I feel like a fake | Arthritis Information

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Everyone seems to experience a lot of swelling as a result of RA but this hasn't been a big thing for me. I do get swelling in my fingers which seems quite constant but there is no redness involved at the moment. I don't know if its my imagination but my fingers do seem to be bending/twisting slightly now as well (RA will confirm/deny this at appointment in 3 weeks hopefully).

I used to get swelling in my wrists but this hasn't happened for a while.
I get a lot of muscle and joint aches other than my hands/fingers as well, for example this morning i was limping because of bad ankle. That cleared up by dinner time but now my knee hurts on the same leg.
I am still just a 'suspected/likely' RA sufferer at the moment as I havehigh RF and CCF? (if thats the right abbreviation).
Sometimes I feel like I should be worse than what I am to be an RA sufferer although I feel pretty bad some of the time (but is that just because i am a wuss with a low pain threshold?)
Is it possible this is something else?
Don't feel like a fake!  I have RA and am currently on no medication, don't feel any pain, and don't have any swelling that I'm aware of.  Sometimes are just better than others!  Don't feel like a fake though... feel blessed that you're doing so well!  You know what, Jay?
 
I feel like an RA fake too sometimes. Mostly because when my joint swell big I do not have that much pain. If I post pics of my knees or even my hands everyone would say how painful it looks, but it is not that painful... UNTIL I get the hard swell. Mushy swell... it is like coushioning for my joints.
 
I believe we all feel like a fake at one time or another. But just remember not everyone has the same problems & pain.
 
 
RA is just so different for so many people, also, people tend to stray from the online boards when they are feeling relatively good because they are busy and come back when they are having downtime, esp due to a flare. You cant judge your disease based on the folks online. Lots of people with RA either go into remission or are just fortunate enough to have a milder form of the disease. Also, just because you dont have visible signs and symptoms doesnt mean that your pain and stiffness arent real. One of the quirky things about RA is that most of us dont look like we are sick, and to others we may appear to be big weanies...but if they could walk a mile in our shoes...well, they would be doing better than most of us, just to walk a mile..in our shoes!!Jay, I totally understand how you feel and have felt that way myself at times.  Having an undifferentiated form of disease, I can't even say I have true RA, lupus, etc.  But the good people here don't care.  If you have pain, questions, need to vent, cry, yell, they're here for you.  There's no criteria involved, except your need.  My RD got a real kick out me telling him I feel like an RA fraud at my last appointment. He is so tickled at how well I am doing he comes to the waiting room to get me himself. He says he can't get over my purposeful walk and the fact that I am working 2 jobs. He remembers me hobbling in on my husband's elbow, thin, in a lot of pain and very ill.
I don't always feel great and today I feel pretty crappy but for the most part I feel good for a "RA" person and I do feel like a fraud.
Another thing you have to remember is that many believe that High RF and high CCP are indicators that people are predisposed to aggressive RA.  In other words you might not be that bad off now, but many doctors will treat aggressively to head off a bad prognosis. I have never but once had much swelling.  Well that I noticed.  My one doctor told me my hand and wrist were swollen but to me and anyone else they looked normal.  So maybe the swelling is just something we ourselves do not see.  also, I noticed a lot of times my joints are never "warm" to the touch like "they" say they should be.
 
So do not feel like a fake.  :)
Oh, I've convinced myself that there was nothing wrong... and then I had the Flare from Hell and went running back to the rheumatologist with my tail between my legs, begging for a medrol dosepak and a plan of attack. Hey Jay. I have alot of swelling and redness. I hurt most days. I have been afraid to ask my RD. because it seems like he dosen't have time for me. I feel like a RA fraud when he won't listen to me or do test. I hope you get better resulsts.

Jay, we all react differently to RA.  Some of people are mild, others moderate, severe or worse than severe.  You can't compare your symptoms or medications to other's.  Some swell, others don't.  Some have redness, others don't. 

I'm in clinical remission but there are days that I have damage pain.  Also there are days that I have pain and inflammation from PsA because it's not in remission. 

If you've been diagnosed with RA, PsA, AS, or any of the other bone, joint diseases - you're not a fraud.  Lindy
I never had a lot of swelling. I did have very bad pain when I could not do simple things for me like starting a car. People don't get it unless they experience such pain. Jay. I've gone years with very little swelling and discomfort..  be thankful of that!  Because when it hits.. it can knock you to the ground w/ pain and inability to do anything...
I hope you never experience it.
 
If you arent' DX'ed yet.. but your blood work shows RA... I  hope they start you on meds to reduce or modify the affects of this desease
 
lots of luck!

I had swelling in the beginning, and periods of intense pain.  Now it's limited swelling and achey joints when I over do it.   I have to think because I was dx early and treated agressively right away, that it stopped the progession.   I'm positive on RF and CCP, so don't feel like a fraud, but can understand what you mean.  When people hear I have RA, they comment that I don't look like it.   I just tell those people that my meds are working and allow me to maintain.  It's as if you aren't visibly suffering, they think you don't have it.      Are you currently on treatment?  

[QUOTE=CathyMN]

When people hear I have RA, they comment that I don't look like it.   I just tell those people that my meds are working and allow me to maintain.  It's as if you aren't visibly suffering, they think you don't have it.     

LOL!! That is so true.  It's crossed my mind on more than one ocassion that maybe I should fake a limp to make them understand.  I haven't gotten to that point, though.  But it's really frustrating when the way you look on the outside is absolutely no indication of what you're feeling on the inside.  Thanks for all the feedback it's good to hear everyones point of view. I am currently taking sulphasalazine, I have only been on it for one and a half months. So far it doesn't seem to be having any effect but I have been told it could take up to 3 months to work.
I worry that it won't work because now NICE (UK) have limited what drugs are allowed on the NHS and although I don't know what is available what happens if the ones available don't work?
I have a high RF and anti ccp but relatively little joint pain every couple of months lasting a couple of days.  Only swelling I've had is in my left hand x 3 and it resolved also in 2 days.  I feel like a fake too.  Test say one thing, I experience another........I have never had noticeable joint swelling which made my situation a puzzle. Then I had an  unrelated knee procedure done and once the scope got in there, the surgeon saw swelling that he said looked consistent with arthritis. He biopsied it and it came back as chronic inflammation. So you can have joint swelling that is not noticeable on physical exam.

I don't have any positive blood tests. My physical exams show nothing. The only thing I have that keeps me from wondering if it is in my head or feeling like a faker is an amazing doctor. I wonder if doctors really understand the influence they can have over us. We come to them at our weakest and most vulnerable. They can treat us like a number or they can treat us like human beings and honestly care about us. It makes all the difference.

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