dear dr. jack and all,

thanks for the compliments on my letter to santa, and here's my own personal
wonderful christmas present - my arthritis is somewhat in remission. it isn't
totally gone, but gone enough that i can stop taking Feldene each and every
day. now, dr. jack, no rheumatologist wants to give anyone prednisone anymore.
they get such great results with the plaquenil and methotrexate if the nsaids
don't work. the nsaids often work well enough, but there is a great deal of
variety in patient response. i tried several before settling with feldene;
some didn't seem to do anything, one made me crazy (okay, craziER, i will
admit), etc. also, the possibility of damage to your gut, liver, etc., is high
enough to use these drugs thoughtfully and not just pile them on top of each
other.

i was also taking 40 mg. of pepcid daily, and still had stomach problems. but
your ultimate advice, not to wean, is of course the best! anyone who has some
form of arthritis or other (not joint infections, per se, but a more
complicated explanation - inflammation etc.) ought to continue to breastfeed
because it is easier and that's one less thing to feel a failure about in the
parenting sphere.

carol b.