Treatment of RA can be very confusing even without the prior Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). It is HIGHLY recommended that you have someone go with you to the doctor appts to take notes of what the doctor is saying so that you can fully understand what the doctor says and what you are supposed to do. Would easy child/difficult child allow you to go with him to his appointments to take notes? When complex things are going on I often ask my mother to go as she is far better at note taking, asking questions, and understanding what is going on than my husband is. husband would go, but he never asks questions and if I don't send a note to HIS doctor appts he will go in, be in horrible pain, and tell the doctor he is fine and has no clue why I made him go. This can be after days of a fever, of groaning all night in his sleep and complaining of pain all day for days or a week or more and is incredibly annoying to me and to his doctor. She has been known to ask him if she should call me to ask what is going on or if he will be honest. Then she will call me to ask anyway as he usually forgets half of what he has been griping about.
So if you can go with him, even if he doesn't want to you say anything, the notes might find it helpful. Or maybe you and his new woman could forge some common ground by working together to be sure he understands what the doctor says. With RA of any kind, this is very important, esp with medications like biologics.
Be aware that some docs ARE jumping to them first even though that is completely against the recommendations from almost every doctor group out there. It is like psychiatrists giving people with bipolar medications like lexapro - not advised but many do it anyway because it gives fast relief even though it causes major long term problems. The side effects from biologics can be devastating and can include many drastic and disasterous diseases that cannot be fixed and can shorten your life. They can even shut down organs or give you infectious diseases like TB and some can even trigger some types of cancer. They were very concerned about biologics giving me cervical cancer because I had a bad pap years ago at age 19 but I had already had a total hysterectomy so it wasn't a concern because I didn't have those parts. WHile difficult child cannot get that, he could get other serious diseases.
Didn't he use some types of drugs in the past? I know his drinking was a problem at one time, and with that history the risks to his kidneys and liver are high and his doctor NEEDS that info even if you must send him a letter with-o easy child/difficult child knowing it. Gfgbro is having some health issues and the doctor suggested that at some point biologics may be an option but given his history of alcoholism they are a last resort if the pain is too much because bro won't take pain medications (thankfully!). It is a tough call but for now they are using other things because the risks are high because bro would use ANYTHING once he was drunk. Bro doesn't believe he did this, but my mom talked to enough other people who knew him at parties and saw him snorting and shooting and smoking anything he could get his paws on, so she finally told his docs about it. This is why they do not think biologics are a good idea because they could weaken his system enough for any disease he is currently harboring but not having symptoms of to become active. Hep C is their biggest fear or so I have been told. It would be a concern for easy child/difficult child's docs if they are aware of any drug use (if he has any in his past).
So if you can go with him, even if he doesn't want to you say anything, the notes might find it helpful. Or maybe you and his new woman could forge some common ground by working together to be sure he understands what the doctor says. With RA of any kind, this is very important, esp with medications like biologics.
Be aware that some docs ARE jumping to them first even though that is completely against the recommendations from almost every doctor group out there. It is like psychiatrists giving people with bipolar medications like lexapro - not advised but many do it anyway because it gives fast relief even though it causes major long term problems. The side effects from biologics can be devastating and can include many drastic and disasterous diseases that cannot be fixed and can shorten your life. They can even shut down organs or give you infectious diseases like TB and some can even trigger some types of cancer. They were very concerned about biologics giving me cervical cancer because I had a bad pap years ago at age 19 but I had already had a total hysterectomy so it wasn't a concern because I didn't have those parts. WHile difficult child cannot get that, he could get other serious diseases.
Didn't he use some types of drugs in the past? I know his drinking was a problem at one time, and with that history the risks to his kidneys and liver are high and his doctor NEEDS that info even if you must send him a letter with-o easy child/difficult child knowing it. Gfgbro is having some health issues and the doctor suggested that at some point biologics may be an option but given his history of alcoholism they are a last resort if the pain is too much because bro won't take pain medications (thankfully!). It is a tough call but for now they are using other things because the risks are high because bro would use ANYTHING once he was drunk. Bro doesn't believe he did this, but my mom talked to enough other people who knew him at parties and saw him snorting and shooting and smoking anything he could get his paws on, so she finally told his docs about it. This is why they do not think biologics are a good idea because they could weaken his system enough for any disease he is currently harboring but not having symptoms of to become active. Hep C is their biggest fear or so I have been told. It would be a concern for easy child/difficult child's docs if they are aware of any drug use (if he has any in his past).
