Subject: Re: Heredity and PA, newbie

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I've been lurking here for about a month now. I was diagnosed with

Rheumatoid Arthritis (for lack of a better name at the time) a little

over 10 years ago (be 11 in June)...finally, after 10 years, my hands

and feet decided to do the " sausaging " thing (it originally presented

in my left knee - the initial sed rate was 131 to give you an idea)

and with the " sausaging " my rheumy immediately realized what was

going on...he quickly asked if I had a rash anywhere...I said no, but

my mother - who was with me replied yes - due to my scalp...which I

had been led at one time to believe was a form of dermatitis - " nope,

that's psoriasis " he said and " now I know what's going on. " PA...not

RA...

It seems that I've been on most of the meds you all mention -

Plaquenil, Sulfasalazine, Naproxen, Celebrex, Methotrexate (pills and

later shots - now back to pills to see if they'll work for me again),

and Arava. So, I have no doubt that Dr. has been taking the

correct course of action, best as he could, it seems the two diseases

are very similar from what I've read...any insight on that would be

welcome. They seem like first cousins that just like different hot

spots.

However here we go again with the usual - it'll be 8 weeks before we

know if it's working (I'm currently the news director at a paper and

my pinky and ring fingers have been swollen since the end of

December...I'm beginning to wonder if they'll ever go back

down)...and if not then we get to discuss Enbrel & Remicade and what

my insurance thinks of them. I go back March 30.

The thing that brought me out of hiding on this post is the

hereditary factor...from what I had read, I didn't think this was

really known as a hereditary disease. All input is welcome as I learn

about the new diagnosis and if/how it differs from the one I've lived

with the past 10 years and the heredity issue has me a bit concerned

since I'm young and always dreamed of having children someday, but I

wouldn't wish this on them...or my worst enemy even...and my mom

fears she passed it on to me due to her hands - she has what is

commonly known as housewives' eczema.

The current flare has hit me really hard (largely due to it being my

hands and feet...plus a stiff neck and shoulders) and I'm beginning

to wonder if I'll be able to stay in journalism due to the stress

level...prior to being a journalist, I taught high school for four

years - I loved the kids...hated the bureaucracy and the stress...so,

I'm interested in the various methods people use to cope with stress.

Jenn from Arkansas, age 31

[Editor's Note: Hi Jenn. Glad you came out of lurk mode. Yes, PA is believed

to be hereditary. You will probably find if you have enough oldsters left, that

others in your family had P (your mom's housewives' exzema), or a touch of

" rheumatism " , etc. The autoimmune diseases don't always seem to present

themselves in the same way (my mother had RA without a sign of P, for example),

but research has shown a high likelihood of a genetic component.

Only you can make a decision to have children or not but would you rather you

were never born? Each person put on this planet has a certain amount of pain or

suffering, emotional or physical, that they will experience during their

lifetime. It is simply part of the human experience. Not all people in your

genetic line will have serious cases of PA and perhaps in some it might lay

dormant. In addition, IF any of your children were to eventually develop PA,

there may be medications by that time that work well for most people. Even

today, we are blessed to have Enbrel, Humira, Remicade, MTX, etc., which DO

provide relief for many.

It is impossible to say if this will impact your career. Stress is certainly a

contributor to disease, however, it depends on whether you find the stress

exciting (like an adrenalin rush) or depressing ( " I could jump out of a window

with that a deadline like that facing me " ). I am 55 and have had a high stress

job involving making decisions on tens of millions of dollars a day for decades.

I also live and work in a high stress city (NYC). Perhaps this hasn't been good

for my health, but I have loved my career and can't imagine having done

something more tame. I will retire in a few years and will be glad to do that,

too, but having PA hasn't made me give up a career I have enjoyed.

Unfortunately, this is NOT true for everyone and only time will tell if you are

one of the lucky ones. PA has ended many careers prematurely. You are still

young and with the help of a good diet and the right medication, you might be

able to have a long and productive career. For me part of the secret was

believing I could - at least that's the first step. If you believe you can't do

something, then you'll likely not be able to. Kathy F.]