arthritis

[MunsterSugar]

Spoke to buddy in NZ. They're sad to see him go but said he was about 7 injuries away from All Black cap. And also they don't begrudge him the payday as his arthritis is chronic enough and he's been told he only has 5 years or so left in game

[MunsterSugar]

Again not sure how but facts are simply there. No bitterness or views of pouring cold water. I suppose saying truth which is widely out there is bad.
Again guess typical (same few) here bringing bad form in using bully tactics

My facts too.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/201 ... uture.html

[The Doc]

And also they don't begrudge him the payday as his arthritis is chronic enough and he's been told he only has 5 years or so left in game

All rheumatoid arthritis is "chronic" - meaning it is a condition for which there isn't a cure but it can be managed. If caught early (as it was) before joint damage there is no reason why there would be a time limit.

Hope his battle with arthritis isn't affected by our miserable wet winters.

Generally rheumatoid arthritis isn't affected by external conditions - it is a dysfunction of the immune system causing the system to treat joint fluid as a foreign body. Which is why it isn't limited to a particular joint. Usually when people have cold weather cause their arthritis "to act up" it is osteoarthritis which is damage to a specific joint mechanism usually caused by wear and tear (or similar). Ex players with arthritic knees (for example) are usually suffering from osteoarthritis - two different conditions.

[blockhead]

And also they don't begrudge him the payday as his arthritis is chronic enough and he's been told he only has 5 years or so left in game

All rheumatoid arthritis is "chronic" - meaning it is a condition for which there isn't a cure but it can be managed. If caught early (as it was) before joint damage there is no reason why there would be a time limit.

Hope his battle with arthritis isn't affected by our miserable wet winters.

Generally rheumatoid arthritis isn't affected by external conditions - it is a dysfunction of the immune system causing the system to treat joint fluid as a foreign body. Which is why it isn't limited to a particular joint. Usually when people have cold weather cause their arthritis "to act up" it is osteoarthritis which is damage to a specific joint mechanism usually caused by wear and tear (or similar). Ex players with arthritic knees (for example) are usually suffering from osteoarthritis - two different conditions.

So, you really are a Doc?

[The Doc]

And also they don't begrudge him the payday as his arthritis is chronic enough and he's been told he only has 5 years or so left in game

All rheumatoid arthritis is "chronic" - meaning it is a condition for which there isn't a cure but it can be managed. If caught early (as it was) before joint damage there is no reason why there would be a time limit.

Hope his battle with arthritis isn't affected by our miserable wet winters.

Generally rheumatoid arthritis isn't affected by external conditions - it is a dysfunction of the immune system causing the system to treat joint fluid as a foreign body. Which is why it isn't limited to a particular joint. Usually when people have cold weather cause their arthritis "to act up" it is osteoarthritis which is damage to a specific joint mechanism usually caused by wear and tear (or similar). Ex players with arthritic knees (for example) are usually suffering from osteoarthritis - two different conditions.

So, you really are a Doc?

Lol - No. But I'm familiar with the subject

[MunsterSugar]

And also they don't begrudge him the payday as his arthritis is chronic enough and he's been told he only has 5 years or so left in game

All rheumatoid arthritis is "chronic" - meaning it is a condition for which there isn't a cure but it can be managed. If caught early (as it was) before joint damage there is no reason why there would be a time limit.

Hope his battle with arthritis isn't affected by our miserable wet winters.

Generally rheumatoid arthritis isn't affected by external conditions - it is a dysfunction of the immune system causing the system to treat joint fluid as a foreign body. Which is why it isn't limited to a particular joint. Usually when people have cold weather cause their arthritis "to act up" it is osteoarthritis which is damage to a specific joint mechanism usually caused by wear and tear (or similar). Ex players with arthritic knees (for example) are usually suffering from osteoarthritis - two different conditions.

Haven't a clue on time limit. But reading there it's intense I'd say looking after it with injections and how itbcan hit anytime in crippling way.

And time probably come from fact he has said the money is much better on offer than was from NZRU and that he knows he won't have as long a career as most others

[The Doc]

Haven't a clue on time limit. But reading there it's intense I'd say looking after it with injections and how itbcan hit anytime in crippling way.

And time probably come from fact he has said the money is much better on offer than was from NZRU and that he knows he won't have as long a career as most others

The injections aren't pain killing injections - they alter the proteins in the immune system that are triggered by it thinking it needs to react. Injections are pretty low impact (think diabetes pens) and have little side effects.

The comments about "hitting at any time in a crippling way" are about the condition itself. There are no known indicators and the trigger isn't known - so you can get juvenile arthritis out of the blue (as he did) or you can suddenly get it in middle age (as I did). And before it is medicated / controlled it can be crippling - if you think how an ankle is like the day after you sprain it really badly - it's essentially the exact same process going on. Swelling caused by the immune system. Just apply it to every joint at the same time.

On his comment on having a short career - I thought that he was referencing a friend of his who had to retire due to concussion - again a general statement about the game to be honest.

[The Doc]

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Apologies for that folks

[riocard911]

<End of tangential public service broadcast>

Apologies for that folks

No apologies needed, dude. That was very informative. Grma!!!

[Dave Cahill]

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Apologies for that folks

quality info there Doc, tft!

[Oldschool]

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Apologies for that folks

To add some more information.
My son in law has psoriatic arthritis and again it's an immuno related condition.
The treatment for this is a drug called methotrexate.
It has a few side affects. It's an immuno suppressant.
EG damages sperm (as in dont get pregnant if you are on this stuff and you've to be off it for a long time and have tests etc). The reason I mention it is that he was prescribed it without being asked what the family planning situation was?
Sorry for the amount of detail but in general it's wise to ask a lot of questions.
Another side affect is potential liver damage.
You've to be careful with it, get the regular blood tests etc but it gives great results.
I don't have any medical background either - thems just the FACTs

[fourthirtythree]

Methotrexate would be pretty old school (Oldschool) but doctors like prescribing it as a first option as it is so well studied and they are pretty sure about its long term effects (that is, it is better than the disease but you have to keep an eye on it). It's an early chemo drug and imho pretty harsh. As a professional athlete Lowe would more likely have been put straight onto the more modern biologics. These have only come on the market within the past 20 years and the long term outcomes are less well understood.

The inflamation markers in the blood would not only indicate joint damage but also heart damage on an ongoing basis which is more the thinking about managing rheumatoid arthritis (and associated auto immune arthritises) than necessarily just the joints. Though with an athlete more aggressive treatment straight away (and early diagnosis) would be more likely anyway.

[The Doc]

<End of tangential public service broadcast>

Apologies for that folks

To add some more information.
My son in law has psoriatic arthritis and again it's an immuno related condition.
The treatment for this is a drug called methotrexate.
It has a few side affects. It's an immuno suppressant.
EG damages sperm (as in dont get pregnant if you are on this stuff and you've to be off it for a long time and have tests etc). The reason I mention it is that he was prescribed it without being asked what the family planning situation was?
Sorry for the amount of detail but in general it's wise to ask a lot of questions.
Another side affect is potential liver damage.
You've to be careful with it, get the regular blood tests etc but it gives great results.
I don't have any medical background either - thems just the FACTs

Hi OS - as 433 said, Methotrexate is generally the initial response because it has known effects which can be monitored and has a high efficacy rate. It does have side effects though this is a bug bear of mine - every course of action has side effects including "doing nothing". But I believe it washes out of the system after 6 months (in the case of deciding to have a family). You do need to have regular blood tests to measure liver reaction. It was used in early chemotherapy - but it was part of the combination and was designed to supress the immune response in the therapy - it wasn't the element that killed cells. The dosage used for arthritis is a lot lower than the original chemo dosage

In my case (and every case will be different), I was on Methotrexate for approx. 5 years with reducing dosage. After about three years I was put on to a biologic (the more recent advance). I am on Humira - I believe Lowe is on another one (Etanercept) - there are 3 or 4 similar types. Once they were confident the biologic worked for me they took me off Methotrexate - haven't used it in 3 or 4 years now. I believe the efficacy rate on the biologics may be lower - so it may be a case of trying one and if it doesn't work move to another. Reading the articles on Lowe - it seems he is only on Biologics though Methotrexate shouldn't prevent anyone being active

Not sure if any of this helps - really just to say that the long term management may not always involve Methotrexate. And people shouldn't feel it is not manageable. If you had any questions of my experience happy to answer them - her or DM

Hope your son-in-law is managing ok btw

[Oldschool]

<End of tangential public service broadcast>

Apologies for that folks

To add some more information.
My son in law has psoriatic arthritis and again it's an immuno related condition.
The treatment for this is a drug called methotrexate.
It has a few side affects. It's an immuno suppressant.
EG damages sperm (as in dont get pregnant if you are on this stuff and you've to be off it for a long time and have tests etc). The reason I mention it is that he was prescribed it without being asked what the family planning situation was?
Sorry for the amount of detail but in general it's wise to ask a lot of questions.
Another side affect is potential liver damage.
You've to be careful with it, get the regular blood tests etc but it gives great results.
I don't have any medical background either - thems just the FACTs

Hi OS - as 433 said, Methotrexate is generally the initial response because it has known effects which can be monitored and has a high efficacy rate. It does have side effects though this is a bug bear of mine - every course of action has side effects including "doing nothing". But I believe it washes out of the system after 6 months (in the case of deciding to have a family). You do need to have regular blood tests to measure liver reaction. It was used in early chemotherapy - but it was part of the combination and was designed to supress the immune response in the therapy - it wasn't the element that killed cells. The dosage used for arthritis is a lot lower than the original chemo dosage

In my case (and every case will be different), I was on Methotrexate for approx. 5 years with reducing dosage. After about three years I was put on to a biologic (the more recent advance). I am on Humira - I believe Lowe is on another one (Etanercept) - there are 3 or 4 similar types. Once they were confident the biologic worked for me they took me off Methotrexate - haven't used it in 3 or 4 years now. I believe the efficacy rate on the biologics may be lower - so it may be a case of trying one and if it doesn't work move to another. Reading the articles on Lowe - it seems he is only on Biologics though Methotrexate shouldn't prevent anyone being active

Not sure if any of this helps - really just to say that the long term management may not always involve Methotrexate. And people shouldn't feel it is not manageable. If you had any questions of my experience happy to answer them - her or DM

Hope your son-in-law is managing ok btw

Thanks Doc.
He's off the meds at the moment and doing well. We have a granddaughter as a result and she's ticking all the boxes if you know what I mean.
He's trying to treat the psoriasis with the hope of avoiding going back on the meds, using UV (the safer one) therapy, a very healthy diet and keeping really fit.
I'll mention some of the things you've mentioned, to him and take it from there.
Thanks for all the info.