hi all,

my brother (54, but forever my baby brother) and his wife are in
jerusalem for two weeks on a biblical archaeological working vacation.
he's not the least bit worried about their safety, but i am. please
keep them in your prayers.

thanks,

diane

M,
How goes the hunt for the housing?? Has the smoke cleared at all around
you?

Thinking of you a lot lately. Wish there was a quick and permanent fix to
all this.

Kelly

Hi!

After the spate of lousy news, its nice to see good news from Kelly and
Rhonda. The right medication is so important. And a doc who is both
competent and 'gets it' is a gem. Wishing this good mojo spreads to
encompass those who need the weavers to change their pattern for the
happier/easier/healthier.

And in the vein of good news - the enbrel is really working for me. Last
year when we took our kids to the water park, it was a struggle for me to
just walk around the place so I could see the kids come down the slides.
This year I helped chaperone a trip there with the day camp the karate
studio owns; walking around was simply a non-issue. A slight rise you
couldn't even call a hill was overwhelming last year and this year was no
problem at all. I even swam with the kids in the wave pool, towing them out
on a tube so they could float on the highest waves (though I flared the next
day and slept a lot). Doing a real happy dance instead of a shuffle. Hoping
you all have days like this, too.

On Jul 22, 6:14 am, Andygmail.com> wrote:

It is utter nonesense - for all the reasons cited in the article.
There is no way to tell in advance how someone will respond to a drug
and all of these drugs lose effectiveness over time. It is another
example of short-term thinking that will result in long-term pain and
added costs. I certainly hope that you folks in Great Britain can
kill this "guidance" before it kills you.

Walt Hanks

"Confirms oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of RA."
"Antioxidant agents can potentially be a useful addition"

Protein oxidation markers in the serum and synovial fluid of psoriatic
arthritis patients.
Firuzi O, Spadaro A, Spadaro C, Riccieri V, Petrucci R, Marrosu G,
Saso L
J Clin Lab Anal 2008 May 16; 22(3):210-215.

The role of oxidative stress has been studied in rheumatoid arthritis
(RA) and other inflammatory joint diseases to some extent, but its
importance in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has rarely been investigated...

"Oxidative stress damage in systemic lupus erythematosus "
"Premature onset of atherogenesis"

Detection of Catalase as a major protein target of the lipid
peroxidation product 4-HNE and the lack of its genetic association as
a risk factor in SLE.
D'Souza A, Kurien BT, Rodgers R, Shenoi J, Kurono S, Matsumoto H,
Hensley K, Nath SK, Scofield RH

BMC Med Genet 2008 Jul 7; 9(1):62.

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial
disorder characterized by the presence of autoantibodies. We and
others have implicated free radical mediated peroxidative damage...

TTT

It was an up and down day - still fighting with income tax and the
bureaucracy with my taxes but know that what they disallowed (all
prescription meds) will eventually be allowed - just will take more time to
sort through to someone who knows what they are doing and hasn't been
dropped on their head way too many times. But the good news is that the
provincial pharmacies which approves and pays for meds or at least partial
meds has approved my rituxan med. I will still have to send it to special
authority and the approval has come too slow for this time around but the
next one should be approved - hurrah!!! This makes a difference of $13,000
a year so it is a big deal! Too bad about this time but couldn't have
waited.

Hopefully it will go as well for you this time Donna as it did for me. The
fatigue did not last quite as long (not gone yet but bearable) and I have
done everything right - eaten, drank water, slept, rested. The spasms and
sore throats were non-existent. I did see my sed rate etc today - over
limit which it just never ever is - even when i am noticeably over the top
with inflammation so that does tell something.

So happy dance time - time something went right for a change!

Your turn now Donna - that dance in our mind thing.

Hey I just wanted to give a good doctor report. I went to see my new spinal
doctor.. Oh my he was really great! First of all I went in and filled out
the usual paperwork. Then I was brought back and the nurses were so nice and
courteous. My data was collected by the docs pa not the nurse but the PA and
he would then ask me more questions to find out more about the hows and
whys. I was then examined by the PA and he was very thoughrough. Then he
sent me for some x-rays. The xray tech was so nice and thoughtful about my
comfort. I then saw the PA again and we talked for awhile about my condition
and then he brought in the doctor. Who then re examined me and talked to me
in length about what was going on. I told him about my not ever wanting
surgery on my back (unless it was something new and not to invasive) He was
very attentive and said that that's ok we would take the treatment slow and
conservative. I am all ok about that. He was really concerned for my pain
and really seemed genuine about my back and the pain. So I am now going to
be scheduled for my usual spinal epidural. Yea finally I am going to get
some relief! I was very pleased and happy that he is going to take my
treatment slow and if I wanted to go forward with other treatments the
option is very open. I did though find out that in my faucets joints in the
lower lumbar spine that RA has set in and I do have the "rat bites??" I have
heard that term used for hands but not the spine. I am so excited about ...

Hey I just wanted to give a good doctor report. I went to see my new spinal
doctor.. Oh my he was really great! First of all I went in and filled out
the usual paperwork. Then I was brought back and the nurses were so nice and
courteous. My data was collected by the docs pa not the nurse but the PA and
he would then ask me more questions to find out more about the hows and
whys. I was then examined by the PA and he was very thoughrough. Then he
sent me for some x-rays. The xray tech was so nice and thoughtful about my
comfort. I then saw the PA again and we talked for awhile about my condition
and then he brought in the doctor. Who then re examined me and talked to me
in length about what was going on. I told him about my not ever wanting
surgery on my back (unless it was something new and not to invasive) He was
very attentive and said that that's ok we would take the treatment slow and
conservative. I am all ok about that. He was really concerned for my pain
and really seemed genuine about my back and the pain. So I am now going to
be scheduled for my usual spinal epidural. Yea finally I am going to get
some relief! I was very pleased and happy that he is going to take my
treatment slow and if I wanted to go forward with other treatments the
option is very open. I did though find out that in my faucets joints in the
lower lumbar spine that RA has set in and I do have the "rat bites??" I have
heard that term used for hands but not the spine. I am so excited about ...