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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Posted 11/10/2007 11:56 PM (GMT 0)

Hello all,

I just wanted to introduce my self. I'm 20 years old and currently a nursing student and a waitress. I was dx just over a year ago, my joints effected are my hands, feet, anckles, knees, and elbows, but i also get pain in my back and my neck (i think from the stress of my lower body). the meds I'm on are 15mg of mobic, 200mg of plaquenil, 2000mg of sulfalizine (2 500g pills twice a day), 2mg of folic acid (1 1mg pill twice a day), and i just started on mtx (currently taking 2, 2.5mg pills on friday nights and i'm going to be adding 1 pill every month untill I hit 8 pills- 20mg).

this whole thing hit me really hard both physically and mentally but i think that i'm getting to the point where i'm ok with whats going on. I love love love my rd she is amazing!

the one thing i miss most and wish i could have back....taking a really long hot shower! and i wish i would be able to celebrate my 21st birthday....thats really the one thing that is getting to me lately.

I look forward to getting to know you all and sharing what information and support i can offer.

Posted 11/11/2007 12:44 AM (GMT 0)

hi

 

do u know what kind of arthritis do u have? do u have RA or reactive arthritis?

regards

blueeyegirl21 said...

Hello all,

I just wanted to introduce my self. I'm 20 years old and currently a nursing student and a waitress. I was dx just over a year ago, my joints effected are my hands, feet, anckles, knees, and elbows, but i also get pain in my back and my neck (i think from the stress of my lower body). the meds I'm on are 15mg of mobic, 200mg of plaquenil, 2000mg of sulfalizine (2 500g pills twice a day), 2mg of folic acid (1 1mg pill twice a day), and i just started on mtx (currently taking 2, 2.5mg pills on friday nights and i'm going to be adding 1 pill every month untill I hit 8 pills- 20mg).

this whole thing hit me really hard both physically and mentally but i think that i'm getting to the point where i'm ok with whats going on. I love love love my rd she is amazing!

the one thing i miss most and wish i could have back....taking a really long hot shower! and i wish i would be able to celebrate my 21st birthday....thats really the one thing that is getting to me lately.

I look forward to getting to know you all and sharing what information and support i can offer.

Posted 11/11/2007 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
Your pain areas sound just like mine!
Posted 11/11/2007 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
ra
Posted 11/12/2007 7:26 PM (GMT 0)
How long have you had the pain, and does the medication(s) seem to be working for you?

Posted 11/12/2007 11:52 PM (GMT 0)

I starting having symptoms towards the end of my jr year of high school (2004 ish) i lost around 30 pounds in 6 weeks! i didn't seem to notice it but everyone around me did, i went to the dr and they told me my metabolism was just high and i needed to eat more between meals to help combat it. I also had fatigue but it wasn't anything that I realized was more than just being tired...i just took a 3 or so hr nap each day. Over the next year the fatigue got worse and worse and i was sleeping ( not able to be woken up deep deep sleep) about 18hrs a day or more for about 3-4 days a week. And after a few months or so of that i had a massive flare....i hurt all over and could hardly walk or move it was awful....we went back to the doctor and then they ran blood work and sent me to a ra doctor....

 

the meds have helped the fatigue and have kept me out of flares....i've only had one major one and about 3 minor ones sense the dx.... i have a mild case and technically i'm sero negative but my joints are always swollen red and hurt really bad. my rd wanted to start me on mtx but i told her i wanted to try the lower ones first (plaq and sulfa) because i'm young and i wanted to be able to party with the rest of my friends. over the last year it hasn't improved sense the start of my meds and so i decided that it was time to start mtx. i know my health is more important than partying.

 

what about you with your signs and symptoms?

Posted 11/16/2007 4:34 AM (GMT 0)
I had similar symptoms that started around the same age as you, but mine progressed slower.  I had bad shoulder pain at age 18 and then slowly the knees started to bother me and then the feet from time to time.  Mine happened so slow that I went un-diagnosed for a looong time. 

Looking back over the 14 years or so and what I was dealing with it is very obvious what was happening, in retrospect.  With the pain - especially the knee pain - I would avoid doing certain things including things like going to the beach with friends just because I couldn't be cramped up in a car with friends for three hours.  Heck, just a few weeks ago when my knee was pretty full of fluid I turned down free symphony tickets and also some free NHL tickets a few weeks before that (I went to the symphony once on a "bad knee day" and all I can remember of the show was me shifting around in pain!).  The fatigue you mentioned was actually just as crippling as the pain, and interfered with my life quite a lot.  I won't go into it, but if anyone ever sees you looking sleepy and then calls you "lazy", punch that person in the face immediately.

I envy you quite a bit because at an early age you seem to have a buzz of activity going on all around your syptoms with doctors and medications and such.  If the baby meds aren't working I think it is a good idea to move up to a DMAR drug to help stave off damage to joints.

 

Posted 12/3/2007 8:20 AM (GMT 0)
welcome,we are glade to have you.I am so sorry that you are having to deal with this and even more so since you are so young.I agree as well on the meds you need to talk to your Rheumy so that he/she can changed some of your meds so that you can gewt the pain under control.I wish you well and please do continue to post you are welcome any time.
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