Newly diagnosed with RA

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

My doctor just confirmed on Friday that I have RA. I first went to him

3 weeks ago after about 2 months of severe pain, swelling and

stiffness. He put me on Celebrex and 10mg of prednisone and I had

relief the next day. (I had forgotten how it felt to be pain free).

Anyway, on Friday he told me that he wanted to start me on Methotrexate

and either Remecade or Enbrel. I went back to work and did a bit of

research and was horrified to see the side effects associated with all

of these. It seems to me that he's jumping way ahead considering that

the MRI showed no joint damage. From what I've been reading, I appear

to be in the first stage. So, my questions to everyone are - what

other options are available? What about alternative remedies? Does

anyone have advice on following a particular diet? Thanks in advance!

Amy

[Guest guest]

Hi Kris,

I'm Steph in VA. I'm 29 & was dx'd with RA in 1999 when I was 22. My advice

is:

1. See a rheumatologist. Having a GP is necessary but you can't expect your GP

to know everything about RA too.

2. You'll have to make a choices about meds -- it is a personal decision that

all of us must make. You must weigh the risks vs. benefits. For me, early,

aggressive treatment has kept me working full time and have a fairly functional

life (research confirms this too).

3. Listen to your body. Eat when you're hungry, rest when you're tired (easier

said than done with 3 kiddies!)

Take care,

Steph in VA

Morning all,

I was just sort of diagnosed last week with RA from my GP. I am seeing a Rheumy

April 3rd to confrim.

My bloodwork was pretty good but for a few things. Sed rate was normal but

Rfactor was off the charts.

Also urine came back with wbc and moderate rating for squamous and

bacteria. So of course I am worried. I had an uncle die of RA 22 years ago. He

had one of the bad cases, totally crippled and never went into remission. Only

joints so far are my hands and feet, can't wear my heels anymore lol, and am

always tired it seems. My GP put me on Feldene and the lowest dosage of celexa

to try to control my worrying and stressing out.

So of course my mind is in overdrive thinking of all these terrible things.

I am a single mom, 44 years old, 3 kids one of whom has Down syndrome.

So can anybody give me some advice on all this? Thanks so much. Kris

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[Guest guest]

Kris,

Welcome to the group. Your children sound like they are teenagers or

close to it. As the daughter if a someone who had RA, let me tell

you they will survive. Both my brothers and I did, well even I

wanted to take out my younger brother... Okay and unfortunately they

will still act like teenagers, so don't take what they do, and act

like personally. They will with time get used to " The New You " , and

work around it. My mom and I argued, fought, and had a great time

together. I still miss her greatly. Find things you can do with each

of your children that is special to them. When my mother got to the

point where she could no longer walk much, we took drives, we also

did china painting together. She went fishing with my older brother,

and painted for us, I knew her hands must have hurt horribly. She

gave each of us alone time with her. We didn't talk about being sick

much, even when we took her to the doctor. That was just part of the

package of getting to have her around. The point I am trying to

make, is not to worry about your children, this is going to be

their 'normal'. If you do not make a fuss, they will learn to work

with it. Children, even teenagers are remarkably resilient.

Fortunately, we have RA at a point in time where there have been some

incredible advances in treatment. Don't be afraid of the side

effects, compared to the side effects of RA, they are nothing. Okay,

the commercials on TV paint much to rosy a picture. Yes, your

Rheumatoid Factor is high, luckily for you, that means you are not

going to have to work at getting a diagnosis. The SED rate measures

the amount of inflammation in your body, normal is under 20. Mine

regularly measures around 80, and I know it when it gets higher than

that. Check if your Doctor did a blood test for CRP, C-reactive

Protein, that also measures inflammation. You mentioned that your

feet were swelling because of the anti-inflammatory(NSAID), ask your

doctor for a diuretic (water pill). That will help with your feet,

who knows maybe you will at least be able to put on your high heels.

lol People on the list already mentioned DMARDS like methatrexate

(MTX), and the biologic DMARDS. You may be put on a combination of

the two as soon as you see a Rheumatologist. It really is a double

whammy, that can stop the progression of RA in it's tracks. There

are a lot of reasons to optimistic today. Our lifes will not be like

your uncle's or my mother's.

[Guest guest]

Well I feel much better after reading the responses I received. I am

going to a RA doctor April 3rd, can hardly wait and I did have my CRP

tested also. That was normal 5.6 so just the high RF number and the

wbc, squamous and bacteria were slightly off. I call the dr again

tomorrow after being off the Feldene and low and behold the water

retension is gone in my feet and fingers. So we shall see what she

does next. Today wasn't too bad of a day really. Thanks again so

much. I am learning tons reading all of the posts.

Kris