Interview 08

Age at interview: 68

Age at diagnosis: 57

Brief Outline:

Polyarthralgia 1983 & '90. RA diagnosed '91 after knee pain & general decrease in mobility. Side-effects from Gold injections & some NSAIDs; knee injections helped. Now Methotrexate10mg/wk (+folic acid) & Ibuprofen 1/day & pain killers. Sjogren's syndrome.

Background:

Retired secretary, widowed with 2 adult children.

Describes ineffectiveness and side effects of anti-inflammatories including worrying chest pains...

As I say I've been very lucky I think, that I've found the right treatment when I've needed it. I think if I'd have stayed on the, the anti-inflammatories, if the other, other treatments hadn't been available I don't think I would have coped so well because they didn't have the effect on the problems and they certainly didn't make the swellings go down or stop the pain so I've been lucky that I've found the right treatment when I've needed it. 

When you were on the anti-inflammatories were you having to take a lot of painkillers?

Yes. He first lot of anti-inflammatories I had, I can't remember the, I think it was Voltarol, I had very bad chest pains I was very worried. I thought, I thought I was having a heart attack. I mean I don't know what a heart attack is like but I had very bad chest pains and also my arms were very bad, the, they were, the pain was in my arms as well and, and apparently that was a side effect and I didn't like that at all. So I wasn't on Voltarol for very long. But the anti-inflammatories not very good for me.

Did they put you on a different type of anti-inflammatory?

I've been on several in the past which I can't remember the names of but I have been on several. I understand there's loads of them that you can try. But as soon as I saw the rheumatologist he said Gold injections so that was it, straight onto the Gold.

And you didn't have to carry on taking the anti-inflammatories? 

No, no, no.

Gold injections controlled the RA very effectively for several months before she experienced side...

I was diagnosed in 1991 with rheumatoid arthritis and referred to a rheumatology clinic where I was offered Gold injections, which I took up the offer and had the injections at my GPs surgery. They were very successful because previously I could not get, could not get up the stairs, I had great trouble getting in and out of bed, great trouble getting in and out of a chair and at the time was quite concerned that I wouldn't be able to cope as I live on my own and lead quite an active life.

But as I said the Gold injections worked very well indeed. In fact I thought at one time that I was experiencing a miracle because I went to bed one night in great pain and during the night woke up to find that I could move quite freely. Which was very strange and very exciting. And from then on I started to recover and wasn't quite so depressed as I had been before. And I had the Gold injections for about 9 months when unfortunately I developed side effects, very severe side effects, diarrhoea, sickness, which was very uncomfortable, I couldn't continue really leading a normal life because I was frightened to go out in case I was sick or, and also just felt dreadfully washed out, poor, very poorly and lost quite a lot of weight.

I had them three-weekly for 3 months and then I had them monthly for 3 months and then I had 6 months and I had that twice and then as I say I had the bad side effects.

But you, you described how, you know, it was like a miracle happening?

Yeah, it was incredible, absolutely incredible.

Was that as soon as you'd gone onto the Gold or was that after a little while?

No, it took about, about 3 months for it to happen. And, as I, yes it was, it was peculiar, absolutely peculiar. Because in, when I was in bed at night I couldn't move my legs which, whatever position I got into when I got in bed I stayed in that position because it was too painful to move. And it was wonderful when I found I could move my legs freely [laughs].