Got my diagnosis yesterday

Songwriter- Glad to hear you got your dx. I'm curious to know what the differences are from RA and how the dx is made?

Are you on a dieretic for the swelling? Did the dr. suggest compression wraps?

By the way you are welcome here forever!

Yeah its the old RICE, rest, ice, compression, elevation. Can work a treat when you're in the flaring stage. What dose of prednisone will you be on?
It may take huge doses initially to get the swelling under control.
Keep us updated, golitho

I WAS also going through joint pains in legs. took prednisone for one year. my RA doctor prescribed it. i was 42 when i was diagnosed with RA. now i am 53 still with joint pain. the only thing that helped me a lot was looking at alternative medicines.
here is something which helped me a lot. its white vinegar. its cheap and got me walking again with little pain. there are many food allergies that trigger RA symptoms. they put me on heavy antibiotics, then a regime of prednisone. my experience is see the food allergist first before going through RA treatment. its autoimmune disease thats what they told me. but over 10 year period
experimenting with food that triggers joint pain, white vinegar saved my life. every morning i would mix half spoon with half cup of warm water and drink it with a straw not to damage enamel on my teeth. it works good. also avoid citrus, tomatos and eggplant, corn oil, corn. our body overtime sees this allergens in food and tries to fight it by attacking our own immune system and breaks down the joints. over time bad bactreria and PH level of body fluids create toxicity leading to joint pains.
white vinegar readily availiable in stores wont hurt you. but it worked for me. 10 years i have studied this. try this for a while. it will make you feel better. old medicine from past works wonders. if it does not help give it up. i think for everyone who has RA look into this. food allergies and pesticides used in food chain are the main cause for RA . most of modern medicine will put you on prednisone as last resort. but stroides will make you gain lot of weight which overtime starts with water gain and retention of water in body clogging up lymp nodes. sine they will overreact and clog up with medicines. all the medicines i took caused me more problems with kidney stones. painful which no one has to go thru. use vinegar and keep your kidneys flushed with good drinking water. I think RA is just backup of waste water that the kidney dont flush it, ends up messing your immune. try white vinegar, if this helps pass it on. i am writing this, since it worked for me and i hope it helps all.

Hi Heather, so glad you have your spring break week now. My ankles are back edematous today and I have been laying off the salt, so it must be the PMR or the Prednisone. I need to think about trying pool therapy, but I just dont seem to have the strength to deal with it right now, even though I am feeling better. You would not think it would be such a problem, but getting from the parking lot to the senior center, then getting to the pool, wondering if I can get myself out of the pool (it does have a ramp but I would need my cane too), then getting the wet suit off and dressed again. It all seems like too much. I have to ly down after a shower, before I can even dry off because the shower wears me out. So I am a little afraid to try it and my husband doesnt not have enough time in his day to go with me. Now would be the time to have my own heated pool, but not a chance of that.
Hope you hae a great week. What day are you taking your MTX?

Thanks weary. At first I thought the extreme fatigue wall all the PMR or RA, but have come to realize that Prednisone is also the culprit. I am on 17 1/2 mg now and I am feeling some better as far as the fatigue, though maybe the edeam can be blamed on the Prednsione. Glad to be getting down from an original 60 mg/day.