Guest guest Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 It sounds like you are being treated very early in what may be Rheumatoid Arthritis. The specialist you are referred to should be a Rheumotologist, who is a doctor who specializes in diseases of the joints. Exercise, a healthy diet, and weight control are all helpful in reducing the effects of RA. Untreated RA usually leads to permanent joint damage but there are many good medicines now that slow or prevent joint damage. If you are confirmed to have RA you should be on a DMARD (Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drug). The most common one is Methotrexate but for mild cases some doctors like to start with Plaquennil or Sulfasalazine. In more stubborn cases doctors often use the newer biologics (Enbel, Humira, Remicade, or Kineret). I get a lot of my informtion on RA from Arthritis Insight http://arthritisinsight.com/ that has links to information about diseases, medictions, and a lot of other things. Please go to a rheumatologist and keep us posted on what you find out and how you are doing. God bless. ----- Original Message ----- From: Ken Rheumatoid Arthritis Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 2:11 PM Subject: Rheumatoid Antibodies Hi EverybodyI am 19 years old and my mother suffered greatly from rheumatoid arthritis from the age of 57 to 80.Recently, a blood test indicated I had rheumatoid antibodies in my blood. My doctor has referred me to a specialist for futher investigation and I have had some mild joint pains for the last two year or so. I love weight training and I haven't had as much injury as some of my friends in the gym.Please could you advise me on what I can do to manage what seems to be an impending condition.Thanks for your attention.Ken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2004 Report Share Posted March 27, 2004 Hi Ken: Many times Rheumatoid antibodies can indicate another condition, not necessarily RA, but seeing as your mom had it, you may be headed in that direction, but fear not, it is a treatable condition when caught early... I was diagnosed when I was 40, am 45 and the condition seems to be relatively in remission (most of the time) I would go just a tad bit easier on the workouts, especially on those joints that " hurt " ...but, do not stop exercising, just modify stuff.. I wish you luck and success in the battle with RA.. God bless.. Lindy --- In Rheumatoid Arthritis , " Ken " <maputo95@y...> wrote: > Hi Everybody > > I am 19 years old and my mother suffered greatly from rheumatoid > arthritis from the age of 57 to 80. > > Recently, a blood test indicated I had rheumatoid antibodies in my > blood. My doctor has referred me to a specialist for futher > investigation and I have had some mild joint pains for the last two > year or so. I love weight training and I haven't had as much injury > as some of my friends in the gym. > > Please could you advise me on what I can do to manage what seems to > be an impending condition. > Thanks for your attention. > > Ken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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