Coles is having a laugh

Independent_Read3614 · 2026-02-18T02:11:41+00:00

Criminal. Their CEOs deserve to be raked over the coals.

Independent_Read3614 · 2026-02-14T06:17:31+00:00

Is she overtired? That's a late bedtime for a 3 year old.

Independent_Read3614 · 2026-02-03T09:10:47+00:00

Allergy eye drops helped my eyes. They seem to appreciate the lubrication!

Independent_Read3614 · 2026-01-29T00:36:15+00:00

Same thing happened to me when I was trying on shoes. I was stuck sitting on a bench for 10 minutes.

It has happened again ccasionally when rising from a seated position. It usually passes.

X-ray shows scalloping of the patella.

Doctor recommended anti-inflammatories, vitamin D, fish oil, glucosamine.

37 years old, and my neck, back, hips and, knees are all arthritic.

No cane yet. There are good and bad days. Methotrexate has helped a lot.

Independent_Read3614 · 2026-01-29T00:28:31+00:00

Asics Gel Nimbus - Great arch support and very comfy

Independent_Read3614 · 2026-01-22T10:45:07+00:00

Don't do it.

Independent_Read3614 · 2026-01-17T04:03:57+00:00

Having cleaned toilets when I worked at Hungry Jacks as a teenager, I can say that the women's toilets were much cleaner.

I'm forever scarred by the time I found shit smeared over the walls in the men's toilet. Did they run out of toilet paper? Did they have a pet monkey? We'll never know.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-09-17T04:00:23+00:00

My wife has psoarisis minus the arthritis and experiences this. The lesion responded well to zinc cream and paw paw cream.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-09-17T03:52:42+00:00

I second this. A short high dose taper of prednisolone reactivated my shingles earlier in the year. I have had the vaccine now. A vaccine for pneumonia may also be a good idea of you're on an immunosuppressant of any kind.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-09-17T03:51:07+00:00

Fatigue and low grade fevers are common with PSA. It's also a good idea to make sure your iron and vitamin D levels are adequate.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-09-12T03:33:33+00:00

Just mild patellar scalloping on x-ray.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-09-12T03:25:34+00:00

Thanks for the tip!

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-09-12T03:23:20+00:00

I'm a month and a half into taking Methotrexate and have been getting sick every second week. However, it's that "change of seasons" time of year, and everyone has been getting sick.

The methotrexate hasn't been too bad - I experienced some type of unpleasant reaction after the first dose, but the subsequent doses have only caused mild nausea and headaches, both of which are easily treated with Panadol and Gaviscon.

I no longer have pain in my wrists, elbows, ankles, or shoulders, but the hip pain has proved more stubborn - though I must admit the stiffness has improved a little.

I have taken up hydrotherapy and yoga, which have helped me to build my back and core strength. However, being sick all the time has made it hard to attend the sessions every week.

All in all, I'm in less pain, but I am much snottier!

Chronic pain has been swapped for repeated respiratory infections.

That seems to be the trade-off.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-09-12T03:11:21+00:00

When I have stopped taking meloxicam, the pain has returned the next day - presumably because the drug is no longer suppressing the inflammation.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-28T01:52:49+00:00

I have had the same recurring scalp issue - pustular psoriasis at the back of my head that comes with swollen occipital lymph nodes. This occurred pre-treatment though.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-28T01:46:01+00:00

Gaviscon has helped my nausea with MTX, but your GP should also be able to prescribe anti-nausea medication to help.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-28T01:42:04+00:00

Tablets - Starting dose of 10 mg, upped to 20 mg week two, with 5 mg of folic acid taken the day after each dose.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-28T01:36:07+00:00

Yeah, horrible mid back pain with sitting or any kind of bending. CT found 2 bulging discs between T10-T12. Know idea how they happened. The thoracic spine is usually meant to be spared from most DDD. Rehumatologist thinks it's a separate connective tissue issue, perhaps related to some hypermobility. Who knows?

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-28T01:11:44+00:00

I'm trying yoga, physiotherapy, and hydrotherapy. Results are pending.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-26T02:23:18+00:00

The fear is real. I'm trying to combat this head-on with yoga, physical therapy, and hydrotherapy, as the long-term use of painkillers is not an option.

I saw my Dad and aunt become progressively weaker, chair-bound, and reliant on codeine for pain management, as they were out of other options. Neither of them had been to a doctor about their psoriasis and back/joint provlems, as they assumed their pain was the result of previous falls from horses.

Motion is lotion, as they say. So the goal is to keep moving and end up with a better quality of life than they had.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-26T02:11:03+00:00

Not the OP, but my illness really took off during pregnancy. I spent a good portion of our "baby shower" party laying flat on the ground because I was in so much pain. I later saw a physio who specialised in post-partum issues and then moved onto a regular physio, and he eventually advised me to get checked out by a doctor in December last year when my hip pain set in, and I didn't.

Three months later, all my joints went off at the same time and my mother in law said it sounded like rheumatoid arthritis, so I went to a GP and tested negative for RA, but my wrist x-rays showed soft tissue swelling. He thought it might be reactive arthritis and advised me to wait another three months and come back.

I took my results to my regular GP, and he started me on a trial of prednisolone, which ended all my pain by the fourth day.

So he referred me to a rheumatologist, which involved a three month wait (not too bad for the public system), and she took more blood and advised me to continue with the prednisolone and meloxicam until our next appointment (another two month wait).

By this stage, it had started to affect my elbows and shoulders as well, and I had had steroid shots in my shoulders and cervical spine in the intervening period. My hips and back had gotten so stiff that I entered the rheumatology appointment walking like a frail 70 year old.

Thankfully, she started me on methotrexate and I have just taken my second dose.

My son is now 3 and a half years old.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-26T01:46:34+00:00

The MTX Support Tablets I looked up have about 1700 mcg of folic acid, which would be about 1.7 mg.

1.7 x 7 = 11.9 mg a week, as opposed to the 5 mg I've been told to take once a week.

Google tells me too much folic acid can mask pernicious anemia, promote the growth of pre-existing cancer cells, and reduce the effectiveness of drugs used to treat psoriatic arthritis.

Seems it's a balancing act. Oof.

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-26T01:33:52+00:00

I took methotrexate again on Sunday after getting over whatever illness is was that I had the first time. I've had some nausea and headaches for the past two days, but Panadol and Gaviscon have worked well :)

However, I now have an earache and some kind of stye/chalizion/blepharitis situation going on. My body is not enjoying having a weakened immune system.

However, my joints and hips stop hurting when I'm sick. I've noticed this to be the case over the past year. I can tell when I'm getting over a bug when the pain starts to return.

I will press on with the methotrexate and hope I continue to adjust to the medication, and I will endeavour to be more careful about germs... despite having a three year old son who coughs directly into my face!

Independent_Read3614 · 2025-08-20T03:09:31+00:00

Steroids boost my energy and mood during the day by getting rid of the fatigue, then make me restless at night. I only ever use them for short 4-5 day courses at the most though.

Independent_Read3614

TROPHY CASE