Husbands health seems to be getting worse

Kate45

Hi my husband has RA he’s had it for 11 years all over plus other feet problems.

past few months he’s so tired pain everywhere , a bad chest wheezing but X-ray came back normal for the chest .

he’s also now got big lump on his wrist and numbness in the hand and pins and needles .

this hasn’t been checked yet .his health just seems to be worse than ever no energy constant pain wheezing even at rest .he’s in a wheelchair but we can’t get out it’s difficult and he lies on the sofa all day . He also broke a rib again by coughing as his bones are weak due to years of pred steroids. He’s 47 and Just getting worse .

stickywicket

How horrible for both of you!

There was much about your post that puzzled me at first. Why is he so bad after only 11 years of RA? Why is he tàking steroids for so long? Then I seemed to remember that he has several other problems which, I guess, might answer both questions.

We àll understand the awful pain and fatiguè. but, if he's virtually immobile, things cán only get worse. Sometimes we have to force our reluctant bodies to get into gear.

I wouldn't dare try to give advice other than to say do ask your GP how things can be improved. I'd guess that even the slightest bit of exercise would help. Keep him well hydrated and feed him some healthy fresh foods. And, don't forget to look after yourself too. It's so true that arthritis affectß everyone in the household.

Louisa77

Hi @Kate45

Sounds really tough for your husband and for you to be the person trying to support him and watch his health deteriorate can't be easy.

I hope you are getting the right health support from the rheumatology team it's important they are aware of the changes to his health. As @stickywicket says it's very important you are looking after yourself as well, I hope you have friends and family who can help.

I'm sure you know all about rheumatoid arthritis but just in case it's useful our info does list all the different medication/treatment options available Rheumatoid arthritis | Causes, symptoms, treatments (versusarthritis.org), maybe it would be worth exploring options and discussing this with his health team to try and give him a better quality life.

All the best

Louisa77 (moderator)

Kate45

Hi thanks for your nice messages .

yes he has RA in virtually every joint you can get it in , he also has chronic osteomyelitis in one foot with non healing wound lots of operations past 4 years on that and the other foot recurring cellulitis with non healing wound which led to kidney failure not long ago .

we seem to have been abandoned by rheumatologist who has left our orthopaedic consultant with the duty of taking care of him . Which this consultant has been fantastic the 4 years he’s been taking care of his feet .

hes in pain all over .

when they have tried to take him off steroids he ends up paralysed and the RA goes septic.

the new modified injections we tried a few years ago lowered his immune system too much and he got non healing ulcers which lead to feet problems.

we have an appointment this month for rheumatologist but we had to ask for another consultant as the other one didn’t see us past few years they kept cancelling appointments and leaving orthopaedics to deal with us .

stickywicket

I think I'm starting to understand a little better. Your husband has medical problems which work against each other. The RA requires his immune system to be dampened down. The osteomyelitis and cellulitis require his immune system to be strong to fight them. What a dilemma! And, if he's been having several operations for the osteomyelitis then DMARDS to treat the RA would, presumably, not be possible. I hope the rheumatologist and orhopaedic consultant can work something out between them.