Hello--I'm new and my name is Karalyn--I'm 45. I was diagnosed with RA shortly about 2yrs ago shortly after the birth of my son.

I have about 50 lbs to lose. I didn't lose much of my pregnancy weight due to an untimely breakup and other life "things" ... then there was this aweful pain out of nowhere.

I'm seeing new doctor who has me on Humira shots twice a month. Finally, I feel like my old self. Its time to get moving again. My son is 3yrs old now and I can keep up with him so much better now. Prior to RA and motherhood, I lost a great deal of weight with Pilates, Bootcamp and BellyDancing. RA took away all of my energy and ability to move with out pain. My challenge is finding time, as a single working mother, to exercise. I'm ready!! Oh, by the way, in addition to the Humira shot every other week, I take Methotraxate (sp?) weekly.

My goal is to get back into the clothes in my closet, take a great Christmas picture with my son and to get fit...again.

Good Morning all! My name is Tamarae. I am 28 and was diagnosed with RA 2 weeks ago and started MTX on Monday. I have been on MFP for almost 2 years and had at one point lost nearly 60lbs (20+ pre- MFP). Over the last 5 months I have gained about 20 lbs back and I want to go back to losing. I have never been excited about exercise and now I am even less excited, but I want to lose my excess weight so my joints won't hurt as bad later (I can dream, right?).

In addition to my "atypical" RA I have also been diagnosed with Hypothyroid, A-typical migraines, and a few other diseases in the past year and 5 months. I have decided that most everything about me is A-typical That just means I am unique! lol

Hiya!
I'm Mel and I was diagnosed with RA about two years ago, although I've been living with the symptoms since middle school. I was convinced to go to the doctor by my dear husband and it has been a roller coaster ever since. I am currently on methotrexate, plaquenil, thyroid meds, and will be starting orencia next week. I've been on MFP since last fall and am almost at my goal weight. I think managing my food and weight makes me feel a little more in control of my body and this disease (Note: since writing that, I can hear the disease mocking me, lol).

Anyhow, now that I'm near my goal weight I am working towards finding better ways of exercising. I am particularly interested in building up muscle mass and working on being more energetic (God this disease wears me out!). And I am also planning on eliminating different food groups from my diet to see if any of them are increasing inflammation/symptoms.

Feel free to add me bc I would love the support/friendship of other people who go through the same pain, struggle, and frustration of this disease.

Hi my name is Karen and I have suffered from RA for about 8 years now. I am a returning my fitness pal and would like to lose weight to help with my RA. I have a hard time staying motivated because I go thru times when I feel good and times when I feel lousy and don't want to exercise. I would love to make some new friends who too have RA and can understand the things I go thru.

Hi! I am new to MFP. I have had the 'pleasure' of dealing with RA since my early 20s and am now 43. I would love to chat with others that understand the struggles of exercise when fatigued and in pain. I am also interested in learning what works for others in terms of exercise and if any have found diet (inclusion or exclusion of certain foods) to be of benefit in controlling your RA and symptoms.

My most current treatment regimen for RA is methotrexate injections, Cimzia (my 3rd biologic) and daily prednisone. I have just started discussing a new treatment with my rheumatologist and hope to be able to reduce the daily prednisone dosage or come off of it completely.

I was not overweight until my mid to late 20s (after RA hit), and my weight started creeping up little by little. Now I am hoping to help it creep back down...a lot!

I can't believe I forgot to post my introduction! My name is Donna, I'm 55! I was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago at Christmas!
I am struggling to get my exercise in too! Between the Meds and the pain it just slows me down! If I would do my stretching
Exercises I would feel better and then do my regular walking or arthritis aerobics! I want to try Zumba and have seen some
Zumba on YouTube! Easy way to shed some sweat and get my exercises in 3 sets of 10 minute class all for free!

I'm on Enbrel and the pain patch and had a burst recently of prednisone! I loath the prednisone and want to stay clear
Of it as long as possible! So add me if you like I'd be glad to add you in too! We can motivate each other!

Donna!

Hi Everyone! It's nice to find a board like this. My name is Laura and I'm 30 years old. I was diagnosed with RA almost 2 years ago (wow, only 2? Feels like forever ago), but have been having symptoms for 6. I'm currently on meds and we're still trying to nail down dosages that will effectively treat the disease without knocking me out. There was a good solid year in there were I felt practically normal, but then the side effects of my meds (Methotrexate) starting rearing their white-blood-cell-killing heads and I'm back to feeling pain and running tests every few weeks as we try other options.

What I've struggled with the most is that for all of my adult life I've worked as a musician -- I absolutely love it and my life really revolves around it. After this most recent flare, though, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be able to continue. The thought of giving it up is devastating. And actually, that's part of why I'm here -- I know that being overweight exacerbates the inflammation and I started this journey off almost 60 lbs overweight. So before I make any big life decisions about my career, I want to lose the weight and try any other natural treatments that can supplement my medical treatments and hopefully keep RA at bay, at least for a little while longer.

I've lost 17 lbs so far this year, 6 in just the past few weeks simply by cutting out dairy -- I think my body was reacting poorly to it. So now I eat tofu and calcium-enriched almond milk, and I'm feeling better. Has anyone else ever noticed dietary changes that affected their symptoms?

Nice to meet you all.

Hi All,
I'm Lisa, 46 years old, and was diagnosed with RA in April of 2010. I started methotrexate the same day but rapidly declined and was wheelchair bound in less than 3 months. I started Humira in July 2010 and it worked well for a year although had to increase the dosage frequency to weekly after 6 months. I'm now on Enbrel, mtx, and sulfasalazine which keep me in low disease activity/near remission.

This Monday I'm having bariatric surgery (vertical sleeve) and am pretty nervous! I stopped my Enbrel 10 days ago per my rheum doc and am starting to feel it - Will be hanging in there though and hoping for no complications so I can restart asap.

I'm a big believer in meds to control RA but everyone has to make their own choice and live with it. I like to keep up on the latest RA research and treatments; feel free to add me as a friend and I'm always open to RA discussions.

My perspective on this really tough disease was printed in the American College of Rheumatology's publication 'The Rheumatologist'. I feel there is not enough awareness of this disease and the confusion with OA doesn't help. The link is below:

http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1457995/A_Patients_Perspective_on_RA.html

Hi - my name is Theresa and I'm 46. I was diagnosed with RA and fibromyalgia about 3 years ago after 15 years or so of symptoms. Last year I developed mild rosacea (which I can't spell) too because when you're hurting so much that it's hard to walk, it's nice to have your face be bright red too. I also have bursitis in my shoulders and one hip. sigh. I was on methotrexate for about a year and enbrel for about 10 months but developed an allergy to enbrel that caused a bright itchy rash. At that point I quit all meds. I'm already allergic to NSAIDs, and when the enbrel allergy happened, it made me very scared of any meds. I know I need to lose weight, but I've had a hard time pushing through the pain of exercising. Am trying to do some easy yoga and walk. I'd love to talk to some RA veterans who have managed to control your symptoms with diet and exercise, because with all my allergies, I think that's the way I need to go. My symptoms are not as severe as some, and they are not as bad yet as they were before I did the year on meds. It is getting worse, though. The overwhelming fatigue is so depressing. I hate being this blob that my kids have to wait on. I'm hoping connecting with others going through the same things will help me not feel so alone.

Hi! I was diagnosed with R.A. in my teens and I'm now in my 40s. I also suffer from severe migraine. Exercise is so hard and my main problems are with hands and feet. I have a huge problem with a big toe which means I need "special" footwear and live my life in flexi clogs as they help but I'd love to join a Zumba class one day if I get the footwear right.