Rheumatoid Arthritis.... Any Advice???

Alsison

Hi MFP,

I have been suffering from a swollen and painful knee for almost a month now. My doctor referred me to an orthopaedic specialist who sent me for blood tests and it turns out I have a "rheumatic factor of 57".

I have now been referred to a rheumatic specialist but as the wait time to get in to see her may be lengthy I was wondering if anyone out there has a similar story to share??

Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.:flowerforyou:

Cheers,
Alsison

neon7girl

Not much. I just saw a rheumatologist for bilateral ankle pain. She thought there was a possibility of RA. I was not having a flare up at the time, but they drew labs...tons - 18 vials worth. alas all my titers were negative, but apparently this does not mean I am in the clear and I need to go back when I have another flare.

How long before you are going to be seen?

Derpes

Is swimming a possibility? Water therapy seems to be effective for RA

http://www.arthritis.org/water-exercise.php

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I have lupus, it's sorta similar. You do need to be careful with exercise. Ask the rheumatologist when you see him/her. I am approved to walk, swim, and do stretching exercise (I do pilates). Hopefully soon I'll be oked for strength training too.

My main piece of general advice is to make sure you click with your rheumatologist. After my husband, my rheumatologist is the most important person in my life because he is in charge of my medicine. If the relationship is bad (I've had some pretty bad ones) it can really make your life hell.

Second piece of advice is know your limits. If you've been really active it can be a huge adjustment to have to take time to rest and recover, and not do as many things as you used to do. I don't know how severe your case is, but I have a huge problem with fatigue.


Add me if you need some support or message me if you have specific questions.

donnam40

I was diagnosed with RA earlier this year with a rheumatoid factor of 155. I was in agony. I also have Hashimotos and understand the 2 can be related.

I am currently on Arava, Prednisolone and Plaquenil. I'll be adding Orencia injections to that list in January. Methotrexate poisoned me making me quite ill.

My road has been rough as it is in my feet, hands, knee, elbows and shoulders. I am a very strong minded person so this has helped a lot. I am back at the gym and can run (only on the treadmill). I am learning about listening to my body when I am tired though because as the immune system is suppressed, I am more prone to infections.

As somebody said a good rheumatologist is key. Mine is wonderful.

Feel free to add me if you like.

Donna

BohemianCoast

You must press for an early appointment with the rheumatologist. There's good evidence that rapid treatment leads to much better long term outcomes. See http://www.nras.org.uk/about_rheumatoid_arthritis/nras_dvd_for_early_diagnosis.aspx. You have an advantage in that your blood tests came back positive and you already have the referral. I was very fortunate in that a young GP at a walk-in centre looked at my knee and my description of what was going on, and said it sounded like RA. My own GP then looked at my weight and said 'oh, no, it's osteo...' but it wasn't and eventually I got the referral.

I'm on methotrexate now and it has been wonderful. I'm doing lots of exercise including running (though I started gradually), and I have almost no arthritis symptoms except that my blood indicators are still raised and I'm still stiff in the morning or after sitting in one place for a while.

EpitomeOfSxy

I was diagnosed with RA when I was 7 years old (Poly-articular JRA to be exact), I have learned over the years that you need to educate yourself on treatments and exercise and know when to listen to your doctor. I took myself off a lot of my medications in my teens because I was sick off all the side effects making me ill. My RA specialist said I would be in a wheel chair by 18 if I didn't comply with methotrexate, prednisone and cortisone injections along with other medications. I took up a healthy lifestyle and went into remission for a decade-ish. I came out of remission when I gave up that healthy lifestyle, started eating crap foods, didn't really exercise and didn't sleep well. I gained around 60 lbs. My specialist only gave the okay for light cardio/low impact work outs. I decided to just do as I wanted and started lifting weights against the advice. My pain has decreased and my range of motion has increased with no further damage. My body is affected head to toe (aside from my back). As much as listening to doctors works for some, I think sometimes listening to your body can work as well. Obviously I am not a medical professional and just giving advice to what works for me. I try to keep red meat down, tomatoes out of my diet and other natural inflammatory type foods, I drink a lot of water, I notice that alcohol flares my symptoms and I try to be as active as possible. I do not push through joint pain though. I still see my specialist and have her monitor my joints/blood and I have anti inflammatories on hand for bad days but I rarely take them. In the end I just want you to know being diagnosed with it isn't necessarily as scary as they say it is. I do everything that a "normal" non-RA person does I just might not have the same endurance and my hands are affected the most so I don't have the grip like others. For example, I love lifting heavy weights and doing cardio (I can run but do the elliptical most just to be nicer to my knees), friends wanted me to join the pole dancing for fitness classes and I know I can't. I just don't have the grip strength right now but who knows in the future. I try not to tell myself I can't do something I might just have to do more background work to get there. Keep your chin up, I suggest listening to the doctors but for those of you who don't, you're not alone

BigGuy47

I have Psoriatic Arthritis. I've been taking methotrexate for a long time. When I changed my lifestyle (healthy eating & regular exercise) my arthritis flare ups were dramatically reduced.

I agree with the others that said, learn to listen to your body.

jerseyjenus

Thanks for this info. I have a tentative diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and I am seeing a specialist on January 14th. It is good to read that one can still work out.