To those of you recently diagnosed, maybe this will give you some hope.
I was diagnosed with RA in April 2007. RA was mainly in my wrists and hands - - great difficulty driving, opening doors & jars, dressing myself, etc.
RA doctor put me on prednisone for 14 days and MTX 12.5 mg each week. He uses a joint scoring method that set my goal at 6.2 or below. This week I made it! I was at 1.2 - - I am basically pain free right now of RA. My blood work looks good too. My hair hasn't fallen out, maybe a little thinner though. And, of course, I have to stay on MTX forever and that won't be much fun, but thus far it has been worth it for me.
My RA doc seems somewhat amazed that I have done so well on such a low dose of MTX.
In April, hurting and depressed, I didn't know what was ahead and it was scary, very scary. I just wanted to pass along my good news in hopes that it might brighten someones day and give them some hope too.
Flamingo, thanks for writing to the newbies and telling your story. I think it must be hard for the newly diagnosed to read all these posts and develop hope. Some of our stories and continued struggles with RA must sound daunting and horrible to the new people. It doesn't give them much hope. I know that I've struggled with the disease for over 10 years and I'm still tweaking meds. I have my up and down times and I'm sure that the newbies put themselves in our place and wonder if their future is going to be like this.
With early intervention, a good RD, and the right combo of drugs their furture looks great and about as normal as one can hope for. Starting treatment early on and keeping damage to a minimum is the key to success in treating RA. Some of us didn't do that and that's why our stories read the way they do.
Thanks again Flamingo for telling your story of hope. Lindy
dear Flamingo, I am so happy for you! I was on a small amt of MTX for years until an infection/surgery on my heart,(Dec 06) which sent my RA into a tail spin. It has been so hard to get back to that 10mgs and under amount, but i"m still trying. Couldn't take RA meds for awhile after surgery.
Good to hear your story, I hope it is true for more people on the board. Lynda
I know there are many people who are having wonderful doctor visits and pain free days, but they are out having fun and don't need to come to the board as often. People come here looking for support and advice when they are down, so the messages often all seem depressing. It's just the nature of a board like this. But we need to hear the good stuff too! Thank you for realizing that!
I am so happy for you! Now go fill your days with fun!
Good to hear you are doing well, Flamingo. Always good to hear that people have been stabilized and things are working well for them. Enjoy!I'm a newbie here too, and nervous about my doc visit today for diag of this issue...fairly certain it is RA I'm experiencing....I've been fortunate all these years to be very healthy, so guess it's my turn ...I've been reading all I can about this, specially about meds available...my medicare script insurance is very limiting on what it will cover for this RA..and that's very worrysome...just got done taking terbinafine for blood fungal infection that affected my toenails and fingernails, and the ins would not cover it, so had to buy from canada, and appreciate that I could buy them there...
Very happy to see the hope in Flamingo post...will see what happens. thanks all for the info on these forums....bye
Hi All: Newbie on this site just looking for information and "side affects". After 6 years, they finally diagnosed me with severe RA. Mine's strange, travels all over and can be in several locations at once. Right now I'm on Prednisone 5mg, MTX (8 every week), HCQ and Remacade every 6 weeks. The last one is the killer, to the tune of ,000.00 PER TREATMENT.
I gained 45 pounds with the drugs, and am finally shedding it off the hard way. Other than pneumonia, anyone having any specific side affects from this type of treatment??? I'm really interested since it looks like this will be my life for the next 25 years.