Looking back, the first observance for lupus awareness happened back in 1977. The president at the time, Jimmy Carter, signed Public Law 95-72 declaring a week long national lupus observance. This first observance occurred in September, but over the years it was moved to October and lengthened. Then in 2009, the Lupus Foundation of America had the annual Lupus Awareness Month moved to May. The month of May held many more opportunities to promote lupus awareness, so the decision to make the final change was not too difficult. You can also check out the full story on the major Lupus Organizations in America.

Then of course there is World Lupus Day, which takes place on May 10th. This serves as an excellent opportunity for lupus organizations around the world to collaborate and raise awareness. Traditionally people will wear purple or sport a purple ribbon during the month to show support for lupus. The national symbol for lupus is the butterfly. This is representative of one of the more common symptoms of lupus, the butterfly rash, while also representing hope for lupus patients. There is another symbol that is widely used for lupus as well, and that would be the wolf. In Latin, the word “lupus” literally means “wolf”. Due to the Latin translation, the wolf has served as an effective symbol for lupus awareness.

What is Lupus?

Research has shown that a majority of Americans don’t know much about lupus, if anything at all. This is a debilitating disease which claims lives and remains unpredictable, so there is a lot of effort being put into spreading further awareness. Globally, it is estimated that 5 million people are affected by some form of lupus. Shockingly, research has shown that women have been diagnosed with lupus in 90% of all cases! A majority of these women get diagnosed between the ages of 15 to 45 years of age. For most cases of lupus, the doctor makes the diagnosis based on a number of physical symptoms and the results of lab tests. So, the American College of Rheumatology developed a list of criteria which could be used to help diagnose lupus.

Types of Lupus

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE): This is the most common form of lupus making up for around 70% of all cases. SLE ranges in severity, but the severe cases of SLE are as bad as they get. This form of lupus can affect the skin, mouth, kidneys, brain, lungs, and heart. Common symptoms of this disease include fatigue, photosensitivity, swollen joints, mysterious fever, skin rashes, hair loss, and kidney issue.

Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (CLE): The word “cutaneous” actually means skin, and CLE tends to primarily affect the skin. This particular condition can cause inflammation and sores which will appear over the the face, ears, scalp, and other areas of the body.

Drug-induced Lupus Erythematosus: This condition is similar to SLE except for one major difference. This type of lupus is the result of a hypersensitive reaction to a medication. Research has shown that Isoniazid, hydralazine, and procainamide are some of the more common medications that have been known to cause drug-induced lupus.

Neonatal Lupus Erythematosus: This is a rare form of lupus which can occur in infants that are born to mothers with lupus. While in the womb, the infant is attacked by the mother’s antibodies. At birth, these infants show some of the symptoms of lupus. These symptoms eventually disappear completely, but some of these infants can develop a rare heart defect.
Available Treatments for Lupus

Currently, the treatments that will be prescribed to lupus patients based on the symptoms that they are experiencing. Unfortunately, there is still no cure for lupus. Patients hope to control their symptoms with medication so that they can live a better quality of life. The exact drug prescribed to the lupus patient may change during the course of treatment based on how the disease is reacting. The National Lupus Awareness Month info-graphic lists some of the treatments that are currently being used to treat lupus patients. It is very important that doctor and patient collaborate often to make sure that the treatment plan is working effectively. In some cases, other drugs are needed to treat other conditions like hypertension, which can be linked to lupus. There are some possible side effects related to taking these medications, so do not hesitate to inform your doctor if any should occur.

The Faces of Lupus

This chronic autoimmune disease has affected millions of lives, and there have been a few public figures to come forward with their diagnosis. Music icons like Nick Cannon and Michael Jackson were diagnosed with lupus. In fact, George H.W. Bush’s dog Millie may have become the most famous animal with the disease after her diagnosis. These public figures have embraced their disease, and now they work to raise awareness around the world. Be sure to check the full list available in the info-graphic.

Doctors recommend that people with gout avoid eating these foods that are particularly abundant in purines. When purines are consumed, the body immediately goes to work breaking down these chemicals and the by-product is (you guessed it!) uric acid. Just to be clear, purines actually provide a piece of the chemical structure in the genes of plants and animals, so purines can be found in almost all foods. The key for people with gout is to avoid those foods which have a high concentration of purines. Once someone has been diagnosed with gout, their doctor will most likely recommend a change in their diet.

Making a Healthy Change

For the most part, people should know that high fat/high cholesterol foods will also be abundant in purines. So, an individual who has been diagnosed with gout should also consider cutting back on these fatty high cholesterol food items. Making these changes to their diet can help them live a generally more healthy life all around. This can be especially beneficial for people who are also overweight, since their doctor will recommend that they lose the extra weight in order to help manage their gout symptoms and flare ups.

Purine-Rich Foods to Avoid

For people who have gout, they should avoid eating large amounts of white meats which are high protein and fatty. We are talking about chicken and other types of poultry, as well as pork. Large quantities of these meats while delicious can also easily aggravate gout. Consumption of game meats like duck and dear similar to poultry can cause complications with gout.

Organ meat is another category of food items which tend to be very purine rich. Avoid eating too much sweetbreads, kidneys, livers, and even brain meats when possible, as these can really spike up the amount of uric acid in the body. Studies have shown that some other food items such as bouillon, caviar, and chicken/beef broth can cause increased levels of uric acid and should be moderated.

For many gout patients, seafood has proven to be a food that can easily cause gout flare-ups. Popular seafood dishes such as scallops, sardines, and fish eggs tend to be high in purines. Other seafood items that should be avoided include herring, anchovies, and mackerel. Making some of these necessary changes can seem quite daunting depending on the person, but compared to the excruciating pain of a gout flare-up, some sacrifices are simply necessary.

Alcohol, especially beer, can be a major problem for someone who has gout. Beer is particularly detrimental to this condition as it is very high in purine content, and an excessive amount can be detrimental to the kidney’s ability to filter out uric acid. Research shows that beer can cause the largest increase in uric acid levels, especially if consumed on an empty stomach. Gout patients who are alcoholic will experience more gout pain at a lower uric acid level than those who are not alcoholic. In fact, the yeast that is used by both bakers and brewers tends to be pretty high in purines.

For a long time, it was believed that all foods that are purine-rich would exacerbate gout symptoms. However, recent research has suggested that there are certain purine-rich foods that do not aggravate gout. Vegetables like asparagus, spinach, and mushrooms contain an abundant amount of purines, but they should not aggravate gout if eaten in moderate amounts.

(see also: Breast Cancer Clinical Trials)

However, were you aware that there are a number of foods that can help to effectively prevent cancer growth or development? That’s right, fortunately there are foods that we can eat which contain cancer-fighting properties, and a healthy diet built around these foods can also help combat heart disease and diabetes. Recently, the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research asked for a comprehensive review to be done on over a thousand different diet, physical activity, and weight studies. The results of this review showed that there were benefits from eating a diet with plenty of plant based foods. These cancer fighting foods tend to be low in fat and calories, and in return they are filled with phytochemicals and antioxidants which work to reduce a person’s risk of cancer.

What Makes These Foods So Great?

The reason that these foods are so good for you can be summed up in one word, antioxidants. There are a variety of chemicals from plants which are called phytochemicals, and technically antioxidants are phytochemicals. Basically these are vitamins and nutrients which can protect our cells from harmful compounds in foods and in the environment, as well as protect against cell damage and mutation. People can eat meals that are rich in fruits and vegetables and effectively lower their risk of cancer. Actually, a diet which can be effective at lowering your risk of cancer is not much different from the traditional healthy diets we have long known about. So in fact, our parents had an extremely good reason for making sure we ate those fruits and vegetables when we were kids!

5 Foods Which Can Lower Your Risk of Cancer

Garlic

It turns out that this food has more special properties than just being able to scare off the undead and make our breath smelly. Garlic has actually been renowned for its cancer fighting properties for some time now. A recent study has shown a correlation between more garlic in the diet and a lower level of nitrates in the urine. Other studies have shown that garlic contains compounds which especially help protect against skin, lung, and colon cancer.

Cruciferous Vegetables

These vegetables contain strong antioxidants which can help to lower a person’s risk of cancer. These include Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, and even mustard greens. All of these veggies are rich in antioxidant phytochemicals and fiber, and you can eat them till your heart’s content. Broccoli actually contains an organosulfur compound called sulforaphane, which targets cancer stem cells. Sulforaphane can help to reduce the risk of breast, stomach, and skin cancer. Eating broccoli raw will retain the highest levels of these sulforaphanes.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes have been found to be particularly rich in the compound lycopene. Lycopene is most easily absorbed from cooked tomatoes, and tomato products such as ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and tomato paste are very concentrated sources of the plant chemical. Lycopene can effectively help prevent prostate, breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer.

Berries

Berries are abundant in plant chemicals called anthocyanins, which are responsible for giving berries their amazing color. These anthocyanins are also quite potent antioxidants which are effective at protecting against a wide variety of cancers. Blueberries in particular happen to be very rich in these cancer fighting compounds.

Tea (Green and Black)

Both green and black tea happen to be natural sources of particularly potent antioxidants called catechins, which can work to strongly oppose cancer growth by binding itself to a protein that is found on tumor cells. Green tea actually retains more of the antioxidants since it isn’t processed as much as black tea. These teas can be helpful in reducing your risk of skin, liver, and stomach cancer.

(See also: COPD clinical trials)

Most patients with COPD suffer from dyspnea. Over time, COPD and dyspnea usually get increasingly worse, with the airflow in the lungs getting progressively lower. In addition to dyspnea, people with COPD may have chest tightness, rapid breathing, exhaustion, enlargement of the chest cavity, exhalation taking longer than inhalation, wheezing, active use of neck muscles to aid in breathing, and a persistent cough and/or mucus production in chronic bronchitis.

Advanced COPD cases can include respiratory failure, causing patients’ lips to turn blue from the lack of oxygen in their blood. This lack of oxygen results in an overload of carbon dioxide, which may cause headaches, twitching, and drowsiness. In addition, extra work is required by the heart in order to pump adequate amounts of blood through the affected lungs. This strain on the heart could cause cor pulmonale (right-sided heart failure), resulting in swelling of the ankles and dyspnea. Other symptoms of advanced COPD include weight loss and pulmonary hypertension.

Since lethal gases and asbestos cause COPD, one significant curative action is to cease contact with these toxins. Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of COPD, so smoking cessation is the first step remedial therapy. Rehabilitation, vaccinations, lung transplants, oxygen therapy and drug therapies are the available management strategies for COPD. Phosphodiesterase-4 antagonist drugs roflumilast and cilomilast are currently in clinical trials. The two curative steps that have been proven to reduce COPD mortality rates are smoking cessation and oxygen therapy.

Smoking cessation slows the decline in lung function and delays COPD fatality. Willpower, support groups, nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion and varenicline are the available tools and drugs to aid people to quit smoking. Spreading the knowledge of the dangers of smoking will help smokers to stop smoking and prevent non-smokers from starting to smoke.

(See also: COPD Diagnosis & Tests)

Bronchodilators are drugs inhaled with an inhaler or nebulizer that improve airflow to and from the lungs. They work by relaxing the smooth muscle of the airways so that the airways could widen more easily. Dilating the airways should cure shortness of breath, inability to exercise and wheezing. Bronchodilators improve the quality of life by taking care of symptoms of COPD; they do not cure the underlying illness, and therefore do not slow the rate of disease progression.

The two types of bronchodilators are β2 agonists and anticholinergics. β2 agonists work by relaxing β2 receptors on smooth muscles of the lung airways so that the airways could dilate. Salbutamol (Ventolin) and terbutaline are short-acting β2 agonists. Salmeterol and formoterol are long-acting β2 agonists (LABAs). Anticholinergics work by preventing the cholinergic nerves from stimulating the lung airways, thereby enabling the smooth muscle of the airways to relax and the airways to dilate. Ipratropium is a short-acting anticholinergic and tiotropium is a long-acting anticholinergic.

Corticosteroids have proven to prevent and treat the minor exacerbations in patients with moderate to severe cases of COPD. They can be taken in pill form or they can be inhaled. Corticosteroids have not proven effective in patients with mild cases of COPD. They are linked with increased risk of pnemonia.

In high doses, theophylline is a bronchodilator and phosphodiesterase inhibitor that reduces breathing difficulties for COPD patients. In low doses, theophylline can lower the amount of COPD exacerbations. High doses of this drug cause heart stimulation and nausea.

Lupus Awareness

It is estimated that there are at least 5 million people around the world who live with this chronic autoimmune disease. In the United States alone, there are 1.5 million people who are estimated to have lupus. Even more shocking is that 90% of all cases of lupus are diagnosed in women! Studies have shown that many Americans no very little, if anything about lupus. Due to the prevalence of this chronic autoimmune disease, a day has been set aside so that the lupus community as a whole can come together and help to spread lupus awareness globally. Officially May 10 is World Lupus Day, and the month of May is seen as Lupus Awareness Month.

Organizations Helping to Spread Lupus Awareness

Lupus Foundation of America (LFA): This foundation was established back in 1977 along with a number of other lupus organizations. Since its creation, the Lupus Foundation of America has gone on to become the largest national non-profit voluntary health organization devoted to finding a cure for lupus and improving the quality of life for those with this disease. Since LFA was established, it has also become the oldest lupus organization in America. The LFA has over 300 chapters and support groups across the U.S. which work to offer support, services, and hope to anyone who has been affected by lupus in anyway. In its time, the LFA has become a huge supporter of lupus research, education, and advocacy while effectively creating programs which have brought awareness to many around the country. LFA has 5 main focuses which help them achieve success: 1. Increase public Awareness. 2. Make sure new information is readily available to those with lupus. 3. Allocate funds for lupus clinical research nationally through their research program, Bringing Down the Barriers. 4. Fight for increased support and advocacy of lupus in the private and public sectors. 5. Provide unwavering support for the lupus patients and their families.

Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR): The Alliance for Lupus Research is a national voluntary health organization which was founded in New York City back in 1999. In their relatively short history, ALR has been very successful in securing significant funds for lupus research. ALR’s mission is to help develop better treatments and to ultimately discover a cure for systemic lupus erythematosus. They have been able to commit millions of dollars to lupus research every year through various fundraising efforts which they coordinate annually. One of their more famous fundraisers is the Walk with Us to Cure Lupus annual charity walk. This walk has been quite successful in both raising significant funds and spreading awareness for the disease. ALR was proud to provide funding for the International Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Genetics (SLEGEN) Consortium, whose research was able to identify several of the genes which are associated with lupus. This organization has provided more money than any non-governmental agency in the world for lupus research. 100% of all donations made to ALR go to clinical research for lupus.

Lupus Research Institute (LRI): This institute is a national non-profit organization which is completely dedicated to brand new lupus research. The ideology at LRI is that the most effective and safest treatments can only be found by pursuing innovative research. This organization was established back in 2000, and since then has grown rapidly. They now have a wide range of lupus research studies taking place across the country. LRI has funded research which has been making compelling breakthroughs in lupus genetics and understanding the process of the disease.

S.L.E. Lupus Foundation: This non-profit health organization was founded back in 1970. Since its founding, S.L.E. has been completely dedicated to helping lupus patients and their families live a better quality of life. This foundation has become a national leader in providing direct services to patients, public awareness, education, and funding new clinical research on lupus all around America. This foundation has been focused on helping many thousands of families effectively deal with the pressures and confusion of daily life with a debilitating autoimmune disease. The headquarters of the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation is located in New York City, but they also have a division located in Los Angeles. With their success, S.L.E. is able to provide significant research grants and fellowship awards to medical researchers in the New York and Southern California regions. The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation and the Lupus Research Institute were founded by Morrie Golick, and they both are part of a National Coalition of lupus organizations dedicated to supporting new innovative lupus research.

I have a special spot on my countertop where my medicines are on display, easily accessible for me to reach when I need them. A spot in my fridge where my Enbrel chills out (ha), waiting for me every week.

Medicines are funny. The right medicine and the right dose can make your life as close to perfect as can be. But the wrong dose, the wrong drug, the wrong fit for your lifestyle just doesn’t work.

I’ve told my story about Remicade. I’ve talked about my experiences on different arthritis controlling options while growing up. I was lucky enough to have a doctor who cared about how I felt about my medicine. All that took a lot of work. It took me figuring out who I am, what I want my life to be like, and what works best for me. That takes a while and it’s not an easy thing to do.

Of course, when you’re young or newly diagnosed with RA (or both in my case), you have to just kind of . . . go with it. Trust that your doctor knows what he or she is doing and hope that the medicine chosen for you will work the way it’s supposed to.

But it’s very important – no, crucial – for you to do your research. Look at all the possibilities. Find out how other people are doing on different options. Explore alternatives.

One thing I imagine that can be frustrating for doctors is when a patient comes in saying something about how they saw a commercial for a new drug and are, in a way, self-diagnosing. I’m not a big fan of the self-diagnosis, personally. But I’m also not a proponent of blindly following the advice without thinking things through for yourself.

Taking control of your healthcare means having a balance. Having knowledge you’ve acquired and trust in your doctor’s counsel.

We need doctors who we can trust to give us options that will fit us best, and we also need to research our conditions in order to be up-to-date on the new wonders science brings us!

I didn’t really realize this until I decided I needed a change. I was on remicade, blindly accepting treatment that I wasn’t necessarily happy with . . . but I had been on it for years and figured it was the only option I had.

Wrong.

Once I realized that having an infusion every few weeks just didn’t fit my lifestyle, I took action.

I looked into my records, my previous medical history, and really looked at what medicines I had taken in the past.

I got on the internet and studied arthritis drugs new and old.

I did some investigating, found people online who had arthritis and had experiences that I hadn’t. I asked them questions and listened intently to what they had to say.

I soaked up every bit of information I could find on the subject. My theory was that if I was going to go see my doctor and tell him I needed a change, I need to know what else is out there.

This period of learning was invaluable because when I saw my doc, instead of just agreeing to whatever it was that he would give me, we had a discussion. An honest discussion about my life and my options. That is the key.

The goal is to go from a situation where you are simply a patient with no understanding, to a person who has the knowledge but needs someone to show how to use the tools.

For me, that meant going to my doctor and saying “I’m unhappy with the way things are going.” And then I had to explain exactly why. After that, I was able to bring up some of the things I learned.

“. . . well I was talking to someone the other day about Humira/Simponi/Orencia. . .”

“. . . I did some research about foods that cause inflammation and diet changes. . .”

“. . . I remember doing well on Enbrel in the past, and I’m wondering what would happen if I went back on it. . .”

I had questions for him, which was incredibly important. Instead of just telling me what to do, he had to give me answers. I made him explain what options I had by bringing up what I had learned.

What I found was that he seemed to appreciate my honesty about the situation I was in. It helped him understand why I wasn’t happy with my treatment. When he learned that it just simply didn’t work with my lifestyle anymore he was more than happy to approach an alternative.

It took some work on my part, but I made it happen and I’m better for it. Do some research. Ask questions. I’m here and more than happy to answer!

Caught you off guard, didn’t I?

Most people don’t spend much time thinking about their particular pharmacy, but over the years I’ve learned how important it is to have a trustworthy and smart pharmacist to work with. I’ve had good and I’ve had bad, and I add it to the list of “important things to think of” whenever I move to a new location.

Pharmacists are key to your healthcare. They provide you with the medicine you need, and that’s enough to get on my radar. Also, I’ve found that if there is any minor emergency, any need concerning medicines including over-the-counters, a good pharmacist is a very useful ally to have.

This subject is particularly important to me at the moment, because I’ve found myself in a situation where I need to find myself a new pharmacy to go to. My first choice pharmacy turned into something unreliable and not exactly a friendly place to go.

I had to deal with numerous times where my prescriptions did not get filled, leaving me in an urgent condition and completely helpless. I wasn’t kept in the loop, and the members of my pharmacy did not alert me to any problems they might have run into. They simply set me aside, leaving me without my medications, vulnerable and troubled.

But I’ve had pharmacists in the past that have gone above and beyond. Pharmacists that have really taken care of me, and made and effort to build that relationship.

Pharmacists who listen to my questions and thoughtfully reply with care and concern.

Pharmacists who keep me up-to-date as to what the status is of my medicines. Who will call me when needed and make sure I am happy with their caretaking.

A connection you have in case getting a hold of your doctor with a question about medicine doesn’t work out.

An important situation in which having a pharmacist you can go to is when you might be sick. If you’re on specific medications, some over-the-counter drugs can interact unfavorably, but a pharmacist can help you pick a good alternative.

I had one pharmacist a few years ago that I went to when I was sick with a stomach flu. He knew all of my medicines, then took me to the isle with remedies and showed me which ones he knew worked, and which ones he wouldn’t bother with. He was honest and sympathetic, avuncular even. I thanked him profusely, and from then on we were on a first name basis.

Funny enough, once he saw me walking up to the counter he would go right to pick up my medicines and have them waiting at the counter for me. I liked that.

Amusing when you go to the pharmacy so often that the people working there get to know you well.

I like having a pharmacy that will take care of me, and view their position as important for that reason. I like a pharmacist that will go to fill my prescription saying they’ll get right on it in order to get me feeling better. That’s their job, and I greatly appreciate it.

Some people might not need this extra person involved in their healthcare lives, but I think it extremely helpful. I like knowing I have one more person who will help me if I need it. Someone with knowledge that I might not have, who can supply me with extra information.

Because knowledge is power after all.

Think about it. Give a thought to talking to your pharmacist about your health. I often find that they are more than willing to help you find something you need.

You will find that once you begin to build that relationship, you will feel more comfortable going to your pharmacy, and more connected to your providers.

It’s the little things, right?

(See also: Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Studies)

About 1% of the world’s population suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, about 67% of which are women. Most RA patients become afflicted with the disease between the ages of forty and fifty. A rheumatologist, a specialist in joint, muscle and bone diseases, performs the diagnosis and medical supervision.

RA can be very painful and disabling. About 50% of RA patients in England and Wales are unable to work with their disabilities within ten years of diagnosis. Without proper treatment, RA can worsen and cause significant loss in mobility and functioning.

Treatments and therapies for RA include:

• Anti-inflammatory drugs
• Analgesia (painkillers)
• Steroids
• Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
• Biologics
• Physical therapy
• Orthoses
• Occupational therapy
• Nutritional therapy

Analgesia and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as steroids, suppress the symptoms of RA such as swelling and pain. DMARDs and biologics inhibit the underlying immune process and preclude long-term damage. Physical therapy, orthoses, occupational therapy and nutritional therapy do not hinder the progression of joint damage.

Signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include:

• Damage to the articular cartilage, synovial (flexible) joints, organs and tissue
• Ankylosis of the joints
• Inflammation of the synovium (casing around the joints)
• Swelling of the synovial cells, synovial fluid and fibrous tissue in the synovium
• Anemia
• Episcleritis
• Vasculitis
• Rheumatoid nodules
• Lung problems, including:
• Lung fibrosis
• Pleural effusions
• Rheumatoid lung disease
• Cardiac and blood vessel problems, including:
• Pericarditis
• Endocarditis
• Atherosclerosis
• Cardial infarction
• Stroke
• Scleromalacia
• Valvulitis
• Renal amyloidosis
• Synovitis (arthritis of the joints) causing the following joint disorders:
• Swelling
• Tenderness
• Warmth
• Stiffness
• Tethering of joint tissue, resulting in the following:
• Loss of movement
• Erosion of the joint surface
• Loss of joint function
• Joint deformity
• Ulnar deviation
• Boutonnaire deformity
• Swan neck deformity
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Discoloration of the skin (purplish)
• Increased risk of lymphoma

If you think you may have RA, consult your healthcare professional. RA can be diagnosed through x-ray exams, blood tests and physical check-ups. There is an array of treatments available for RA sufferers, so ask your rheumatologist what medications and therapies are right for you.

But your doctor is not to be worshiped (though we all can admit, there are doctors out there who would like to think they should be!) Your doctor should really be a partner, helping you understand your options and giving you the tools necessary to continue on!

I’ve talked to many people with this problem: they need a specialist, they are referred to one, and they make an appointment. Newly diagnosed we are all a little unstable. Life has been turned upside down and we are just trying to figure out how to deal. So we got to this doctor, who is supposed to comfort us, tell us that things will be ok and help us to get back to a happy state.

Unfortunately, a lot of people find that their first appointment is more overwhelming and upsetting than anything remotely close to comfort.

The doctor might be a little overbearing. The doctor might be very negative about the future treatments. The doctor might also leave you feeling helpless and even worse than you did before. But because this is a new experience, and you were referred to this specialist, you stick with it, assuming this is how things are and you might as well learn to live with it.

It’s more common than you might think. Out of the many people I’ve heard from over the last couple of years, a majority of them aren’t 100% happy with their doctors, but don’t do anything about it because they think that’s just how it goes.

When I was diagnosed with Juveline RA, I was 12 years old. It’s unfortunate that I had to deal with that at such a young age, but I often feel very lucky because I had my parents by my side through those crazy first few years of figuring out what life with arthritis was going to be like.

The funny thing about going through all of that at such a young age was that I wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed to say I wasn’t happy. I was a teenager, and teenagers are full of emotion, and there’s no stopping that emotion no matter how hard you try. If I wasn’t happy, it was apparent. And my lucky parents and even luckier doctors got to experience that.

There’s nothing more comforting than having a support system that you can fall back on. People who give you that safety net. There were more than a few times where I openly told my parents that I did not like where things were going. A child who was terrified of needles, I was kicking and screaming when steroid shots came my way.

I had severe swelling in my jaw at 15, and was presented with the option of having one of those said steroid shots on the side of my face to try to get control of that hungry arthritis. One doctor wanted to give me the shot while I sat in his office. The image of seeing a needle coming at me out of the corner of my eye was enough to make me state “Oh hell no!” and leave his office right then and there. Much to the chagrin of my father who had to follow me out while saying thank you and goodbye to the doctor with his jaw dropped.

After I had the courage to say “Nope, not gonna happen.” I was taken back to my regular doctor who came up with some other options. Hooray! If I hadn’t stood up for myself I would have had to sit through a situation I was 100% uncomfortable and unhappy with. That was the moment when I realized the importance of knowing what I want (or didn’t want) and clearly stating it.

We get what I call “the ick feeling” when we meet a doctor we’re uncomfortable with. We get that same ick feeling when we’re recommended to treatment we don’t feel is right for us. That instinctive feeling in our gut that tells us something is off, something is wrong. We need to listen to that ick, and figure out why it’s happening.

Is the doctor too controlling for you? Do you feel like the medicine recommended isn’t something you feel good about? Even if it’s just a total overwhelmed feeling, it’s important to step back and figure out what is causing it and why. And then take action.

Because we should never be forced into a situation we aren’t comfortable with.

(Note: If you are experiencing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, first consult your physician. If you have been diagnosed with RA and live near Birmingham, AL, you may want to look into one of our Achieve’s Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials) 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved RoActemra (tocilizumab; known as Actemra in the United States) for marketing in the United States on January 11, 2010, and at around the same time the drug became available in Scotland. The National Health Society (NHS) and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) of Britain recently approved RoActemra in England and Wales as a “last resort” treatment for RA sufferers who have failed on standard prescribed treatments. Until RoActemra’s discovery, patients for whom the available treatments failed were left with no choice but to suffer. “We are delighted with NICE’s decision as there are so many patients with rheumatoid arthritis in need of tighter disease management,” said chief executive of England’s National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, Ailsa Bosworth.

John Isaacs MBBS,BSc,PhD,FRCP, professor of clinical rheumatology at Newcastle University in the UK explained, “Rheumatoid arthritis is an unrelenting disease and it is vital that patients have options available to them when they are no longer responding to, or can no longer tolerate, their current treatment… We have evidence that if you can stop the disease early, you can change the way it progresses for the rest of the patient’s life. This is particularly important when it strikes at a young age.”

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have an amplified amount of interleukin-6, a protein of the immune system. RoActemra helps to alleviate the fatigue, swollen joints and joint pain by blocking the harmful exploits of this protein. About 50% of the patients currently taking RoActemra in a rheumatoid arthritis clinical trial in England are in remission and nearly all of them experience no symptoms. The drug’s rate of patient remission is six times higher than that of methotrexate, a commonly prescribed drug for RA patients.

Dr. Isaacs explained, “There are now several biologics used to treat RA. The first to be developed were the anti-TNFs (Remicade, Enbrel, Humira and, most recently, Cimzia and Simponi)… Other biologic drugs include Mabthera, which kills B-cells and Orencia, which targets T-cells, two important cell types in RA. RoActemra therefore targets a different aspect of the immune response in RA than other biologic drugs.”

About 400,000 in England and Wales have RA and about 50% of these people are unable to work with their disabilities within ten years of diagnosis. 75% of these RA patients are women. Only about 1,200 patients with advanced RA take RoActemra. With NICE’s approval of the drug, about 40,000 more patients will be eligible for RoActemra prescriptions to be taken either alone or alongside their other RA medications.

Side effects of RoActemra include headache, upper respiratory tract infection, low platelet count, low neutrophil count, hepatitis B infection becoming an active infection, nervous system complications and inflammation of the nose or nasal passage. Patients who simultaneously take immunosuppressant drugs such as methotrexate or corticosteroids are at risk of developing serious infections such as tuberculosis and infections caused by bacteria or fungi. Since RoActemra works on the immune system, there is an increased risk of developing certain cancers.

There is hope for RA patients after all. With RoActemra, paients can expect to feel less joint pain and a reduction in fatigue. With RoActemra, RA patients can live more active lives with more vigor and optimism.