Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Test Results...

I had a follow-up appointment with my GP today to get the results of the battery of tests that he's ordered for me these last 6 months...I love that about him, he will get to the bottom of it....My blood pressure was 152/79 and he told me that it had been steadily climbing and it was time for medication. Basically, I have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, very high cholesteral and he thinks the recent hip & SI joint pain is from pinched nerves...he perscribed many medications today, I was shocked, to say the least...here's my list of new maintenance meds...

1. Avapro 150mg
2. Neurontrin 300mg
3. Ultram 50mg
4. Flexaril 10mg
5. Fossomax 10mg
6. Famatodine 20mg
7. Lipitor 10mg

I'm hoping these meds won't interfere with the clinical trials, I doubt that it will but I'm going to have to disclose this to the doctor that's doing the study. I don't really know what all of these meds do yet, when things settle down and I get a minute, I'm going to look them up, all $647.00 of them, man, I've got to get some health insurance, Mike's a contrator and I'm self-employed too and these medical bills are getting out of control, I know many others are facing these same issues and I feel fortunate that I don't have to choose which perscriptions I'm not going to fill...

Hi Michelle,

Wow! That's an expensive list. And a long one! I'm sorry to hear you're having to take all this stuff, but I'm really glad they are addressing this stuff. I hope the new meds treat you well!! Hang in there and good luck getting health insurance. Soon!

~Molly

hi michelle,

the only numbers you gave were your BP, so i don't know how high everything else is. but i googled the drugs i didn't know. and since i've been dx'ed with osteopenia, elevated BP, prediabetes / glucose intolerance, and terrible lipids, i did a lot of reading over the last few months. i know you didn't ask for my 2 cents but here it is anyway:

1. Avapro - this is for your BP. My BP was consistently around 155/95 every time i went to the doctors but he really didn't want to start me on a BP drug as the side effects can be worse than the cure sometimes. i really wanted to lower it on my own too. i started walking or biking (when my SI is bad, i can sit in one of those seated bikes and it doesn't hurt anymore than sitting anywhere else) initially only 20-30 minutes a day. after a month, my BP came down to around 135/85, then after another month its closer to 120/85 before exercise or 110/70 after. i also lost 10 lbs over about 6 months. exercise and weight loss are supposed to help BP and for me, i think they did.

2. Neurontrin for nerve pain

3. Ultram for chronic pain

4. Flexaril: muscle relaxant. i was just telling molly that if flexeril makes you feel like zombie marshmallow man like it does for a lot of people (me included) there are other muscle relaxants that are newer and have less side effects. i like my zanaflex very much. but everyone has a different response to drugs, so......

5. Fossomax for osteoporosis / osteopenia. don't know how bad your bones are, but i remember that spine fracture you endured a few months back so you may really need this. i only have osteopenia and i've been able to maintain that with calcium / vitamin D. just bought a supplement that supposed to have a better calcium / vit D / magnesium ratio. if i can't hold steady and it gets worse, i may have to take a drug. but since all the osteoporosis drugs sound like they could mess with my already sensitive stomach, i'm trying to hold off as long as i can. but if you really need it and if you don't have my finicky stomach then.......
i know some people here swear by strontium........

6. Famatodine is for the stomach acid. if you didn't complain about your stomach, then its probably because of all the drugs and how some of them can hurt the stomach. I use prilosec. the proton pump inhibitors are stronger than the histamine blockers.

7. Lipitor is for your lipids. these statins really work. i was on generic zocor for only one month (went off because it was causing terrible fluid retention / edema which was aggrevating the hamstring tendons at the knees and my poor feet) but in that month: total 250 -> 124; LDL 133 -> 67; triglycerides an insane 375 -> 92. i almost feel the side effects were worth it. but my HDLs dropped 42 -> 39 which statins can do. so now i'm off the statins, on the exercise about an hour a day, just the walking or biking, and hate to say this after all our food discussions, but on a pretty strict diet nuts, fish, chicken, lots of veggies, moderate fruit, low fat cheese. very little carb. no cakes, cookies, ice cream, etc. doing this for my blood sugar as well.
if triglycerides are like mine were, usually its poor insulin response (insulin resistance) to blame. i'm hoping exercise and diet will cut it for me. i'll know in a month when it will be 2 months off the statin (flying solo) and i'll have my blood work done again. i've got a great book on cholesterol. i've been reading tons on diabetes / prediabetes.......

and if you already knew most of this stuff already, sorry for posting all of this. its just that i was sort of at this point in mid july and freaked a little, thought i'll never be able to turn it around, and maybe, just maybe i am turning it around.....time will tell if i can do it with exercise and diet alone.

good luck, that's a lot to be hit with,
but at least someone is being proactive with you.
my docs are much more conservative and i have to push them a bit,
but that has its advantages too.

sue

Hi Molly, I know, that is pricey...I'm glad he's addressing all of these issues too, I'm such a doof sometimes, I had no idea that high blood pressure can cause shortness of breath... I'm glad to know what's causing it, I've been really worried about that lately! Thanks and have a great day!

michelle, aloha

neurontin is available in a generic at a pittance "gabapentin" is what it's called

take this one and that flexeril when you're not going to be driving...
marshmellow man is a good explanation...into the mush and the fog, oh boy...

good luck

...Hi Ben...you are too funny! Thanks for the info, that will help a lot! When Mike got home from work yesterday, I told him how much my meds were going to cost and he told me that I was getting too expensive and that he may have to take me out back!

hi michelle,

i really do need to make some phone calls and get some work done before the end of everyone else's working day now, but i'll respond more later tonight or tomorrow.

We'll "talk"

sue

Goodness Michelle... that is quite the list of new meds! And wow they are pricey too.

If the trial med really begins to work, I wonder if it might help to bring your BP down a bit? Just guessing that's plausible.

I wish I could help somehow with all of this stuff, but I haven't really had these sorts of troubles. So I'll just send you some hugs instead.


mig

Michelle - Take a closer look at all those meds. Then take a closer look at the alternatives.

Fossamax - no, no, no. There are many posts on the forum about those Bisphosphonate drugs and the side effects of taking them, including a very recent post from myself about the rising number of Osteonecrosis problems in those patients taking the Bis drugs! The alternative is Strontium Citrate. Side effects are mainly some constipatioon which is easily dealt with. Strontium Citrate is excellent and WORKS. New bone is made and existing bone is strengthened - proven. Now, those Bis drugs do NOT make new bone. What they do is to strengthen up existing bone to the point of eventual brittleness, then bingo, another fracture...! Search the Forum for the past posts on the subject.

Google up Strontium Citrate. It is available over the counter, does not cost that much.

As for yr BP, it aint that high. For goodness sake, sounds like this doctor is really on the drug trail. Look at alternatives. I take AAKG/J. That is: Alpha Arginine KetoGlutarate with Jiaogulan. The L'Arginine is an amino acid, the guys who discovered the good effects of this amino acid received the Nobel Prize for science. Google it up. The book is available: 'The Arginine Solution'
http://www.amazon.com/Arginine-Solution-Americas-Cardio-Enhancing-Supplement/dp/0446523909
(snip) >>"In the field of medicine and health it is one of the revolutions of our time: the discovery that the amino-acid L-arginine may be a "magic bullet" for the cardiovascular system. Now, as the evidence mounts, including research that recently won the Nobel Prize in Medicine, more and more scientists and doctors see the extraordinary health benefits of increasing arginine intake. A virtual arterial cleanse, arginine helps eliminate blockage and maintain blood flow. In this persuasive, groundbreaking book, Robert Fried, Ph.D., and Woodson C. Merrel, M.D., two renowned New York health experts, make the case for making arginine part of your life, while also pointing out the situations in which elevated intake may be contraindicated."<<

L'Arginine costs pennies - not to be taken IF got LOW BP.

Jiaogulan, is a herb: gynostemma pentaphyllum (Google up the info). The 'J' herb bolsters the good effects of the AAKG - ensure that you get the L'Arginine Ketoglutarate which is available from Walmart in capsule form - a bit expensive. I buy it (human grade) by the kilo in powder form. I take 2 teas AAKG and 1 teas of the 'J' every day. My BP is under control very nicely thank you and NO side efects. (Without the AAKG/J my BP 'can' elevate to 220/110 - so yours is not that elevated for heavens sake.)

In addition my doctor says that to take BP over a three week period, twice a day, at the same time and use the same arm (pref left arm, as nearer to the heart), use a cuff to measure, not those wrist ones. Then take the average. Very often a BP is elevated in the surgery - white coat syndrome.

I am utterly horrified at the amount of drugs that your doctor is suggesting. You must take catre of YOU. Question *everything, don't swallow blindly.

Don't get into a stew about all this. Be measured in your approach and CHECK it all out. OK? AND, **save your pennies gal.

Must run - time running, departing for France and have yet to pack...vroom vroom

Molly C (UK)
Keeping on Keeping on - naturally