person and having no visible signs of being sick - the judgement can be pretty harsh some times. Don't worry about not being able to advise, it just helps to know that others understand what it's like to deal with pain and other health conditions and especially trying to juggle safe medications with TTC and pregnancy!
Sweetie, just wanted to pop in and offer you some big s! Have you spoken with your drs on the best way to step down off the prednisone (withdrawal can be horrible) - good luck with that process.
I guess w/regard to side effects - you won't know unless you try it - each individual experiences it differently. I agree 6 months with no meds is a terrifying prospect. Could you trial the Arava for a few weeks - if the SEs or total impact of it is worse than the MTX then I guess you could decide then to go through the two week drug removal process and reinstate the MTX? Also, don't assume why one drug is offered before another - sometimes drs favour some drugs just because they're older and have been around longer, or because of the cost, or because once a 2nd drug is required it's seen as more complex treatment, rather than because of the impact or effect directly on the patient, kwim? I think you're best in this case to ask your rheumy straight out why the Arava wasn't offered as a first-line treatment, that'll tell you heaps.
It must be so frustrating when the drs don't seem to be able to agree, because you've got multiple complicating factors all happening at once. But I refuse to believe that there isn't someone else out there who has been in a similar situation and this must be reflected in the medical literature somewhere! Can you ask one of your drs (pick the one that's usually the most helpful!) to consult a health library or even some sort of pharmaceutical specialist to clarify on your behalf? Sometimes all it takes is just a teensy bit more information to make the whole decision clearer.
hun, this is a real tough one for you, isn't it? So many things up in the air and so much potentially depends on you making the right decision. So frustrating that medicine is more art than science.
I really hope you find a good IVF dr if you can't find your old one. I think that would probably be the first point of call if you're thinking long term about side effects and TTC.
again, I can't empathise but I really think this sucks big time.
Marydean, we've been working on the prednisone for a while. I stubbornly refused to go higher than 20mg (although with the amount of nurofen plus and panadeine I was going through I could easily have been on twice that amount or more). The drop to 10mg through 15mg was easy... Getting below 10mg just didn't happen at all until I got the 1mg tablets and started going 1mg at a time. I'd need two weeks before I could take the next drop, but now that I'm below 5mg and the weather is warmer, I'm trialling a one week reduction. Even if I can do alternate days of 3mg/4mg for a while, I'd be happy. You are right, it is a complete ***** of a drug to get off. I did wonder if it was a PBS thing - he also mentioned biologics but said that before I could go to them I'd have to try arava. Perhaps it's a similar situation. The issue with trying arava short term is that it's a slow-acting drug. We're talking 3 months before we start to get the full effect, and the MTX was very similar. There's no quick fix for auto-immune problems.
Ruf, thank you. I think I would really like to catch up, I'm feeling rather isolated as nobody around me really understands what it's like.
Jennifer, thank you.
So, if you were and IVF doctor, would you think it strange if a patient walked through your door not wanting to have a baby just now but asking for advice on managing a condition completely removed from what you treat? I just don't want to waste my time and money tracking him down and going to see him if he's just going to laugh at me.
I don't have any experience or advice here, just wanted to offer cyber hugs cause that's all I've got.
I don't think it's weird to see your IVF doctor like that - it sounds very reasonable to me. I'm seeing one next week to figure out our plan with no intention to go back to ivf before next year.
After what you've said (and with your history), given the long term effects and the slow weaning process from the drugs you're talking about I'd think it was odd if you just showed up expecting to start TTC straight away! I would have thought that was being a smart patient.
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s! Have you spoken with your drs on the best way to step down off the prednisone (withdrawal can be horrible) - good luck with that process. 
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