Husband newly diagnosed...needs encouragement | Arthritis Information

Hi there. After a long 10 months of trying to figure out what was going on with my husband, he was just diagnosed with RA last week. It started with his knee hurting, well now his knee is huge and swollen...sometimes he has to use a cane to walk. He has other aches and pains...his wrists, neck, chest/ribcage, etc.

He has been on 1600 mg of ibuprofen for the last 6 months or so, but the rheumatologist just upped him to 2400 mg/day. He is also currently on 1500 mg/day of trilisate, he will start taking 3000 mg/day of the trilisate on Friday.

Anyway, he is very pessimistic about this whole thing. He is only 41 and feels as if he is completely falling apart and will not feel "normal" again.

I just wanted to get some insight from those that are also battling this. What can he expect? If it took 10 months for his knee to swell up so bad that he needs to use a cane, how long will it take the meds to help his knee be 'normal' again? Will he feel normal again on these meds?

Thanks so much in advance for any information you can provide.

Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis by Tammi Schlotzhauer has basic information. You might check it out.Thank you. I just got that book for him yesterday. :)It is good and should be of some help.Hi and welcome. I do want to encourage you and your husband. Of course it's better to not have to have RA at all, but if you have to have it now is better than, say, 10 years ago. The medications that are available now can keep it pretty well controlled and prevent damage to the joints.

I was diagnosed two years ago after RA came on suddenly and left me pretty much an invalid at age 43. After starting the meds (methotrexate and enbrel) I quickly got back to normal and now only have occasional flares. I don't have any known erosion and I am as active as I want to be. Please tell your husband that his situation is not at all hopeless and that the right med combo could have him dancing in the streets again in the near future.

It took several weeks for me to see improvement after starting methotrexate, but at that time I was still pretty messed up.. Then I started enbrel, and the very next day I was feeling almost like my old self again. And my old self feels pretty good :) I have zero side effects from either drug, but some are not so fortunate. So take heart, all is not lost!!

Linncn2009-04-30 09:52:08

It's very difficult to predict anything as far as responses, mzarrb. EVery persons' experiences are different.

I would advise becoming as informed as you can.. read on the net! google and read..

I wish your husband good responses.

Welcome to you and your husband! It sounds like you are well on your way to becoming better informed about this disease. You will need to find out all you can about the disease as well as treatments offered, traditional and otherwise. It will make discussions with your doctor easier and it will be empowering to you.

Good luck to you.
As Linn said, RA sucks but this is the best time to have it..
I was diagnosed at 38 and went from being a runner to not being able to bathe myself. It IS depressing. Now I take several meds and am doing ok. I am starting enbrel tonight and hope it will get me back to doing great. Unfortunately I do have some damage in my knee, but since my rheumatologist has been pretty treating me aggressively, I hoping that's the only damage.
So, do your research. Get a great doctor; one you can work with and who listens to your husband. Be patient, these meds take time. Tell your husband and yourself that this WILL get better!

Post here anytime! I feel for your husband because like him I am a male.
This sort of thing can really screw with a blokes sense of worth as a responsible gatekeeper for his family.

With time he has to learn to look after himself first and then if energy and physical capabilities allow, others next.
He will be able to do most things in moderation if he gives himself time to adjust to what is going on.

The adjusting bit is a biggie with all that come down with this disease.
I've been depressed and now allow myself some help from the docs with medication.
Just admitting that you perhaps need medical intervention can be a big hurdle for blokes to jump over.

I have a few words on my blog about this disease, nothing in depth but he may find just a little something, somewhere.
http://stephenissell.wordpress.com/category/rheumatoid-arthritis/

Tell him to be easy on him self.
Welcome to you and your husband. Predictions are hard to make but like many of the others said here although it seems pretty grim and discouraging in the beginning often times you get much much better than you started out. Also in a agreement that the current drugs are a lot more helpful than in the past.

Best of luck to him!
Hi and welcome, I'm so sorry to hear about you husband. He already has one thing going for him... you! Support, understanding, advocacy by loved ones is a huge advantage.

I think Bodak is right about a man having it hit him in his being the provider and protector self image. He may want to minimize RA or deny aspects of it or just not want to talk about it. Until he is ready to read a book about RA, maybe you can just leave shorter articles about RA and his meds lying around or read him a paragraph like one might do with a newspaper. Of course, that advice is all moot if he's a person that gets practically obsessed with learning as much as possible as fast as he can.

Good luck to you both and feel welcome to join us here.

CathyMarie