new to forum and RA | Arthritis Information
My name is Niki, I am 20 years old and like many others my symptoms appeared over night. My symptoms first showed up the first weekend in February. I woke up one morning my right hand was swollen and my wrist was burning and I was very stiff. From the start all of the doctors have said they think I have RA. I was sent to an orthopedic who tried many different meds and xrays and PT(made problems worse! yikes). The only thing he could find was that I had fluid in my joints and my white blood count was pretty high. ( 13 when max it should be a 10) He felt that I might have RA and sent me to an RD. I recently went to a RD and she was very rude and unpleasant. She did run a lot of tests and all that she shared with me was that my ANA came back positive and it didn't help here in dx if I had RA or Chron's disease. Right before I went to see her the pain started in my feet, ankles, knees, hips, lower back, both hands, and elbows. This has beeng going on for about a month now. I seeked out a Primary Care doctor -since I didn't have one - to help steer me into the right direction. She started me on new meds and I go to a stomach doctor to rule out any autoimmune disease that messes with the stomach and causes you to have Arthritis. She is helping me to find a new RD since the other one was so rude even her staff. She started me on a new pain med to help me sleep cause on top of already being tired all of the time, when the pain started all over I can't sleep or stay asleep from being in so much pain. I have not had much luck with the different Anti-inflammatory drugs yet, nor with the prednisone(made me very sick). I am just trying to learn alot about it and it helps to know that I am not alone, heehee. I know that at this point I have not been officially diagnosed with RA, but I hope that is not a problem. But I am very excited to learn from others experiences and get to know everyone a little better. Thank you and have a wonderful day Hello NikiP, Sorry to hear that you are in so much pain. But when you find
a good Rd hopefully things will get better.
This is a good place to get info and people that do understand what you
are going through.
When wanting to search for info on drugs or just to learn more about Ra
I hop on Mayo clinic .com. And go from there . You sure can learn alot.
Welcome here.
Hey Niki...sorry you're going through all this. It's rough and I think we can all attest to that. I hope you can get to the root of all this soon and get started toward bringing it under control. Hang in there. :)Hi NikiP, I'm sorry to hear about your health difficulties and the rude doctor. You really don't need that right now. Rest assured, when you find the right doctor, he/she will put you on the road to improved health. In the meantime, we're here to help you in any way we can. Ask questions. There are no dumb questions, so ask anything.
Hi NikiP
What you are experiencing is known as Diagnosis Syndrome. Everyone here knows what I am talking about. One thing I have learned is to write down all of your symptoms every day and what you do for them. This is so important. It will help you get a diagnosis faster and help guide your treatment.
Mike
Hi Nikip
As a Kinesiologist I find most people that I treat allergic to dairy products. After weaning, and I assume you are weaned, the production of lactase ceases, and from that moment on digestion even of mothers milk becomes awfully difficult, leave alone wetnursing from a cow.
Suckling after infancy is totally unnatural, and causes a variety of health issues, one of which is arthritis.
I recommend you give up dairy altogether, take 4000(Fourthousand) mg of vitamin C daily 1000 mg with each meal and 1000 before going to bed, and supplement your Zinc intake with 50 mg of Zinc. taken with the main meal. Vitamin C will benefit your connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments, periosteum and so on, and Zinc is the fuel for your glandular system, which is malfunctioning. Both these supplements will boost your immune system.
DON"T take drugs, prescribed or not, as both will have a detrimental effect on your immunity. All of us are allergic to chemicals that don't have a place in the human system, and this allergic reaction is called 'side effects'. Go with this and you'll notice improvements almost immediately.
Hansie
[QUOTE=hansie]Hi Nikip
As a Kinesiologist I find most people that I treat allergic to dairy products. After weaning, and I assume you are weaned, the production of lactase ceases, and from that moment on digestion even of mothers milk becomes awfully difficult, leave alone wetnursing from a cow.
Suckling after infancy is totally unnatural, and causes a variety of health issues, one of which is arthritis.
I recommend you give up dairy altogether, take 4000(Fourthousand) mg of vitamin C daily 1000 mg with each meal and 1000 before going to bed, and supplement your Zinc intake with 50 mg of Zinc. taken with the main meal. Vitamin C will benefit your connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments, periosteum and so on, and Zinc is the fuel for your glandular system, which is malfunctioning. Both these supplements will boost your immune system.
DON"T take drugs, prescribed or not, as both will have a detrimental effect on your immunity. All of us are allergic to chemicals that don't have a place in the human system, and this allergic reaction is called 'side effects'. Go with this and you'll notice improvements almost immediately.
Hansie
[/QUOTE]
Isn't this a bold statement ! Have you seen this person on a patient/Dr level?
To tell somone to not take a prescribed medication and not even know that persons history. Just amazing!
Niki, Welcome to our little group. I'm so sorry you need to be here, but glad you have found us. You are at the beginning of your journey and we all hope we can make it a little easier for you.
First of all, I'm sorry Hansie decided to jump in on your post. You really don't need these people right now. Please try to ignore them. There are many out there, just pushing their own agenda. You really need to be diagnosed and treated by a good RD before anything else.
I'm glad you found a good primary care doc (PCP). Hopefully you will be referred to an excellent RD, so you can begin treatment.
I got sick with prednisone, too. It makes it a bit more challenging, but we are in a pretty exciting time with RA right now. New treatments, biologics, etc. are coming out all the time. It takes a while for them to begin working, but many find them to be a God-sent.
Good luck with your new doctors.
Gentle hugs, Nini
Nini2008-06-08 16:30:53That large a dose of zinc can make you sick to your stomach, even if you take it with a full meal, and if there is ANY Alzheimer's in your family, be very wary of too much zinc. The jury is still out on whether zinc can contribute to Alzheimer's but it has been found in the brains of those patients so the general concensus still is, watch out for too much. And to tell you to stop dairy without advising you how to make up for that loss of calcium is bad advice. I don't know enough about the subject to tell you whether dairy is good, bad or indifferent but I will tell you to be cautious about what you eliminate or add to your body in general. Everything in moderation. Since your immune system is already over-active (if you have an autoimmune disease), you DON'T want to boost your immune system. Exactly the opposite. Listen to your doctor, when you find a good one, do your own research and go from there. Don't listen to anyone who tries to push you toward any extreme. Welcome Niki and hope you get settled with a good doctor and start feeling better quickly.Welcome, hope to here a diagnosis soon!I just saw your post...hi and welcome. I hope you get a diagnosis soon and get the treatment plan that is right for you. Keep on posting! Hiking_galHi and welcome!
Hugs,
Pip
Welcome NikiP. Sorry you are having so many troubles and I hope you find answers soon. The best advice I can give is don't give up until you find a doctor you are comfortable with and one whose diagnosis you are comfortable with. It's important for you to trust your instincts regarding your own body and become educated about what's happening to you and why. This will help you make your decisions regarding your care and help you determine if you trust what you are being told by your doctors. Many of us here, including myself, have seen multiple doctors before we found one who correctly diagnosed us. You may not have control over what is happening to you at the moment, but you do have the ability choose how you will approach your treatment. You will enjoy the wealth of knowledge you find here. I wish you a quick diagnosis, sleep, and less pain.
DawnThank you all for welcoming me, I look forward to learning alot for everyone!
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