Hi Friends...
  I'm sorry I haven't been around. Life's gotten in the way a little
more than I'd like lately. The past 6 months have been incredibly
difficult.
  A lot of time's been spent dealing with the loss of Mom and
Tim...not just grief, but, the myriad life issues surrounding their
loss...such as cleaning out their home and getting it ready for sale.
Also, dealing with surrogate and probate court, along with banks, stock
brokers, tax accountant and attorney. Ugh! It's been daunting. Eileen
and I have dragged our feet as long as we could. Now, it's time to move
on. The house stuff is huge. It's been both emotionally and physically
grueling. Disassembling and 'throwing away' their lives is one of the
hardest things I've ever done.   Thankfully, we're almost done.
Hopefully, the house will be on the market within the next 2 weeks.
Maybe then, we can begin to heal.
  Thankfully, the rest of the family's doing well. Kids all healthy
and wayyyyyy too active LOL. Jay (15 year old) is playing high school
and Babe Ruth ball this year. It takes up every spare second of our
time. Lots of fun, but, exhausting, too. In between, Allison had two
formal dances (prom was Friday) to attend. Those of you with girls will
know how much time and effort goes into making everything just perfect.
Yikes LOL! David finished his first year of college on the Dean's List,
both semesters YAY! He loves it and is doing better than he did in high
school. And, Jeffrey's finishing up elementary school and gearing up
for middle school next year. Can we say 'independence?' 'Nuff said LOL!
Jeff's diabetes has remained in great control since his big scare back
in November and I'm very grateful for that.
  As for me, well, my RA's more out of control than it's ever been
before. The pain is overwhelming sometimes, despite generous pain
control from my RD. Eating and sleeping have become memories of the
past. I've had more disability and deformity in the past few months
than I've had in the past 3 years. We're thinking about Rituxin. But,
I've had no luck with any of the others, so, I'm hesitant to take the
huge financial hit it will entail. My co-pay is 20% if BC/BS even
approves it. I'm eagerly reading Duckie's saga and praying for good
results. That might be just the push I need to go forward with this
drug. There's got to be something out there that works for me, right? :
)
  Which brings me to my question: Does anyone here take Salagen (sp?)?
I kept not taking the script for it from my RD the past few months, as
I didn't want to add another med. This past month, the dryness in my
mouth and throat are so bad, that I have a ton of raw sores trying to
make my life miserable. So, I filled the script last week and the
bottle sits next to me, unopened, ever since. I need to take it. But,
I'd love to hear if anyone has any personal experience with it. Any
side-effects? Any relief? I'm already using all the Biotene products,
along with a Benadryl/Maalox swish. I carry a water bottle everywhere.
Nothing's giving any relief. I'm so raw and sore that I can barely
speak. Eating's become a chore and I'm losing weight again. Normally,
that wouldn't be a problem LOL. But, I lost 60 lbs in the past few
months from plain old not eating and I've had some malnutrition
problems that I don't want to return. My hair is finally filling in
again and I'd like to keep it that way : )  Anyway, any shares on this
med would be greatly appreciated.
  I've only been reading sporadically, so, I'm not up on what's going
on with everyone. But, I hope you know that I love you and pray for
each and every one of you every single day. You're never far from my
thoughts. And, you're always in my heart. Hoping like crazy that
everyone's doing great and that if there's anything important I need to
know that someone will give me a holler.
  With love, Patty   oxoxoxo