Hi all:
I'm new to this site and so far I have really enjoyed reading your various comments & I've found this site to be very informative because the comments are coming from true experiences. If someone has had a similiar reaction or experience, it's so reassuring to read what they did to solve their problem or just to know that I'm not going crazy feeling the way I do. Anyhow, I have a question for all of you:
I have always wondered if there is a connection between rheumatoid arthritis and hormonal changes. I know that statisticly more women than men get ra and I also recall reading that when a woman is pregnant her ra improves significantly during those months BUT then returns once she has the baby. Personally, I have had ra for 5 years and I feel that my hormone changes came about at the same time I got ra. Could there be a connection between homones and ra?
If so. then why don't doctors try and adjust or work with a woman's hormone balance and possibly help us who are suffering with ra? Could it be that simple?
Perhaps there are some of you who are reading who have taken hormone suppliments and found an improvement with their ra. If so, I'd love to hear what you took.
Welcome, wish we were all here for a different reason...I found out that I had RA from testing my GYN did! I basically had "no hormones" and I started on a bioidentical hormone you can find out all about it on powersurge.com I did not want to take HRT and this seemed safe. Of course I had never taken drugs until RA either. But as far as RA and hormones go, I guess it's that question of which came first? I know there are several members on this forum that have gone through pregnacy with RA and some of us are going through menopause with it. I don't know if the hormones have helped the RA, I am still searching for the right "RA cocktail" and have been in pain since Jan. of this year. Maybe we will get some imput from others, take care, RainHi there....
I have read several different articles on just this. I have interest in it because I had endometriosis, and because of the severity of the disease - I had to have a hysterectomy (ovaries removed too). I have never had children; this happened 2 years ago when I was 37. Now I have what they are calling "inflammatory arthritis" - which we all know is really RA that they (RD's) are afraid to label. Add to this, my mother had endometriosis, the same outcome (hysterectomy with ovaries removed) and she developed RA afterwards also. My mother was around 46 when she had her surgery. My mother also had 3 children. Niether my mother or I can take HRT - due to the masses of disease that were left in our bodies because they were attached to other organs. Estrogen "feeds" the disease and adding an estrogen HRT could have made more medical problems for us. If the endometriosis is not "fed" with estrogen - it will die and the body will take care of it.
Do I think there's a link between hormones and RA, you bet. I also believe there's a link genetically. I see on the clinicaltrials.gov they are also looking for a link between Vit D deficiency and RA. I am also Vit D deficient. Hmmmmmmmmm.....lots of food for thought.
Jody
Hi All,
Like all of you... Without a doubt I believe there is a hormonal connection with RA. Like you said, When you are pregnant your RA goes into remission. I went thru menopause and that is when mine started even though I had other problems in the past with PMS etc I believe it is connected. Why some men get it I don't know, perhaps it is a different type or maybe it is hormonal with them just different hormones although men have low estrogen I think like women have testostrogen (bad spelling).
Thanks for the input so far. You guys are amazing.......... and wouldn't it be even more amazing if we ALL put our combined knowledge & experiences together and pieced together the hormone/ra connection!
Keep the posts coming!
Caroline