Hi Sunsign. I can't really shed much light on this as I'm not in the medical field, but I can tell you just what I've seen from my experience. When I was on prednisone, I went bezerk. I was NOT me at all. I was in such a mental fog, paranoid, and just a completely different awful person - that could be affecting her.
I've also deal with liver problems (due to meds and health) that cause me to have severe mental fog at time that I cannot remember my own house number. So, meds could increase problems like this.
However, I know because I have a family member going through unexplained seziures, that they can be difficult to determine. The family member, once a big wig, is now often disoriented and needs constant care and can't be left alone anymore and he's only in his 60's.
I also know from experience that when you are in a deep depression (especially if you've never been treated) you don't always recognize the problem and will deny it. I have seen depression and other mental health issues pretty much debilitate people in unexplained physical pain until they were treated properly.
It sounds like something is definitely going on with her, but I really don't think it has anything to do with RA. She needs to be honest with her doc as to what meds she is taking and have a family member go with her and discuss concerns with her doctor as to what is going on with her.
Good luck.
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