Re: new member--long reply

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

I was diagnosed with RA last September. At that time, I had a lot of

your same fears. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to properly take

care of my infant daughter, the house work and the yard work. I am 39

and a stay-at-home mommy.

I had problems getting out of bed or a chair, walking, screwing the

lid on the baby bottle, picking up my daughter, etc. I had a lot of

fatigue and pain. I felt so guilty because I was so tired by the

evening my husband had to put my daugther to bed every night, and he

was getting up with her during the nights. I had no engery. I felt

so bad because I quit my job after our daughter was born and he was

stilling working full-time.

Vioxx helped a little, but it was nothing compared to the other drugs

I was later prescribed. It took about 3 months to get the proper

dosage of drugs and for them to take affect. I am about 80% back to

normal (or what I was prior to RA--LOL).

I am able to accomplish all the things I need to do in my life. I

still get more tired than before, but it's not nearly as bad. My

ankles and wrists will never be strong again, but I don't have pain

every day anymore.

I have had to accept that there will be days that my wrists and/or

ankles will be hurting, and then I won't be able to get much done

that day. It sounds like you have a lot more responsibilites than me,

so I know it might not be as easy for you.

This morning I shoveled 10 wheelbarrows full of dirt from my front

yard and wheeled them in the backyard without any problems. Last

year, I never thought I'd be able to do that. I'm able to do most of

the yard work I want to do. Then again, last time I moved the lawn

my ankles hurt for the rest of the day.

My guess is you will be able to sew and weave without pain again, but

there will be days when you can't. I also felt sorry for myself when

it was so bad with RA. I couldn't imagine living with the amount of

pain for the rest of my life. It doesn't help your state of mind when

you aren't getting enough sleep due to severe pain.

Hopefully, you can find a good RA doctor who can find the right

treatment for you.

Good luck! It should get better for you in the next few months.

Jean