I'm in my 6th year now and I feel and function a lot better than I did the first year...not perfect but definitely a significant improvement. I'm taking Humira and Arava now. The Humira reduces the symptoms by about 80 - 90 %, and it lasts most of the two weeks though it typically fades 2 - 3 days before the next injection. So, it's not perfect but I'm optimistic. If it stops working, there are other things to try. The first year was by far the worst, improved with MTX, now with the current treatment, I feel the best that I have since the DX. We all react differently to the meds, of course, so there's no guarantee, and I wonder what my future will be too...but I'm optimistic.
There are ups and downs, and everyone is different. It's so hard to say what your personal journey will be like.
Like Dory says, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....la la la la la..." Glad you asked this question. As a newly diagnosed person I'm wondering the same thing. It seems so many people on the board are in pain a lot of the time, have had the disease for some time and have other diseases too. Not sure if they got them as a result of beginning with RA...
Of course the the "success" stories are probably not here. If you were feeling good you would not need support either. Also we are here trying to find out if what we are doing and feeling is "normal"
I just can't believe how my life changed virtually overnight. I went to bed healthy & strong one night and the next day I woke up with all my joints hurting and spiraled down, down, down.
I'm a lot better now but I'm not the woman I was. After having been an invalid for a good 3 weeks- I don't dare complain about what I can't do anymore. Or what just doesn't seem to feel right. I'm walking, I'm able to take care of my personal needs, I can cook and clean up- I even went back to work. If I'm fatigued so be it.
But I'm terrified of another flare.
sigh, lol, I guess if I look at it realistically, its been 2 and a half yrs ... and ok, I am better,
...in some ways and a Major Major thing is having a provider and yes, i can wipe my own butt, thank god and do my own bathing...tho sometimes getting out the tub, just makes me laugh, Lol, bc it can be soo silly and hard, but i do love my baths..
I am walking a tiny bit better, the pain level, is a bit better...
ahh as my old therapist said.... small steps.. small steps.. if i were still in nc,
i'D go visit her!
but i just want more :P and guess i'm going to take my own advice and accept more..
hmmm :Pfffffff lol
I really really APPRECIATE this board and the people here!
Here is something my husband told me which I believe to be completely true.
It's hard to find out if people get in the remissions when you ask in a forum. He asked me what i do when i feel good, i said i go out, watch tv, do this and that etc. He then asked if i hit the forums and I said no.
He then told me that those who feel good usually don't hit the forums, not only because they feel great and are doing other things, but in all reality, those who hurt don't watn to hear how wonderful others are doing when they aren't.
So, I want you to know from articles i have read that people do get better. I read one recently about a girl in college who plays sports and couldn't even get out of bed before biologics.
There is hope for most here, it does take time, that teen was sick for about 10yrs before she got the right meds.
I wish you health and happiness, god bless.
it is important to remember that the population of people posting on any given message board is an extremely small representation of all the people with RA. You get a very scewed look at the disease. You tend to get a lot of newbies with questions, old timers with long standing or difficult to treat disease, or people with some sort of agenda. There are hundreds of thousands of people with RA out there leading near normal lives. They work, are active physically (running, biking, hiking, paddling). Most of these people are too busy living to spend much time on a board like this.
I always feel hope but I tend to be an glass half full type of person
I've only been DX'd for less than a year so I'll tell you about my sister with RA instead. She began having difficulty getting out of the car and out of chairs and then suddenly she became deathly ill in bed and could barely get up. It took a few different tries to get the right mix of meds, but nearly nine years later, she's still doing very well with only a slight increase in her prednisone, which just happened recently. She does everything she used to do and you'd never know how sick she used to be.
I agree that you won't hear from as many people who feel well as those who don't. When you're feeling great, you don't have many questions and don't need the support. I try to stay on even when I'm having a good day so I can support someone else, but I can tell you I find it much easier to find the time to come here when I'm feeling unwell and need to "talk." So, don't be too frightened by what you read here. I believe there are many, many others out there who are too busy living great lives to come here and post.
I suppose that first you would have to define success...I think that I am both a success and successful.
It has been my experience that RA and other autoimmune illnesses are a series of ups and downs. Recently, I have been on the down side and have done more than my share of presenting that down side publicly. However, on the up side in the rest of my story which as others have indicated does not (for any number of reasons) get told in public forums.
I am ever thankful for advances in medical science that provides the means to replace eroded joints, pain treatment, and in spite of their side effects and potential dangers I am thankful for Minocycline, MTX, and Plaquenil. Over the years various combinations of those drugs have kept me active and successful in life.
Are there successes? Yes, look in the mirror! You are here, you are discussing your concerns and addressing ways to conquer them. THAT, in my admittedly skewed view of the RA world, is a success.
With courage!
There are many more successes than failures. Like Buckeye said forums attract individuals who aren't doing well, not in remission, or have multiple AI diseases and are hard to treat. The successes are busy living life.
I happen to be one of those difficult to treat people. I have rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis and several other AI diseases. My 12 year journey is not your typical journey. For the first time in 10 years I'm in clinical remission. So yes, it's possible. Sometimes the journey is longer than you anticipate and the destination keeps changing but if you're persistent you'll arrive. Lindy
From an AI newbie 1 1/2 years ago, to a someone doing very, very well, I just wanted to poke in here and say that there are a few of us "near remission" on the board. I hang around to answer questions from other newbies and others to give back some of the great support I had here in that scary new beginning.
I'm getting to enjoy all the sports and stuff I did before RA knocked me off my feet. But I do have an RA twinge here and there every week to remind me to keep my life in perspective.
The other RA people who I know in my off-line life are also doing as well as I am (knock on wood). So what does this mean? As Katie said, we all have individual journeys ahead of us.
I too worry that one day I'll be knocked off my feet again, but in the meanwhile I'm making sure to get out on them while I can.
I hope you can find some peace of mind here, Whispered. Take care.
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