Re: Newly Diagnosed - looking for some answers

[Guest guest]

It can but now that you have caught it early enough you can stop the

progression of it. My doctors were slow to diagnose mine and I lived

with it for many years until one day I could not move my hand.

Finally I got the right diagnosis and started MTX. Since then my

joints hardly hurt at all (I still have a bad day or two every now

and then) but the MTX works great. Don't let the side effects scare

you -- just make sure you take your folic acid every day..

Good luck

[Guest guest]

Hi Dave,

As You may have figured out, PS & PA can be very different from one

person to the next. You may never have another symptom.

Just be aware of your body and do go to a Rheumatologist if you start

experiencing any recurring pain or pain that lasts.

Even if you do start having more symptoms, do no despair. There are

MANY remedies that can help you have a " normal " life.

Yes, there are some poor folks who have tried numerous things and not

gotten the desired results, but they too would likely agree that a

positive attitude will go a long way to feeling able to handle

whatever comes your way. And Science is always progressing. I am

extremely lucky that 10mg of Methotrexate per week took me from

barely able to walk, back to normal. It may not last forever, but

hopefully it will keep me walking until the next drug comes along.

Stay Well

[Guest guest]

Hi Cheri,

Your post was very moving and you sound very upbeat. That's great. I just

wanted to let you know about a trick my physical therapist told me when I said

I went down the stairs backward. He said to try it sideways and I did. It

works great!!! Try it.

Janet

JANET

[Guest guest]

Dave, I'm sorry to be so late responding to your plea for information. It

really struck a chord with me. It has only been 2 years since I was in the same

place you are now and I remember it so well. I also wanted to fix whatever it

was and get on with my active life. There are a lot of meds to try, as you have

no doubt seen when reading the posts. If you have good insurance or really deep

pockets you should be able to find something that will help. A lot of people

who have posted, over the past 2 years that I have been a member, have very

active sports lives. However, I have a lot of trouble walking very far so am

not able to do the same type of exercise I could before PA. Rather than giving

in to it I spend a lot of time finding ways to accomodate the new restrictions

in my life. I work full time, take care of my very ill mother, and thoroughly

enjoy my family and friends. I still do most of the things I did before PA,

when time allows, but I have to employ a lot of tricks to pull it off. One of

the tricks that I have gotten quite good at is walking downstairs backwards.

When my pain is the worst it is the only way I can do the stairs safely. I

think the journey of PA is about learning to live with it. I am still a work in

progress.......there is a part of me that thinks this is a bad joke and will go

away as fast as it came but the realistic part of me knows this probably won't

happen. Keep us posted on your progress and know that you are not alone. Cheri

:-))