Hi, I'm new here.
I have reactive arthritis (ReA) and have had it off and on for 12 years (I'm 40). I'm currently in a flare that's lasted over a year and am on indocin, mtx, sulphasalazine, plus pain pills etc.
I live in NZ - a small country, so kind of hard to find anyone else with these diseases!
Wendy
Hello Wendy and welcome to the boards.
You'll find lots of info, laughs and venting here!!! Post anytime with anything and you'll get feedback.
Thanks Deena.
It really helps to not feel alone with a chronic disease. And really the only people who truly understand are people with the disease themselves (or another chronic illness.) One thing I find hard is, that except for a limp, I usually look normal, even when feeling lousy.
Wendy
Hi Wendy and welcome. What is Reactive Arthritis? Is it similar to Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Also, if we can gauge by what we see in the Lord of the Rings movies, your country has to be one of the most beautiful on earth.
You should think about sharing a little bit about your life that. It would make us all feel like we were travelling around the world a bit.
Hi Deanna
Reactive arthritis is one of the 'spondyloarthropathies' so is inflammatory and systemic like RA. But whereas RA is usually rapidly destructive and affects lots of your joints all at once, ReA can be mild, affects less joints and some people only get it once.
It's triggered by either an STD (like chlamydia) or a gastro infection - I had campylobacter as my original trigger. If you have chronic ReA like me, it usually becomes destructive eventually and can evolve into ankolysing spondylitis.
RA seems to prefer smaller joints doesn't it, but ReA goes for the larger ones - knees, ankles, hips and (top favourite) the spine. It also has eye inflammation and skin involvement.
Re. New Zealand, I was born here and have lived here all my life (total population is only 4 million). It's a beautiful country alright and I especially notice that when I return home from a visit to Australia (our next-door neighbour of course - only 3 hours away by plane), as Australia is a dryer, browner country. (Well, it is a desert!)
Anything you want to know, just ask! It is so great to find this board, it has really cheered me up. (I'm waiting patiently for the mtx to kick in: it's only been 4 weeks.)
Wendy
Thanks for the definitions and the short tour. I live in the desert myself, Phoenix area. I miss cool mountains. But I was raised on the plains of New Mexico. So, I am used to flat, flat, and more flat.
My big joints are affected. Knees have OA. RA in the shoulder. Ankles swell a lot and my right hip kicks up.
Ankolysing spondylitis is scary. RA can affect the neck as well, but that pretty rare.
Hopefully the MTX will get you to feeling better. Even though your arthritis is a bit different, you will see a lot of activity in the Rheumatoid Arthritis with lots of information as many of us have several things going on.
Thanks Deanna
Plus the drugs they use for RA are the same as used for reactive arthritis too.
Wendy