What were the first signs that something was wrong? What was going on a year prior (before the signs). I would be very interested to hearing others stories.
I was perfectly healthy, no problems then my foot started to hurt, felt like pins and needles at times and other times it felt like I was walking on pebbles, I went to the doctor, he took an xray, showed nothing, he then took blood work and called me at home to tell me that I was HLA-B27 Positive and that I also had RA, all test came back positive....very fast, no long waiting and it has all just been down hill from there. (pain, fatigue, weakness, and stiffness).
A few years before this I was pregnant with my son and broke out in a strange rash from head to toe, starting at week 12 and took till my son was about 2 for it to go away completly. I have always wondered if this was the start of it? the cause? Part of it?
Does stress play a role in this? Life changes? such as a pregnancy? A big move to another state? I know I'm really grasping at straws here....lol
I'm having such a hard time with this lately, I can't believe that I can go from healthy and active to being in so much pain and so so so so tired all the time in such a short amount of time.
Jen 36yrs, DXed in 2002, Joints affected, feet, hands, elbows and knees.
Hi Jen! I'm 38 and recently diagnosed. I woke up one morning (around Christmas) and my hands were very stiff and painful. I thought I slept on them wrong, but it happened morning after morrning. Diagnosed about a month ago. Love and gentle hugs, JuliahJuliah,
Thank you for your reply.
How awful and scary that must have been for you. How are you feeling now?
Went to bed healthy and woke up one morning with fingers and hands extremely swollen and painful. If anything touched them it made me cry. Went to my doctor who thought it was arthritis. He gave me prednisone and got me an appt with a rheumy friend of his for the next week. Found out the week after that it was RA.
Hi JenM
I was 28 with a 3 week old darling baby. Had severe pain and was dx as a rare muscle disease. Went into remission at about 36 years old for about 10 years. Started having trouble with my feet. Dx'd at 54 with gout and post polio syndrome. The last 3 years I have been having repeated flares in my hands and feet and then I decided to see another Rhuematoligist and he took the correct blood work and saw the flare for himself. He diagnosed me with RA (it has been about 4 weeks) and he started me on Methotrexate and prednisone again (at times they gave me that for gout). So that is my story...and I feel lucky to be finally on the right road. So far the medicine is working! And I hope you will be better too! By the way...I am now 61, have a wonderful husband, three great kids (and their spouses), 3 grandchildren and great friends. Even though I have had pain, I can honestly say I have had the best life! And I wish that for you as well! Just keep the faith....Susan
For me the worse thing was getting physically weak so quickly - to not be able even to push open a door.
Mine came on suddenly and ragingly - but I had previously had knee pain (made better by glucosamine and chondroitin) and had had the funny foot pain you describe occasionally (I always just put it down to having been on my feet a lot).
I do know that I was thoroughly exhausted last Christmas, just before it happened (but maybe that was the first symptom???). Am a lone parent and had only two weeks off work in the whole of last year, and two job changes. Also found myself in charge of family Christmas (with relatives!!) in my tiny house - so yeah, maybe stress helped to bring it on.
They gave me a leaflet at the rheumatology clinic. I read it with my children on the day I was diagnosed. It said: 'you have done nothing to cause your diease. It is just random bad luck'
How we laughed!
My turn with the random good luck, please!
Oh yeah - should have said I had a flu-like thing (coughing, cold, achy fever) which I couldn't shake off.....I was diagnosed over 5 yrs ago with ra and oa, I was put on pain relief meds by my family dr. I kept complaining that something was wrong, my hands were in so much pain and they were so hot to touch that you could have fried an egg on them!!!I am very newly dx. I have actually had problems stemming from way back. I am soon to be 45 years old
A few mos back my hips became very stiff and achey, I thought I must have hurt them lifting something heavy, but was'nt sure. Gradually the pain and stiffness worsened to the point that I could barely walk when I would first get up. I decided I should call the Dr, who was of course on vacation and I had to wait almost 2 weeks to get in. Within that 2 weeks came a day that all of my joints started to hurt. I remember it was within a few hours that everything one by one started hurting. I have had pain everyday since that one day. My Dr was sure this was RA. Blood test confirmed this and she started me on NSAIDS until I could get to the RD. Saw Rheumy and am currently bringing dosage of NSAID up to max before moving on to something else. The hardest thing for me is the extreme fatigue
I also have a wonderful loving family...husband, 18 yr old girl and 12 yr old boy. I try very hard to keep a positive attitude for them. Inside I am scared and frustrated. I am so exhausted all of the time, but all I can do is go day by day and hope and pray for the best for myself and for all of my friends here. You have all been a godsend and I am so thankful to be able to come here.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all,
Lots of love
Pam
I was DX about four years ago. My Rheumy thinks it started when i became ill with Adult Chickenpox/Shingles. My immune system took a hammering and i ended up in hospital with pneumonia. A few months after i got back on my feet, i noticed my wrists were becoming quite sore and stiff. At the time i put it down to using a computer too much at work ( im a programmer ) and that id picked up an RSI, or at worst Carpels tunnel syndrome.
However, it wasnt long before i noticed it had moved into the elbows, which were starting to bruise as a result. I realised at that point i had a serious problem as my brother had been DX with RA 4 years previous and my sister had just been DX with Crohns.
I guess having it in the family made it easier to cope.
I vaguely remember feeling extreme fatigue sometime before it all came on. Stress-wise, my father was dying, I had an extra load at work, and I had fallen and broke & dislocated my ring finger.
Three years previously I had a complete hysterectomy for uterine cancer (I'm fine now). Coincidently, my one maternal aunt had a hysterectomy for the same problem at almost the same age I had it. AND - she was diagnosed with RA about the same age I was - unbelievable?! She has since passed away - I understand her RA was not managed well by her doctor, and she contracted pneumonia and died. When I first heard the dx of RA, it really freaked me out because I knew that's what my aunt had and she had DIED! & nbsp; & nbsp;
For years, because I work in elementary schools, I would get the flu shot. I don't think now that was a good idea. I also had 10 old mercury fillings in my teeth ( I have since had them all replaced).
So, my first symptoms were: achey arms, wrists (had a carpel tunnel release procedure), and when my fingers started to swell I went to see my first rheumy.
Rana
Mine first symptoms, looking back, were problems with my feet. It was extremely painful to walk in the morning for a couple of years. I didn't pay much attention to it, and figured it was just getting to the age where I had to wear flat shoes.
Cris
I was a baby so I don't quite remember. But from what I have heard there was fever, rash and inflammation. Years later when I was in my teens my JRA was thought to have been the result of an allergic reaction to the MMR vaccination.
I have noticed in a few threads people talking about having their mercury fillings replaced? Why is this? And does it really make any difference?
Kayobe,
It is somewhat controversial, but in my researching the topic, there are a number of studies that show a correlation between heavy metal toxicity and degenerative diseases. I am just the kind of person that has to do as much as I can in my power in order to find solutions.
The old fillings that are silver in color consist of 50% mercury. This mercury has the ability to be toxic throughout your entire body. Not just when tiny pieces break loose, but also toxic is the mercury vapor from the filling when you are chewing, drinking hot liquids, brushing your teeth (never rinse with hydrogen peroxide by the way, I know I had in the past), and when you have dental procedures done on them. I had 10 which was a lot; I made the decision to have them replaced and am now going through the detoxification phase.
If you have one or two of these, I don't think you should be as concerned as I was.
Mercury fillings have been baned in Germany. If you want to read posts of people discussing this issue, go to adult-metal-chelation@yahoogroups.com
There are just as many studies that report a connection between root canal teeth and autoimmune disorders. They state that these (and unsuccessfully extracted root tips) are dead and contain an enormous amount of bacteria that travels systemically and wrecks havoc. This fits into the bacteria theory and may be why some folks report improvement with antibiotic therapy for RA. There is a book called The Root Canal Cover-Up written by George Meinig,D.D.S. (a dentist).
I realize my posting this may cause a stir, but I feel it's important to put any and all information out there in order for folks to make an informed decision for themselves.
Regards, Rana
Wow, Thank you all for the responses, I guess I'm not the only one that just woke up with this...lol
You all seem so strong and your knowledge great on the lovely RA, this is probably why I spend so much time on here reading everyones post.
MaggieS....Random bad luck? Ughhh I think I would have slapped my doctor had he said that to me. I was handed a pamplet though.
Thank you all again...you guys are great
Jen
My experience sounds similar to Dagda. Chicken pox at 33, diagnosed at 35- 10 years ago. Mine started in my hands just out the blue!! Kind of moved around for a few years but nothing terrible. On Sulphasalazine for it, seemed to work. Then WHAM!! Back in August last year it flared up and has not gone away!! Started MTX last week after putting it off for a month. Hope it works!
Marie
Hi Jen -
I'm so glad you posted this -- I'm very interested in hearing the same thing since I'm newly diagnosed (a month ago). My 1st signs sound very similar to some of the others. I changed jobs in November (2004) from working in administration for 11 years to going back to a very physical retail job (for stress relief!). Shortly after taking that job I started having pain and stiffnes (mostly in the morning) in my hands, feet (ankles), and wrists.
I chalked it up at first to the "physical" job, but 3 months later it was still there and moving to other joints. I was also going through periods of extreme fatigue and sometimes low grade fevers. I went to my GP who ordered blood work for RA, Lupus, and Lyme Disease. At the two week follow up he told me, "well, the bloodwork was negative so you don't have any of these things".
I went back this past Friday, and he re-confirmed the ra, even though my bloodwork still came up negative, which he said happens often. He added Plaquenil, and I go back in 6 weeks. He also ordered blood work to check my thyroid because it felt enlarged.
Looking back, I beleive I had symptoms before the joint pain and stiffness. I had gone to my gp a few months before because of "flu-like" symptoms, extreme fatigue, etc. He did a CBC, and when it didn't show anything he basically said there was nothing wrong.
Sorry to be so long-winded, just hope this helps!
Lisa
About 2 weeks before any arthritis symptoms I had a bad case of food poisoning, from seafood. I started with foot pain after a beach hike with my kids. Then a week later a knee became swollen and painful for no apparent reason. A short time later at work, everyone had to be retested for doing CPR, a yearly event in the Operating Room. I did the test ok but the next day my hands were extremely swollen, painful, and putting out a lot of heat. I was unable to do anything with my hands for a week.
I have a family history of people who had severe arthritis, or another autoimmune disorder. All of us who have arthritis are HLA-B27 positive. A geneaology interest by my generation is what brought the prevalence to light.
It took me 3yrs to get a diagnosis, a correct diagnosis. Then it took another 6mo to get relief. My savior was MTX. That worked for me, I thought it was a "wonder drug", back in 1983. Nowdays, I take Enbrel, Imuran, Celebrex and Prednisone.
Barb
The diagnosis part took from about mid-June of last year to early August. All of my tests came back positive (RF+, ANA+, high Anti-CCP, elevated sed rate) so it was a pretty easy call. I started on meds in August of 2004 (Plaquenil, Prednisone, and Ibuprofen at first. Enbrel was added in November 2004). I am recognizing so much in your posts. First the teeth thing - right before I had symptoms in the fall I had a root canal from hell. It was four dental visits. I hated that dentist. Constant tooth pain. Then right afterward I got what I thought was a really bad flu. We wondered if there was a connection between the flu and all the problems with the root canal. Then two weeks later I am in the hospital with extreme shoulder pain, knee and hips and it always comes back in one form or another after a couple weeks of relief from prednisone. There are also other connections. Get this. In my life, when sh*t happens, it is all at once. Seven years ago, my only child was diagnosed bipolar. She has since been diagnosed as schizophrenic. That was the same month that I had a hysterectomy. Get this. Right before my daughter was diagnosed and I was all stressed out about her behavior - I started getting up and my feet were like a walking skeleton. Tons of foot pain. I finally went to a doctor back then and he did a blood test and said I might have RA. I was so immersed in the grieving process of my daughter's illness and trying to care for her and also healing from hysterectomy - I never researched anything about RA. I thought it was just arthritis like most people think. Some aches and pains you have to cope with. The foot pain eventually went away and I forgot the whole thing. Never did research the RA until this time. Well, that's my story. Life is an adventure but I have to say- I do love life and seven years ago, when my daughter got her diagnosis I had thought I would never enjoy life again and I would never be able to deal with the grief of her lost potential. Guess what - I learned that time heals and I did get on with life - including falling in love. So now I know that eventually I will be able to deal with this like so many of you do. Dear Kim, I do believe that my last Pregnancy did have something to do with it, I broke out in that horrible rash and after the rash cleared up I was hit with the RA. I also had psoriosis (sp?) but I have not had a breakout since the RA and I find that interesting in itself . Like you I have days where I am determined to find the cause and cure of this and then days where I just give up and cry
I am on Plaq and Pred but it seems to be doing very little at this point and time for my RA. I am also HLA-B27 Positive and all other test for RA have come up positive and with high numbers (whatever that means). Has anyone tried the Pedors? I have the black clogs, LOVE THEM! I would like to tell you that it gets easier with time, but it hasn't for me, but just know that we are all here for each other and are so understanding of what each of us is going through. Hugs Jen Roxy, I believe that. For me it was an unplanned Pregnancy 1 month after a divorce, new relationship and a move 3,000 miles away from family and friends. I was to say the least, "Taxed to the Max". I have also read and experienced more pain during stressful times. Jen HI JEN, I FIRST NOTICED SOME SWELLING ON THE TOP OF MY KNUCKLES ON MY LEFT HAND. A FEW DAYS LATER I WOKE UP IN THE MORNING AND COULDN'T MAKE A FIST WITH EITHER HAND. I MADE MY OWN DIAGNOSES FROM THAT, BUT AFTER GOING TO A RHEUMY AND HAVING SOME BLOODWORK DONE, THEY FOUND THE RA FACTOR IN MY BLOOD. I CAN'T THINK OF ANYONE IN THE FAMILY HISTORY THAT HAS HAD RA. I GUESS I'M JUST LUCKY! HEH HEH.....IT COULD BE WORSE SO I JUST COUNT MY BLESSINGS AND MOVE ON WITH LIFE. DON just wanted to bring this forward for Gem
I had written that I was having really bad pain in my feet.
I wondered if I had injured it swimming and the pain only showed up in
the morning when I first stood up but eased quite a bit during the day
with the help of a medication called "naprosen" (sp) that had been
prescribed. After a couple of months on this drug, she took me
off saying it was addicitve!
I have a new family doctor and she picked up on the probable diagnosis
and refered me to a specialist who I saw within 3 days. The
doctor who misdiagnosed the foot pain as a sprain also didn't recognise
acute gallbladder disease either. Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh, I think I
should sue!!! Funny thing is she is not registered with the college of
physcians here in Canada anymore.
Hi Jen,
I was also completely fine...until my 2nd son was born last summer. Then, I blew off the symptoms for a few months before seeing an MD. When I woke up stiff for weeks, we bought a new mattress. When my neck was stiff, I bought new pillows. When my feet hurt for months, I bought new shoes. When my shoulder hurt, I convinced myself that I'd been sleeping "wrong". When my hands hurt, I was using the computer too much. But after several months of this, and no excuses for my hip pain, or jaw pain, my husband said "how can you be doing so many things wrong...at the same time!" So I just thought that story was good for a little laugh. You probably need it. Anyway, I haven't been formally diagnosed yet, but I read my RD's letter to my internist. I just have to have more blood drawn HLA-B27, everything else was negative. I have recently been reading so much about the disease, and frankly, it scares the out of me. Sometimes, I am determined to find a way to cure this thing, and sometimes, like last night, I just cry.
Have they started you on any meds yet? Is anything working for you?
I believe that this was a hormonal thing. No real proof, but it's a major coincidence that this happens after the birth of a child quite often. On the other hand, I am very thankful for this...the whole time I was pregnant, I prayed that my baby would be healthy. I specifically prayed "If something has to be wrong, please let it be me." So I have a very healthy 10 month old son. I can deal with my own suffering.
Hope you're feeling better soon.
Kim 33yrs still undiagnosed.
Hi Jen,
I was diagnosed about 3 months ago, but believe I
have had RA for a long time; it was just in remission
for many years. I had two aunts very crippled with
RA. Both have since passed away.
As far back as I can remember I have always had a
problem with my 'bones aching' in my right leg and
my right knee would get hot and swollen
Nothing really ever took away the pain and every time
I mentioned it to a dr., they just kind of ignored it .
But the major , full-blown RA started in November of
'04. I thought I had a RSI as I woke up one day and
my hands were completely swollen and sore. I
just thought it was too much computer work. I was
on a fairly new job and very stressed out financially,
so was trying to play it down at work. But it got so
bad I went to workers comp for therapy. They were
great and 'treated' me for about 2 months. During
this time I was in constant, hopeless, pain. Could
not use my hands, then my shoulders and knees.
Eventually my workers comp dr. said my blood test
showed a very high sed rate, gave me a taper pack
of pred, and referred me to a great RD. The
predisone was like a miracle drug for me... my
swelling went down and I felt like there actually might
be hope. The RA examined me and told me that I
had RA. I also have a 'anit-ccp'(?) marker. I am
taking mtx, prednisone, and remicade. I am tired
most of the time and always feel like I am coming
down with the flu.
I am begining to think stress does have something
to do with it as it weakens your immune system. A
few months prior to diagnosis my stepmother of 15
yrs. had suddenly passed away, and one of my
sisters had just had every disc in her neck replaced.
Also, 3 yrs prior my 20-yr marriage ended, I quit a
20-yr job with Levi Strauss, and moved to SF by
myself after living 30 yrs. in Las Vegas.
It's really interesting to hear how many people had
their RA come on suddenly. I would have never
thought that could happen. I'm still haveing a hard
time trying to figure out if a certain pain is sleeping
wrong, my weight, etc.
Thanks for sharing. Sorry my post is so long...I can
be kind of 'wordy'!
Tara L
legs but I thought it was just from standing up all day at work. Then my
fingers and wrists started to hurt as well, but this pain was sharper. Still, I
just put it down to typing all day at work. The one day my feet had
swollen up so much that they were ballooning over the top of my shoes!
That freaked me out, so I made a doctor's appt. It was December 2004 by
then. When I went to the doc for the first time, he gave me Mobic and
sent me for blood tests saying that it appeared to be epidemic
polyarthritis, and he suspected it was from Ross River virus (a mosquito
borne virus that is quite common around where I live. It produces an
arthritis that can last up to a couple of years). He also tested my
rheumatoid factor, for Barmah Forest virus and some other things. They
all came back negative, but he still thought it was Ross River and that
we'd tested too early. Repeated all the same tests in a month and they
were all negative again.
In January when I was still having these pains on a daily basis and I was
amazingly fatigued he wrote me a referral to my rheumatologist. I'd
changed anti-inflammatories a few times but nothing was helping. I
couldn't get in to the rheumy until April, but at least now I have a
diagnosis (even if it isn't the one I wanted ) I kept denying any family
history of it, because as far as I knew there weren't any autoimmune
diseases in my family. About a month ago my mum called me to sat that
my dad's sister has RA and has had for the last ten years but she forgot
all about it because she lives in England (thanks mum!)
I wasn't under direct stress at the time, but I'd been waiting for test
results for a needlestick injury I had at work, and I got them back end of
October (they were fine) but in the meantime I had been having tummy
probs from stressing, so maybe it's connected. Either way, I'm glad it's ME
who came down with it, and not my little brother. Even if I had the chance
I wouldn't wish my RA onto my worstest enemy.
A long, long time transpired between the initial onset of my symptoms and actual diagnosis. First, let me say, I'm sort of the odd-(wo)man-out here -- and don't actually have RA, but a similar disease called adult onset Still's disease (the same as systemic onset Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis). It was a bright and cool Sunday about 12-years ago -- I was feeling good, when all of a sudden, out of the blue I developed chest pain. It was very odd -- the pain seemed to be right in the middle of my chest and felt better when I leaned forward. I went to work the next day (silly me) but the pain persisted and finally, my boss said "Get to the doctor right now!" I was diagnosed with pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart. If I were to describe how pericarditis feels, I would say it feels like having pneumonia of the heart.
It took me a long time to recover from the pericarditis. I returned to the doctor about six-weeks later and he did some blood work. My sed rate was soaring. He said "That's normal for a woman" -- I argued that the normal limits were on the paperwork for men and women and my sed rate seemed anything but normal being five times above the normal values. I complained about extreme fatigue. I was ignored, then finally referred to psych consult for "depression." Then I started getting weird fevers. They came on in the late afternoon, raged on (usually between 103 - 105 F) and were gone by morning. I finally noticed a funny little rash on my chest and abdomen when I got the fevers.
The doctor, when I called about my 105 fever told me to "take a couple asprin." These fevers continued for a very long time -- but they were sort of sporadic, so I ignored them thinking that's just my body being weird.
One day, about five years ago, I looked down and it became apparent something was drastically wrong. All my fingers had developed large synovial lumps overnight. This couldn't be ignored because this was something I was very familiar with since my mother and her three sisters all had some form of inflammatory arthritis. I sought out a doctor and found that my RA factor was mildly postive, my sed rate was high and things were pointing toward RA. It wasn't until I described the stinking fevers online here that someone mentioned adult onset still's. Suddenly the whole picture came together.
Since it was so long ago, I can't remember if there was something that may have triggered the whole chain of events -- I don't remember being under any particular stress or having any other problems. I rather think that my disease was just inevitable given my genetic history.
I came down with it in Jan. 04. First symptoms were tingling in my legs, like needles. Aching and burning too. Then progressed rapidly to knees, feet, hands, and then all over my body within 4 months. Everything was swollen. Had carpal tunnel on hands and wore braces for 5 months. Had surgery on them. Stress plays a MAJOR part in this disease! I was on an extremely stressful job for years and I know for a fact that it took its toll on me and set it off. I was working 70 hours weeks, 7 days a week for weeks on end. I have now retired and am doing great!
Susan I'm another one that went to bed healthy and woke up in the morning in pain and was dx'd with RA sortly after. I had been working out at a gym regularly. While using the free weights I noticed a lot of pain in my shoulder. I eventually went to see my doctor about my one shoulder and he said it was probably just from the weights. Later though, I had the same pain in my other shoulder, but just assumed it was from the weights. Two months later I was having some surgery and when it was over with I was in soooo much pain. Shoulders hurt, ankles, knees...etc. I went home from the hospital but the pain continued. I went to see my doctor and after a few tests were done, I was told I had RA. Kelly I beileve I had RA/Borderline Lupus WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY before they dx'd me. Actually, it started in my teens. I would wake up and my hands would ache. I mean...sometime I would just cry...it would take hours for them to wake up and stop being stiff. Then...years went by, I would say 11 yrs, I was 26, I got very, very sick. I was in college fulltime and was a single parent at the time. I was so busy taking care of home and school and my son, I tried to ignore the fact i was Really tired...My chest hurt, I was week and my shoulders hurt soooooooooooo bad. I left school, went home to stay with my parents. I lost over 15 pounds. I was so very sick...and the doctors couldn't find out what was wrong with me. Well, things got better...also...When I carried my son...I was so sick with both of my pregnacies. I HATED being pregnant...But I love my baby boy, who is now 12 yrs old. It wasn't until 7 yrs later the real demons came out. I noticed after the Christmas break...I was getting real tired again. My family had just come through a real tough time. Our son, Steven has Sickle Cell Anemia. He was on the vurge of having a stoke and we were all to pieces. He is great now...Yet my body just didn't seem to be alright. I thought maybe it was the fact you can't sleep in those hospitals and that is was cold in his room. Well, needless to say it didn't get better. My hands were hot and swollen. I thought it was be cause i typed to much at work. Then...I started having trouble walking. I thought...because I am a dancer, I over did it when I was teaching. So I would take hot bathes...and my son and husband who are great...would rub my feet and legs for me to make them feel better. Then...The TRUE HELL HIT!
I noticed one day...I was having trouble getting out the car. OKAY...let me tell you all the truth...I had gone to see a Orthopedic surgeon about my hips and knees. He looked at my chart and saw that I had been in several times that years complaining of pain in these areas. He then suggested I have test done for Lupus and RA. I was so scared...i never went to get the blood test done. See...my mother and uncle both had RA. My uncle was bed ridden from it...and my mother...well she faired better...but...she had such a hard time. I HATED THIS DISEASES...and now...I may have it. OH HECK NO...I just didn't want to find out. OKAY OKAY...it was my fault...It took me 5 months to go...and by that time...the pain was so great...I would have gone ANYWHERE to get rid of it!
This leads to the not being able to get out the car...so ...i get home from work...i can't walk up the stairs to my apartment. I get in side after 30 minutes...by now I am in the room crying. So not to alarm my son...I hobble to the bathroom...seat down...and can't get up. So I have to crawl back to the bed...by this time I am screaming for my son to call his father at work and tell him to GET HOME NOW...I can't walk. My husband gets home and he says THIS IS ENOUGH...It is something wrong. I never had the heart to tell him...I was suppose to take the bloodtest. I had been through hell when Steven got sick...Now his wife was ill. I just couldn't do it too him. Well...from that day...i have had many ups and downs. It took the rheumy 3 months to dx me. I am still borderline for Lupus. So the meds I am on not only cover the RA but Lupus as well. This disease can be a REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL PAINNNNNNNNNNNNN!
But...new meds and research are being done all the time. Sooner then later...I pray a cure shall come...and we can all be free from this disease. Love you all much...Roblyn Lets just say after years of misery that started with what the docs thought were just growing pains or psycological problems, I was finally dxs w/Fibromyalgia in 99 at the age of 21. I had never heard of this illness before and for a couple of years I was in denial trying to convince myself it was nothing wrong with me (results of me being told that by docs for over 10 yrs). Took me awhile to get adjusted to this then about 3 or 4 yrs later I was dxs with being in the beginning stages of RA. Sent me to Rheumys who didnt believe my dxs and told me it wasnt, but that I did have some arthritis in my back. So after going back and forth I finally was offically dxs this year with RA. So thats my story (the shortened version of it anyway
Hey, I've been battling with the realization of what is happening to me. In March when my fingers started to become numb. I'm thinking carpal tunnel....went to the dr. And he confirmed carpal tunnel from the "wrist tapping" thing....had the nerve test...same thing....carpal tunnel....I have worked in food service all of my life from the time I was 15 ( I'm 45 now) All of my career I have alway pushed the limit. Lifted more than I should....not asking for help and have been very active until sometime in March. I remember several years ago getting out of bed and my feet would hurt. I work on my feet so I didn't give it much thought. A year or so later my right shoulder began to hurt, more when I first got up in the morning then it would go away just like the pain in my feet. Then in March the "carpal tunnel" started.....then I got knots...in the palms of my hands, on my leg. My blood work shows no ra or lupus. Finally got into a Ruiem... this month....I've been on Pred. since March with lasix to help w/ the fluid retentiion. I am now being put on Arava...haven't pick it up from the pharmacy yet. (Guess that part of the denial part it's been called in for 5 days. It seemed as though it happened overnight. But as I think back all of these "flare ups' that have happened over the past few years. I woke up one day....and they were all there......all at once. I'm scared...I can't make a fist in either hand..Some days I can some I can't. If I don't take prednesone I hurt all over. The drug they want to put me on will affect my liver and I enjoy a cocktail after a long days work. It would be nice to talk with someone who understands. My boyfriend tries but I can tell he is losing his patience with my constant aches and pains. This is real and I'm fighting it like hell. Any words of comfort would be appreciated......hope I don't sound like a cry baby ..... i've learned alot from reading through this site....I took me a couple of days to post... hope it's a "good day" for all of you. In my twenties, I had a couple of babies and the symptoms didn't go away but were less. By the way, I got pregnant with my first baby at the advice of the gyne because I had been dx with endometriosis (this is another sign of an existing problem but I didn't know it then). In my late twenties, I started having a lot of problems with all my joints, my muscles, fatigue, etc. I went to the doc for two years before someone figured out part of it. I was hypothyroid (hasimoto's disease). The third sign for me of an autoimmune problem. When the joint problem didn't go away, I was finally sent to a rheumy. For years I had a gray dx but he was always discussing RA. Finally last year, it became final. I'm now 43. I wish I still had the article but a couple of years ago, I came across an articles discussing some of the signs that someone is on there way to having RA. It doesn't fit everyone but I felt like I was reading about myself. It seems that most people who have been dx'd with endometriosis and hypothyroidism have a strong chance of developing or having RA. They are all signs of an autoimmune problem and I fit the bill perfectly. I took the article to my rheumy and he said it had been scientifically proven that a large portion of RA sufferers have had all of those problems in their lives. Anyone else have endometriosis and hypothyroidism. By the way, some people have endometriosis and don't even know it. Lucky them! Julie; Welcome to the group. We're glad you're here. Hi everyone, I wanted to reply to Christene she had mentioned the endomitriosis.
Course I back to my old unhealthy ways now, but very determined to change. Best wishes for all of you and don't be afraid to keep asking you dr's for the info you need.
Tara L
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