recently been diagnosed with rhumatiod arthritis and i do not no how to accept it.. help pleaseee.

hi i was diagnosed in jul, i am 29 and was so surprised as my health deteriorated quickly. i am now using crutches outside to walk and inside hold on to everything just so if my knees give way i can stay up. with a 18 month old it is very difficult as he is very active now, i try to take him playgroups as much as pos but some days i'm in so much pain he misses out.

anyway i hope you get what u need from this group,i do, i normally just watch posts and very occationally post but i'm on the computer not mobile today.

When your young it's hard to take getting a dx like RA...
I've had Asthma all my life so for me it was never a problem, but as I got older and saddled
with more dx's it was harder...understand that the first stage is denial, I've accepted my
many illness as just more challenges to life, but I'm by no means, "You", and I wish I
had an easy answer for you...
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Jade-Leigh)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Healing Hugz

Welcome in forum jade!

 As you can see desease is not choosing by age, I am 34 and here are people of different ages and in every case whatever desease you were diagnosed with it is not fair... RA sucks !!!! as somebody said already on this forum. We have better days and worse, unfortunatelly pain is the part of RA and well... we need to deal with that. Nobody will understand this kind of pain unless was dignosed by itself - that's what I think.

Now I feel like my desease is - kind of -  under control but I was in so much pain that now I appreciate days free of pain- really... I was scared at the beggining so much, I didn't know what is going on with me.

This forum will help you understand a lot - what is going on around you, medical world a little bit too - in which I was so lost and I couldn't understand why I need to take so many different medications. Still hard to understand but now at least I know that with RA doctors need to be agresive with meds to slow down its progress as much as possible.

Not easy, not fair, sucks...but well... at the end of the day there is RA and me and we need to live somehow together... I hope you will find your peace of mind, give yourself some time... it takes few months for some medications to really be effective  and I hope that your RA will be not so hard on you.

Warm hugs!!!! Take care!!!

Jade,

I'm so sorry to hear that you are going through this at such a young age.  I was so mad/frustrated yet relieved when I found out that some of my tests were coming back abnormal.  For so long I thought it was all in my head so when I found out that something was going on with my body it was a relief, however, at the same time I was mad because I thought, "I am so young" and I was 37 (now 39) the first time I went to the rheumatologist.  WOW, it really upsets me to see people in their teens and twenties dealing with this.  I hope you find the right meds and are able to go into remission for a long, long time.

I was in remission for almost 2 years but, I seem to have had alot of flares over the last several months since the cold weather set in and I know how frustrating it can be.  I just do the best to have a positive attitude and I hope you can do the same.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.  I wish you the best!

Sincerely,

Jennifer

This disease stinks no matter your age, but to be so young and be diagnosed is really hard.   Only positive thing, is with all the strides they're making in new meds etc, hopefully in your life time they'll find a cure.

I have psoriatic arthritis which affects my hands, knees, feet and spine.  Was doing really well on the Humira but now it's not kicking in as quicky.  Had to skip my injection yesterday and by last night my hands were so swollen and painful that I did not sleep.   I'm on an antibiotic for recurring swollen glands so can't use the Humira.   Called my rheumy at 8:30 this morning and still haven't gotten a call back.    Can't even comb my hair my right hand is so bad.  

As I used to tell my Dad, God rest his soul, "you get what you get".   None of us get through this life w/o some pain.  I think when you're first diagnosed you have to go through stages, first comes denial, then anger and depression and then when you finally accept that it is, what it is, you have to get your dander up and fight.    They'll be good days and bad days.   Just keep telling yourself on the bad days, that this too shall pass.

Hope you have a wonderful, painfree holiday,

Alicat

Dear Jade,
Welcome to this site. You'll find lots of support here, and that's important-to build yourself a support system of people who understand you and your disease. Actually, this is about the only place I've found that. My best friends try to understand and be supportive, but they just don't "get it" because this is something that's difficult to fully comprehend until you've been through it. I'm so sorry to hear you have this, because it sucks,

I'm 50, and was diagnosed with RA in March of 09, nearly two years ago, and it came totally out of the blue like a load of bricks landing on top of me! The PAIN was unbelievable! It hit me so hard, and I had a really high RA factor-like 176 or 179-I forget, but so high that my rheumy (short for rheumatologist) said we had to treat it very aggressively, because with an RA factor that high it meant I could become very sick, very quickly! So that's what we did, finally got the pain under control with Prednisone, which is really bad for your body, but it's the only thing that relieves the pain! OK, enough about me...

The hardest thing for me to accept was that I had limits, mainly fatigue (because of the RA) and if I pushed those limits too hard, like, if I tried to do too much in a day when my body was screaming for rest, I'd pay for it by being totally wiped out the next couple days. But I didn't really know what my limits were until I pushed them too hard & paid for it. I'm so stubborn, maybe it's just me, but that's how I've learned what my limits are. I tried over-using energy drinks for a while, to be able to get more done like a "normal" person, but that ended up backfiring on me, so now I just drink a little coffee or diet pepsi for a little boost, but try not to overdo it, although sometimes I "cheat" when I absolutely have to get certain things done, even though I know I'll pay for it next day.

OK, there's so much more I want to tell you, but it would end up being a book. So, keep in touch with us, even if you just read the posts, and you can search old posts if you have questions on particular subjects, but if you don't find what you're looking for, put up a new post. I've found support here that even my family can't provide. This is a pretty amazing site. My very best wishes and prayers are with you. Just don't give up. Take things a day at a time if you need to, or even an hour or a minute at a time. But remember, you are NOT alone! You'll always find a friendly welcome here. Bless you, dear.

Good people.
iam new here. i really need you guys. i have been having pain in my joints for over a year now. It started quite after some DIY work i did in my house. after a week, my fingers got swollen and painful. The next day, all my finger joints were swollen and stiff every morning. First i went to pharmacy to complain. they gave me ibuprofin (tablets and spray). that did not work but the swell and stiffness stopped and the pain got worse. i tired dicloflex tablets it did not work. i tried other NSAID and yet it could not stop the pain. I visited a RA Dr. a comprehensive test was done. result came out and was negative. he injected steriod. this time after the steriod injection, the pain subsided and came back after three months. this time, my fingers started changing shape (DEFORMED) while the pain progressed to all my joints including knee, elbow wrist and toes. This is after three months. I went back to RA doctor, another test was done including full blood count, urine test, scan, xrays for all joints and yet again it came out negative but the pain persisted agreasively. I cried in the doctors office, teling him to help me, i was loosing my joints and yet he told me my xrays and scan did not show any damage to my cartillege and joints and there were no inflamation so i should not worry. Why should i not worry when pain is wrecking all my joints.?
This time, he confessed my condition seems mysterious and then prescribed prednisolone,more dicloflex and sulfasalazine. i took the sulfasalazine and prednisone for three days. it really wrecked my intestine. i stopped using it. Right now my pain is still worse, all over my joint. My mobility is not affected and i can still use the fingers and joint. iam afraid of going to gim or trying out on some work out to avoid escalating the pain. this is just out of fear. i need advise on this. i have tried using portable ultrasound and infra red treatment. The ultra sound would keep the pain off for some hours and it will come back. i started using the infra red treatment yesterday and am yet to notice any good result.
i have tried many other arthletic pain sprays and mixture and yet, it did not work. i have made another appointment with my RA doc. he said he will involve his team of doctors this time.
a friend of mine has just introduced me to an alternative medine therapy that involve some indian hearbs. iam yet to go for it. i need advice on this too. I was also told about durolan treatment. i dont know if this will really help. please advis

Iam just ready to do anything that will help me get rid of this stubborn joint pain.

any advise will help me. iam just hopeless for now.

thanks all

Jade,
I am 36 and was just semi dx with Fibromyalgia(1 year ago) OA(6 months) and now RA. Unfortunetly this disease is so random you never know who will be dx next. It is good to hear that you have a good Rhuemy. That and getting on treatments are two of the most important things. I find that a lot of people who don't have it really have no clue of how much your life has to change or rather how much you have to change to fit your new life. It is very difficult. I work full time and raise 5 kids, but you manage and you get through. I will not tell you it will be easy. But thank goodness you got an early dx and dr.'s that listen. Come here and post or share often, it is a great place to find people that know exactly how you feel and give great advice. Good luck and stay strong! Heather

Hi all and especially to you Jade, I have read through all of your posts and am feeling pretty down. I see from most of you that modern science seems not to be working and that most of the specialists give the same advice and then go back to the steroids and pharmaceutical proprietory drugs. They have their place in modern living, but for some of you the answer may be closer than you think and indeed may form a bridge between the way you are and the way you could be.

No advertising or soliciting allowed on the forums, thanks

Post Edited By Moderator (Shaz032) : 5/13/2011 7:48:32 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Jade
I understand your feelings. It will take a few months to get on the right drugs. You must get to that point where the inflation is contained. This way you will avoid joint damage. Consider cimzia, embrel or humera ASAP. They will halt the symptoms, and you might feel good again.

It is all about preventing inflammation. Also, avoid the prednisone. It kills your bones, you can get crippling bone breaks, heart problems---read up on it.

The younger folks and newly diagnosed have lots of options. Be aggressive and get on course. RA people can live a normal life.
E