New here and newly diagnosed

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My name is Gayle, I'm 37 and I was diagnosed this summer with RA. I didn't have

a lot of symptoms at the time, but was concerned because I was feeling some

stiffness. My mother has RA and I've watched her make her way through two

shoulder replacements and one knee replacement, among many, many other

surgeries. So I had all the testing done and it turns out, I won the genetic

lottery and am the lucky one with the diagnosis!

I'm a Kindergarten teacher and now that we are well into the school year, I am

really starting to have a hard time with my right knee. I have always been a

very active, involved teacher, spending a lot of time sitting on the floor or

kneeling next to my students, but this is really becoming a challenge. I

certainly can't rely on my students to help me off the floor! Once I get home

from work, I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children to take care

of. My daughter will be six this month and my son is 14 months and has just

started walking. Keeping up with them is getting more challenging as well. Oh,

and did I mention that I live in a multi-level house? I have to go up and down

stairs all the time.

I haven't seen my Rheumatologist since July. I was supposed to check in with

him in October, but of course, lots of things got in the way. Where did October

go? So now that I'm having pain, I have made an appointment but it isn't until

the end of November. What do I do for the pain until then???

Thanks for reading this novel of an introduction. I'm looking forward to

getting to know people in this group. I have a lot of questions that need

answers and I hope as I start on this journey I can provide support to others as

well. Thank you!

Gayle