I've been to 3 RA Doctors all with different answers. None of them taking my problems seriously. They seem to be looking for severe symptoms(swelling, redness, etc.). I'm getting worse everyday.
My hands and shoulders are now the areas of most pain. I can no longer make a fist with one hand and that hand feels very thick. I can make a fist with the other hand with alot of pain. It know takes me 2-3 hoyrs to get going in the morning. I experience pain in my other joints(elbows, angles, knees, wrists, left hip). Normaly I have two joint areas that are more painful and both sides at the same time.
MY RA doctors all say that the RA drugs are very strong with severe side effects.
Should I be afraid of these drugs? My quality of life has been taken away from me as I use to know it. I'm afraid that I will be limited in movement within 15 years. I'm 47 now. I live in Canada.
Welcome
I think you should come back and ask us about specific drugs your rd has suggested. You have tons of knowledgeable people on this board that will help you understand side effects and benefits. I also think you have come to the right place to understand this illness. Read the board. I want to welcome you and tell you how sorry I am that you are having this pain. RA is different with every person that has it. No one can tell you how it will effect your mobility. You do have a good chance of stopping the progression of RA if you take the meds. They monitor you closely when you are on these meds. Most people on the board have no problems with them. Don't be afraid. Reach out and learn about RA so you can make informed decisions. Come here for moral support. There are good people here that are more than willing to give you answers and support. I hope you keep posting. Roxanne
i thought about all the side affects of all the meds im on (humira, methotrexate, prednisone) and you have to outweight the good with the bad. is it worth being in pain and not being able to do anything with your family and have a life outside of this horrible disease? or do you say hey im not gonna let this disease take control over me and take the drugs and have a somewhat better quaility of life. heres an example, not having anything to do with RA but having to do with quaility of life and outweighing the affects of the drugs or not. My great aunt had breast cancer for 23 years before she passed away. The last year in a half she was with us was prolly the worst i have ever seen her ever. The drs saw that the breast cancer had come back and that she wasnt going to be with us much longer. But she chose to do Chemo anyways because even though they made her so sick and made her loose weight, loose hair and im sure other things she never talked about, she was still able to be around her family longer then what any dr had ever thought. I know this is prolly the extreme and isnt exactly having to do with RA but the concept is there. I know that the drugs are a scary thing to have to think about and decide which ones to take but with RA its something that has to be done. ITs not worth the inablility to not have a life or not be able to do things with your family. Well, not sure if any of that made sense, but if it did, hope it helped a bit.
Shannon
One, your doctors should take it seriously. You shouldn't have to live in such pain. But if you don't take the meds, then the chances are if you have RA that you will continue to progress. RA is very nasty. It can deform you, it can destory your heart, lungs and eyes. And, the earlier you are treated aggressively the better your chances of remission and lower damage.
The meds also do have side effects and some of those are hard to deal with. It is a trade off. For me, there was no choice. My heart and lungs have involvement, as do my eyes and all my major joints. It is no choice for me on whether to try the meds. I don't function without them. My kids wouldn't have their mother. And, I'll take any quality of life I can get with this illness because even with the meds, it is a constant battle.
Hello and welcome...looks like everyone pretty much covered everything...but I just wanted to say hi.
(doesnt this color make you thirsty for grape juice?)
Crap, now I'm thinking about grape juice.