what to do
 

As some of you know I'm falling apart not being able to do manual labour for long periods of time any more . Seem to be spending more time at home unable to work due to arthritis which is also leading to my back going more often . I've got to start thinking of retraining to a different career ,as there is a wide career base in the club any idea's ?

Given you skills base I would have a look at specialist manufacturing production line work. Money isn't great starting out and since you've been your own boss for a long time it might be hard to adapt to working under management etc. There is supposed to be government backed investment and expansion of our manufactuing sector, but I haven't seen much investment in the S.E. as yet

Pm sent.
Have you thought of a home workshop? That was you could regulate the amount of work you take on. :EVO:

Home work shop ?

i no how you fill CJ got arthrits in my hands too m8.niges idea seems like a winner.

Have it in my feet , hips ,spin, shoulders and hands !
Have tryed to work less in a week but the way work is its feast or famin . Which when it's feast I get f'd with mobility . Hence was look for people's thoughts on different options . Have been looking at health & safety officer but it's a very long course .

Take on a trainee job centres are giving them away and some good grants too

What about some sort of teaching?

Engine's, Gearbox's, turbo's advice etc,etc + maybe boiler & pump repairs. Look at some form of grant for working from home {if there is one} :EVO:

not the first time i've been told to do that nige , its taking the leap . may be pushed in the end!

Horrible condition that Rheumatoid arthritis.

My wife has had it for 11 years and it totally wrecks your life.

I've had wars with Guys Hospital trying to get my Mrs signed up on that new Biologic response modifier. It's in injection form and delivered to your house but you need to amass enough "points" before you are issued with it.

One point being one joint that is effected by RA. They told me that this treatment is £ 20K a year.

When you see your Mrs crying most nights in her sleep you want to do something about it and I have had 3 meetings over the past two years saying I am willing to pay for the new treatment and they STILL refused every time.

About 6 months ago I had enough and booked a meeting the Dr Gibbons who is one of the Europe's leading RA specialists and told him unless something is done I wont have a wife left. I gave him a detailed account of what my Mrs life is now like and for the first time he listened.

It then involved other specialists and it was agreed that Hev needed pushing up the ladder to achieve the points and she starts her first injection in 4 weeks .............. and it's free.

So get up there CJ. This new drug stops RA in it's tracks mate !

thats a sad story SKULLFUDGE about your wife. give her a kiss from me and tell her too keep smiling. and hope the treatment gives her some relieve.

Sorry to hear of your plight.

Become a mapper. :nod:

Its not something that will be new to you as you've seen it done a 1000 times.

You know your way to SRR. and round a scoob and have the contacts :doubleup:

Are you sure that would make her feel better. :lol:

As said above, that's a sad story, Clive. But at least some hope is just around the corner. I hope so much that it will help Hev. All the best to her.

Really sad to hear about your health state, too, C.J. Keep my fingers crossed for you finding a treatment that helps you and, of course, a job you can enjoy.

Whats the drug called clive ?
They stuck me on methotrexate .
Ian I could do the rolling road thing but mapping is a different kettle of fish.

Glad its getting sorted Clive. You can only try Cj :EVO:

Cheers guys.

CJ .... Hev has been on Methotrexate for some years (and still is) but it's not very good.
It certainly works because when Hev forgets to take one it shows.

I'm not too sure of the name of the new one yet as it could be one of 4.

I will let you know chap :)



When you see all this 5hit every day it makes the word "Healthy" become extremely important.

:cry: :mrgreen:

Cheers

I work in Pharmaceutical market research and see a lot of work being done on new therapy directions for the treatment or RA and the associated pain. I have a particular interest in this having been diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome a couple of years back, one of my particular symptoms being arthritic pain in my hips and shoulders which will continue to spread to other joints given time. Not great as I am yet to hit 30.

I see a lot of rheumatologists across Europe and the states discussing clinical data of drugs still at the trial stages. Unfortunately with drugs this takes an awfully long time before they hit the market for the obvious reasons.

The research I see is all data based and so drug names are never mentioned (the Pharma companies like to keep everything as secret as they can until the last minute) so unfortunately I cannot give any names. It is however worthwhile at least asking questions about clinical trials next time you see your rheumatologist as they may well be taking part in such a study that the symptoms of your particular condition may make you eligible for. Worst case scenario is you are not eligible or they are not taking part, however it may just be a worthwhile question.

In the mean time, I feel your pain although perhaps to a lesser degree at this point in time. Hopefully some of these therapies are approaching the approval stage, but in the mean time I wish you the best of luck finding some work that your joints won't punish you for.

Many thanks Rossmarts

No ideas on the health front mate - but hope you find something to help. Thinking on the job front though home workshop sounds the deal - particularly if you look at engine rebuilds etc. you could then do 'off the shelf' blocks etc. and also offer drive in 'conversions' with Simon as your mapper. Something similar to Andy Williams (WMS) and Engine tuner?

Anything I can think of still involves a high level of manual work.

Be it car of otherwise.

Could you not take on a young healthy cheap guy to do the manual plumbing and you oversee, manage? Probably more hours to pay for him but less manual?

I know its slightly off topic, however;

My mum was on Methatrexate and 2 other sets of tablets (Cant remember names) for ages, and they started to screw her liver up. Shes no longer on tablets and is injecting this stuff:

http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/...3-29225623.jpg

Says it makes a world of difference.

Thats the one my wife will be on in 3 weeks time.

Cimzia is a monoclonal antibody (that's what the mab stands for in the full name) and there are a few treatments available that use this particular method of action for the treatment of RA and some cancers. In the case of RA, they are basically lab produced antibodies specifically targeted to work on the molecules that cause the inflammation at the joints.

Assuming it is applicable to your particular condition you should definitely speak to your doctor about moving to one of these therapies. The clinical data and the feedback from physicians is all positive regarding these drugs and there are a couple of different options available so if one doesn't work so well another can be tried.