Hi Everyone,
Well as some of you know, i am fairly new in this forum.
I got diagnosed exactly one month ago. I just woke up one day and had one knee hurting me, then a week later the other knee started hurting and then my hanckles got very swollen to point that I had trouble walking.
Then when I went to Rheumy, he told that I had RA and put me on MTX and anti anflammatory. Before taking the MTX, the anti anflammatory made it a lot better. Almost all the swelling was gone ( I waited 2 weeks before starting to take MTX since things happened on the weekend and this prevented from taking it)
I have been taking MTX for 3 weeks and I am like before. My knees are back to normal and all the swelling has gone.
I got all blood test back and RF is negative, ANA is negative and other markers as well.
All the rest is normal.
Now the Rheumy told me to stop MTX as it usually takes 1 month to 1.5 months for it to work so my improvement was not due to that.
He gave me another appointment in 4 months to monitor my condition.
This is scaring me a little as I have read that damage can be done even if you are not in pain.
And I also read that arthritis can do damage to other organs as well.
What do all of you think????
I have also heard that MTX takes a bit to get working. I would hope that he wanted to see you back before the 4 months though. That seems like a long time when you are just starting out. I saw my RD every 6 weeks for almost a year and now we are trying every three. I would not hesitate to call the office with any problems. Could your knee problem been just short lived and not RA. Did he just to the conclusion to quickly? I was good on my blood work except for a pos ANA and it took me a while to get a diagnosis( 6months)
Chris
I guess I would say to keep monitoring your symptoms, and keep a log of them. I am worried about the four month followup, but it is not uncommon. If you start swelling and start back into a pain cycle...please do not wait to call the RD.
Until then, just enjoy life as it is for now!
I think the worse damage occurs in some of these more extreme cases. You could very well have RA and have negative blood work. If it turns out you do it's likely it will not be as aggressive as some of these folks you hear about that have severe joint damage in a matter of two years time. Many folks have a far milder case of RA that is quite manageable with proper care. It doesn't cripple everyone. Try not to be overly stressed out about doing damage before the doctors begin treating you properly.
Here's to hoping your problems do not return.
Thanks for all your answers. I feel less worried already.
But I can't help but to think what happened. I mean both my knees and anckles were sooo swollen. I never experienceed that before.
Even my hips were hurting. The doctor said that it might have been a viral arthritis but nothing is for sure.
I looked on the board and did not see any postings about that.
Can someone give me more info please?
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
I am not familiar with viral arthritis. However, I am glad that your swollen joints improved so quickly. It might have been the anti-inflammatories that made the difference. Your doctor is right in that it takes weeks if not months for the MTX to kick in. It also stays in your system for awhile after stopping it. I never experienced hip pain with my RA...knees, ankles, feet, fingers, and wrists...and shoulders. RA is a hard disease to nail down and to treat, but it's good that you are being followed by a rheumatologist. I wish you all the best and post often (even though I don't because I work full time and don't have nearly enough downtime just for me).
Molly Bee
Hi, I'm not familiar with viral arthritis, either, it does take a while for the mtx to work for you and the amount ? don't know how much? Thanks for bring this up. Lynda