Anyone with Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Hi Amanda, I was "officially" diagnosed with RA about 5 weeks ago, but my primary care doctor suspected it for the past couple of months prior to that. And frankly, it's probably been an issue for a couple of years for me, but my primary care doctor didn't connect all the dots until more recently.

As for me, I'm 56 years old, working full-time at a very sedentary job, raising a 12-year-old. I often have a hard time finding time to actually exercise in a way that I can do for me (I'm also a Girl Scout leader, and a 4-H assistant leader).

At my worst weight, I was around 194 lbs with a BMI of 37.9
I lost some weight back in 2012 and got down to 171 lbs, with a BMI of 33.4

Over the past few years (2013-2018) - about 5 1/2 years - my weight crept up from 171 to 177.

For me, the difficulties are mostly focused on my left side - the knee is the worst, as my left knee was initially injured in a gym accident in high school (many years ago...), it took nearly ten years before I could afford surgery to repair some of the damage, and then about ten years ago, that same knee had another accident (it was slammed into by a dog with a head like a huge block, dislocating the kneecap which subsequently fractured when I landed on the same darn knee). That put me into a wheelchair for a while, then crutches, etc.

One day in May this year, I woke up and couldn't use the left leg at all. Hello, I needed a cane to walk at all.

That was a rude (but effective) wake-up call that I was going to need to figure out a better way to live.

On July 17th of this year, I restarted my push to lose weight. So it's been... 30 days, as of today, since I started again.

In the past 30-days:

Weight went from 176.6 to 166.4 (weight loss of 10.2 pounds)
BMI went from 34.5 to 32.6 (almost two points... still obese, but moving in the right direction)

Walking is getting easier for me as I am working hard to lose weight. Getting into an aqua-therapy class for arthritis has also helped, although I can't make it often because it's only offered near me right in the middle of the work day. Carefully doing some weight exercises is really helpful too, to build muscle, since that needs more calories to maintain than fat cells.

My go-to tools: a nutritional scale, a fitbit tracker, and a body composition scale.

I'm not on a keto-diet per se, but I've ramped up my protein intake a bit, but still make sure I get some fat and carbs in my diet. And lots of zero-calorie fluid. Water is best, but... I dislike plain water. So I often do Crystal Light Ice Tea with lots of ice.

Medication-wise, my doctor had me on meloxicam, sulfsalazine, zolpidem, gabapentin, and wants to add Xeljanz (assuming I can figure out how to afford it... the before-insurance price is $4,900 a month, which I just don't have). We're looking into manufacturer patient programs, etc.

Feel free to friend me if you like.

Hello, I'm 32 years old also, I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago because for the past couple of months I have been having joint pain. It started out with me not being able to bend my right elbow all the way out without being in lots of pain. A couple days after that It hurt so bad to bend my left knee. Then my right index finger wouldn't bend....and so on and so forth....It all started all of a sudden and would switch to different sides of my body, even my toes are sore when I bend them. My Primary Care Physician did some blood work, and told me that my tests for RA came back positive and referred me to a specialist. I haven't received a call with an appointment from the specialist yet and I'm afraid of what he/she might say, but I have to be prepared. I am already looking for ways to not have to suffer with this. I'm currently on meloxicam 15mg and if I wait until the pain is really bad then the meds take forever to kick in. I have to take 2 instead of 1. I'm also having to take iron supplements. I have been going to the gym at least 5-6 days a week and feel fine for now. I really need to start eating right though. Its just me in my household so I rarely cook, mostly eat out or eat frozen dinners, like zataran bowls, or frozen pot pies or something like that. I really need to find some healthy meal recipes.

49 year old, med free.

One thing that helps me and those I advise with RA along with other autoimmune diseases is living a life stress free as possible. You are correct losing unwanted weight will help to an extent.

A good way to help with that is by the exercise you can do without causing non useful stress to your body.

Running while using a program such as C25K might be useful for those mentally prepared since it strengthens mentally and reduces stress. I ran 5-18 mIles a day eventually for well over a year.

Another thing I highly recommend is strength training. It helps strengthen the muscles around the joints which will help with pain if done with correct dosage at s useful intensity. Form is very important. This doesn't mean just lifting randomly, but under a structured program appropriate for your level.

I've returned to strength training a few years ago after unfortunately bring advised by my doctor to quit which had me walking with a cane after a few months. Since restarting training, I've broken several powerlifting records in the USAPL.

Good luck.

Seronegative arthritis here, four years since diagnosis. The Rheumatoid factor isn’t high enough for RA diagnosis, but I have had joint pain since childhood. I am 43 now. I am losing weight for pain management and to maintain mobility and to increase stability. I am looking for support on my journey, too.