I'm just curious because my RA came on suddenly. I have been healthy, working out for years, and mid-December I just went downhill suddenly with the joint pain, fever, positive ANA, RF, etc. Friends and family, as well as myself, are surprised at how suddenly it came on. Did yours come on over time or suddenly as well?Hi TG,
I had a sudden onset of OA, not sure if RA can be triggered similarly, this would be for a patient to figure out.
If you click on my OA page and then symptoms on the left menu, this should help you to rule out this speculation.
Good Luck!
Ron
Hey, saw your question and YES mine also came on suddenly. I was fine one day and in excrutiating pain the next as it kept migrating to other joints. I was diagnosed fairly quickly but blood panels didn't officially show RA for another 14 months. I was already on Enbrel by that point. This disease is a demon that just strikes when you least expect it. I was 30 years old and healthy with a newborn baby. Hang in there and find the right medication for you and it will become easier to accept. I'm now 33 and living a normal life (Enbrel put me in complete remission) but at the same time I am bracing myself for it to return and that is scary.
Hi
Yes, my RA started immediately after a hit to my left knee. It then proceeded to go throughout my body. I don't think it missed a joint.
Well, not nice to know it has affected you the same way, but nice to know I'm not the freak my family thinks I am..lol. Grandma..I feel the same way...don't think it missed a spot!
I am 34 with a 5-year-old son. He's having hard time with it as well as I can't do all the things I used to with him. Hopefully, I'll find the right treatment soon.
My RA came on suddenly and severely after a root canal. Thought I was getting flu, swollen lymph glands, couldn't lift my arms, and within two days I could not get out of bed because of hips and could not walk because of knees. I had to be hospitalized. I think I had symptoms five years earlier when my daughter was very ill but they were less severe. I would get out of bed with "skeleton feet", like walking on bones. I went to an internist and he came back and said I may have rheumatoid arthritis. I was so caught up in my daughter's illness I didn't follow up. I thought - oh arthritis - you get that when you get older. I did no research. The amazing thing it went away after about 6 months to come back after that root canal with all its wrath. As you read the boards you will notice many people had either a stressful emotional or physical experience prior to onset. You have heard that stress impacts immune system - I think ours just gets totally out of whack by some incident in our life. My theory anyway.I agree and stress increases our problems and symptoms. I was 29 when first DX with RA and I still had 3 children at home. At the time they were 13, 11 & 6. My kids were very understanding. they knew I'd do anything I could and they would need to help out. I was determined to make sure this disease didn't affect my children more than necessary. In fact when my youngest son was playing football I only missed one game and that was because i was in a bad flare. My daughter tells me that I was an inspiration to her because she could tell the amount of pain I was in but I still continued to do as much as possible.
Talk with your children and explain how this disease affects you. Children will raise to the occassion.
Well the swelling came suddenly one day, I mean my feet were footballs, maybe bigger. And just to let you know, I wear a size 5. I was hit so badly by the pain, I felt I would be better off dead. The constant joint pain started a year before I was diagnosed. I thought it was just cause Im so active, being 23 I thought I was too young to have any sort of 'joint' problem.
Anyhow, Ive been in remission for the past 3 months, but you never know when it hits. I even have severe osteoporosis and fractured 5 bones in 3 months. Yes, and Im ony 24 :(
I believe my RA has come on very slowly over a period of 10 year or even 20 years. 20 years ago, I noticed that when people shook hands with me, my fingers hurt. They were also swollen slightly but my Dr said it was because I ate salty foods (which was not true). About 10 years ago though, I kept having what I thought was back pain but the Dr said it was my Sacral-iliac joint that was hurting. I had months of physical therapy which helped me learn to stretch those joints and make it feel better when it hurt badly. The pain never went away, I had steroid shots for years which made my BP go way up. So I had to stop the shots. My fingers got more and more swollen and I was taking so much Advil and Bextra and I became allergic to Advil (rashes). Then in the past two years, my symptoms became much worse. My shoulders became painful; I could not use them, my neck was hurting all the time (just like a stiff neck - I could not turn my neck easily to even drive or back out of the parking lot). My thumb joints and wrist joints were swollen and painful, my toes have become deformed and very painful. I also had carpel tunnel surgery about 4 years ago after suffering for 10 years with the pain and numbness. All this time, I kept thinking that I was going crazy because I had always been very active, doing aerobics, walking, hiking etc. I think my husband also discounted all this and probably thought I was just whining and complaining all the time. Finally, i went to see a rheumatologist 6 years ago, but he started me on plaquanil and bextra but did not dx me. My blood work was more or less normal, no RX factor. Two years ago, when I just couldn't stand my fatigue and pain anymore, I went to another rheumatologist who told me after my exam that she was sure I had RA. I couldn't believe it. My bloodwork is still negative (seronegative) but almost every single joint is swollen and painful and my fingers and toes are already deformed.
Sorry this is so long - I hope this helps those of you who don't know what to think of your symptoms like I did. I really was beginning to think that I was a hypochondriac because no doctor ever took it seriously. Oh, by the way, both my knees have no ligaments intact and I had surgery on my left knee and was supposed to have my right knee done but my present rheumy does not recommend it as she wants my RA stabilised first. Thanks for listening - I guess this is all my pent up frustrations over years of thinking I was all alone and going crazy.
My doctor asked me a weird question when he diagnosed me. He said "Has there been a major trauma in your life recently? Mental trauma?" Apparently - since both of my parents have auto-immune disorders... (mom has lupus and dad has RA)....he says I had the gene in me - and then the trauma triggered it. There was a study written on triggers....... but I cannot find it for the life of me... I read it...... it basically said that people have the gene or whatever they call it... in them - it just has to be triggered. Some things trigger it - a physical or emotional trauma.. ... life altering stress for a prolonged period of time....... or an allergy... or sickness. interesting anyway............... woobs
Time line: 10 to 12 months with minor foot pain. 2 to 3 months with periodic fevers and beginning of true RA symptoms Had appt with Rh doc and went on meds near the end of above period. I see this as a pretty sudden onset. Mike ra started with night sweats fevers all over body aches lethargy nausea my sister had lymes disease around the same time. we were not sure if i had lymes or ra. my tests showed ra, hers lymes. she is pretty much recovered after treatment. i felt like i had the flu all the time. Mine came on all of a sudden...within 2 days both my hands and fingers,wrist where swollen and then with in hours the pain traveled up to my elbows and every joint turned red. If that was not enough everything from my elbows down felt like it was on fire...Scared the H--- out of me. Lasted about 3 to 4 days and never had it again till about 5 to 6 months later and I had the same thing happen all over again, only this time I felt completely washed out and pain, pain and more pain was now in every joint of my body...That lasted for 3 weeks...had not a clue as to what was going on with me nothing, till I mentioned not feeling very well for months to my friend, my Friend then told me she thought I had the beginning of RA and I should see a RD, from there I was DX'd with RA. Only took about a year...by then I was feeling like I was ready for the trash heep...LOL. I'm better now but I think I could be a tad bit better... i cried when i first had ra too. i used to play softball and couldn't run or throw anymore. my shoulder took a beating. with treatment i feel better, not up to softball though. I woke up one morning with my right knee the size of a football. Went to my GP a week or so later when it hadn't gone down and he sent me for an x-ray and made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. The surgeon did an arthroscope and his comment was, 'you have arthritis, live with it'. Diagnosis OA. I didn't go back to him. Over the next 5 months no improvement, lose of movement, hot, red, swollen (still just the one knee). New orthopedic surgeon, diagnosis mis-aligned patella. Surgery was knee reconstruction and arthroscopy. Six months later, no change. Add in left knee. Next was the rheumatologist. He wanted a scope done but new surgeon said no. Six months later 2 weeks in a re-hab hospital for physio. No change. First surgeon did another arthroscope, arthritis moved from behind patella into joint of right knee. (didn't want to touch left knee till I knew what was going on). Advised to have osteotomy in 6 months. Surgeon wanted to do osteotomy without new x-rays. I figured why have surgery if it might not help. New orthopedic surgeon, new x-rays, totally collapsed joint, osteotomy would not have worked. New orthopedic surgeon (number 3) Right total knee replacement. 12 months later Left total knee replacement. Relief for 3 years, still and OA diagnosis. Sept 2004 left wrist celluclitis that never really settled. June 2005 add in right wrist. Sept 2005 new Rheumatologist,new diagnosis,new meds. Hopefully now when the MTX takes hold things will improve. Pam Waddles You need to get to bed earlier or do you work 2nd shift? P.S. You know I feel soooo bad for so many of you who have such a terrible time with RA. So far I have been so lucky,but the Ra told me she didn't know what my future holds as it is so unpredictable. Pat52 Only a couple of other meds
It makes for a tasty breakfast
Pam I had JRA before i got RA so i don't know how it started. I grow out of my JRA when i was about seven. I developed RA at 16 i woke up on the monday with a sore hip and by the Saturday i couldn't walk, i had what was like flu in June and that was it.
there had. My husband and I were going to get a divorce and it was a messy - stressful couple of months. The most stressful I had ever had in my life up until then. It was an emotional roller coaster and I had never dealt with that many emotions, that strong before.
When it was over, my husband and I back together, and I started to be "OK"... BLAMMMO - i got hit .....all at once with RA.
That's his theory, anyway... but it sure did fit with ME anyway.
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