newly diagnosed | Arthritis Information

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Hi.

I posted this on the Psoriatic Arthritis page but after reading a couple of threads it seems that everyone comes here. So here it goes....

This past week I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis at the age of 20. I never in a million years thought I would have arthritis let alone at a very young age. It is actually scaring me and I don't really know what to expect in the future. I have been on prednisone which kind of helped and I have just started methotrexate therapy this weekend and so far it has made me extremely tired, lethargic and more achy than usual. I am a nursing student and I am afraid that this will completely interfere with my life and my goals.

I was wondering if anyone who has any advice for me. Anything you can recommend to help with the pain? exercises? diets? will the methotrexate make me tired for the rest of my life? any other suggestions? all i need is just some support during this really scary time in my life!

thanks a lot!

Mara
  Hey, Mara!  I'm a fellow nursing student, 27, and pretty new to the whole "arthritis" thing too. 

 
I do not have near the experience of a lot of other folks on the board, but I can tell you to try to get rest when you can.  I have started taking a nap when I get home from class in the afternoons.  I had to give up running (mostly because of the fatigue--my pain is in my hands and wrists primarily)... which had been huge stress buster for me.  I started walking and swimming instead... they're a lot lower impact (when I'm not too drained to go workout!).  Stretching and yoga are good too. 
 
You've found a good place!  Keep us posted on how you're doing! 
Thanks Carolina_girl!

its nice to know that there is someone else in my position! its so hard going through college and feeling the way i do - tired all the time and feeling achy which makes you not want to do anything! I think I may try a yoga class since it seems low impact but at this moment my joints hurt all over that i just don't want to do anything!

How do you get through your clinical rotations without collapsing afterwards??

Thanks again!

Mara
Hi Mara and welcome. I don't have PA but just wanted to say hi and welcome you. My advice is sleep when you can, eat right, and call for pain meds if you need them. A nice hot bath helps me sometimes and also makes me sleepy or a heating pad.
Take care and just know you are not alone and I'm sure some people will be along with more useful info. LOL
Sheer will power sometimes...  
 
To tell you the truth, I usually do end up collapsing when I get home.  I throw on some comfortable jammies and climb back into bed for two hours or so. 
 
Other than the pain, the fatigue has been the hardest thing for me to come to terms with.  I'm a very active person, and it's super frustrating to just come home and drop...
 
Be kind to your body and don't push it too hard.  Lots of rest!  Hard to do as a full time student still working part-time... but I'm working on it! 
 
Courtney
 I just wanted to say welcome to the forum.

Welcome to AI!

Hot baths or showers help with stiffness and some pain.
When tired, rest.
Thats all's I got.
 
thanks again for all of your help.

have any of you ever gotten a dvt (deep vein thrombosis) from methotrexate? I am a little nervous since my right calf started to hurt and I am afraid that it is a dvt and not just sore muscles. any thoughts?
Welcome Mara, glad you found us! It must be quite a challenge going to nursing school on top of your PA. My advice to you is to make sure you get plenty of sleep at night and rest/nap when you can. Maybe during a break for lunch, etc. you can go to your car for a 30 min  cat nap. You can buy adapters that plug into ciggarette lighteers so you could plug in a regular heating pad. On long drives I have an electric lap blanket that i plug in and it is heavenly. Take care and good luck with your studies.
 
deb
Welcome,
It is scary when first diagnosed.  Continue to ask questions and educate yourself about this disease as much as possible.   There are some great books you can purchase - there was a post on this a few weeks ago.   The book mentioned in that post was "Good Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis" you can order it online at arthritis.org - not sure if it's in stores. 
 
Be patient as you find your right mix of meds - most can take up to 4 months (or longer) to start working.  MTX may continue to make you tired - it's hard to tell sometimes if it's the med or RA that is causing the fatigue.  Either way, just rest when you can and plan your days so you have some down time.
 
Take care
Cathy
Hi Mara, I have PA but I dont have psoriasis. Do you have psoriasis also or is it in your family? With the pain you get in your leg, sometimes I find the muscle pain is worse than the joint pain. Methotrexate didnt agree with me so I was put on Arava and have had no problems from it except that it wasnt doing a good enough job so I started on enbrel and plaquenil about 6 months ago and gradually life has got better. Still not great but better. Its good to have another PA er join us . WELCOME. Allythanks ally for the reply.

I also don't have psoriasis but apparently I have the psoriasis gene which is weird because no one in my family has psoriasis either. So you also get muscle pain? I have never had pain like this before. the pain in  my leg is so strong that it is hard to keep any weight on it. have you had that before as well?

Its good to know that you are feeling a bit better. there is still hope for me!

thanks again!
Hi and welcome -
 
I've never heard of DVT with MTX but maybe it's a rare side effect.  Have you Googled?  I had a bloodclot after pregnancy and have since learned that we AI people have 'sticky blood'.  Look, or if you can't see it perfectly, get somebody to look for you.  If you see red lines radiating out - go to the ER NOW!
 
Hugs,
 
Pip
Hey! Welcome! I've got the RA, and hunny has the Psoriasis. Together we'd *almost* equal one of you........sort of? LoL I'm sorry, I'm stretching for a similarity that's just not there. Forgive me, I've taken the nightly meds and I'm a bit sleepy already. Mara and Courtney:
How funny and nice to meet you. I also am a nursing student and was diagnosed with RA last month.  I am a competitive BSN program in Wyoming and it is really tough to keep up.  Some days I have been thinking of just giving up but I am so close to being done that I just can't do that (one more semester of classes after this then residency). It is really hard sometimes because I feel like people that I go to class with and my husband just dont truly understand what I am going through.  Just typing is difficult but having cyber pals that get it is totally worth the pain.  I also am starting mtx and a little uneasy about it.  The whole birth defect thing is difficult for me because I was not on birth control and really wanted another baby (we have a 6 yr old girl) and now it all has to go on hold until I get better then???? CHRONIC disease.  But lots of people go into spontaneous remission and don't flare up again so I am praying for that.  It is so good to know that there are people who understand how tough nursing school is when you are dealing with something like this.  Then you also have to question yourself about how can you be any good helping others when you feel like you can barely help yourself. Oh well, we will get thru it somehow. Hang in there.  Lets be pals!
 
Elise

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