Arthritis Insight-Member Stories-Sheila

Sheila's Story

My name is Sheila. I was diagnosed with RA and Fibromyalgia one year ago. I had no idea that I had anything serious wrong with. I developed a Baker's cyst in the back of my right knee 4 1/2 years ago and underwent surgery to have it drained. Nobody said anything to me about it being related to RA. About 1 year ago I developed a cyst in my right ankle. It was the size of a golf ball. I went to see a Podiatrist, who told me that it was in the joint and it would have to be removed. So, I went in for surgery. When the doctor came to see me, afterwards, he told me that he found two cysts the size of golf balls. I was very surprised. When came back to see him for my follow-up, he said that the pathology report showed consistencies with RA. I then took the blood tests and they were negative. He sent me to a Rheumatologist who told me that I have RA, because you can't argue with pathology. I was a little scared because I had read about it on the internet. I also have 3 children at home, ages 11, 9, and 4 years old. My Rheumatologist started me on the maximum dose of Plaquenil and Daypro. I took them religiously, but two months later I developed another cyst, this time in my left ankle. It was very painful and in the joint, so I had more surgery. In April of 2000 I developed a nodule in my left ankle that was in the joint, but in a different place than the prior one. I had to undergo surgery once again. I went to my Rheumatologist and said enough is enough. I can't take care of my family if I am layed up from surgeries every other month. So she put me on Methotrexate. She started me on 7.5 mgs. a week. I had been doing great up until the end of September, when my joints started to ache again. My swelling is minimal, but I have been experiencing a lot of discomfort. My Rheumatologist took some x-rays and decided to up my dosage of Metho to 10 mgs. a week. And this is where I am today. I would be interested to know if anyone out there has had any similar experiences, because my Rheumatologist has said that I present different from any of her patients. Thanks for reading my story.