Arthritis Information -RA my new partner in life

Ofelia ,

Welcome here . Sorry too that you have to do so . But I think you will learn some good stuff with this forum .

I was like you , when I heard I had RA I went home and cried for days. Mostly after growing up with my mother , who had RA , and watching her body just cripple up on her . Her being in so much pain was just an every day thing in our home .

But after talking to a Rheomataligist and learning how far meds have come for people like us and there are new ones coming out all the time to keep us doing great .

I have had RA for almost 11 years and I still walk/jog every day for 6-8 miles with the dog or my husband .

I still have a bad day here and there but for the most I do great. And I think you will too .

Keeping a positive attitude helps alot ! Also a supportive family ( it sounds like you do ).

Good Luck to you!!!

Hello All,

I am new to post about myself, but I have been reading the message boards for some time now.

I am 37..ok I will be 38 on Feb, 27, I have been married for 21 years on February 14. and I am a mother of 4 boys and a grandmother of 1 very smart grand daughter. Yes, I started very young..lol.

All my life I always wondered if I to would one day be diagnosed with RA, my great grandmother and my aunt had it.

I always had minor pain in hands, knees and my feet, but blood work always came out fine.

One day my fingers hurt so much that even water bothered me, so I decided to go to the Dr. to find out what was wrong….

Blood work…July 2007.

Dr. comes in the room sits down right by me and says’ “I am so sorry Ofelia, but your blood work came in and it shows a positive high reading for Rheumatoid Arthritis”

My doctor kept talking, but I swear I heard nothing else.

She prescribed Plaquenil 5mg to be taken twice a day.

January 23, 2008 back to Dr. more pain in hands, shoulders, and feet and I was so depressed and always crying…poor me poor me.

Went in crying telling my Dr. I could not sleep and that I was always exhausted and in pain.

She now prescribed more meds, Prednisone 5mg twice a day, Folic Acid 1mg once a day, Methotrexate shots 1 shot every Wednesday and I still take the Plaquenil twice a day.

Well today is February 4, 2008 and I feel GREAT…with no pains or swellings. The shots were my biggest fear, but I don’t even feel the tiny needle when I give myself the shots

Just when I finally got used to sharing my life with my husband ( that's a pain it self ..just kidding )along comes RA and now I have to get used to living with it.

Well I am so glad I found this place and I will keep on reading to get all the great advise a lot of you write.

Thank you.

I'm sorry you had to find us, but glad you're here. It's so wonderful to hear your RA is in control. That's great!! I hope you'll post more often; feel free to jump into any conversation. There's a lot of great people here and a world of info. Again, welcome!!

Thank you so much for your kind words. I will take it one day at a time....what else can we do? I am so glad I have new friends who really know what I feel or will be feeling. I will keep in touch as often as I can.

Ofelia

Congratulations on 21 years. I will have 20 under my belt in June! It is truely a Milestone. I am so glad you are well controlled and I hope that continues.

Jay is right there is a wealth of info. so stay in touch!

Welcome to the site Ofelia,

There are lots of great people here with endless experiance and knowledge. As as many questions as you might have.

21 years

Jay

Thank you so much, Claudagan...

I will do that right now.

My sister also gave me a lot of information about natural products and herbs..I guess that is what I will try, being that it has been brought to my attention twice.

Ofelia.