feeling down, tired of waiting and hurting

Hi and welcome Marie, I would call and see about getting in on a cancellation if you are really bad. I used ibuprofen for many years to help alleviate some of the pain and discomfort and it worked well in addition to other medications my Doctor prescribed. It can be hard on your stomach however and I can no longer take it as a result.

First of all I hope that you don't have RA. That said, a few things about RA that I have learned over the years; Patience is a must. RA Docs are specialists and deal with a whole lot of people in chronic daily pain. They are swamped most times but if you are really really flared up will try to get you in if you need help. It is worth a try if you are in bad shape. Don't however call and say you are doing horrible if you are not and are able to function relatively normally.

RA and its symptoms can look like a whole lot of other autoimmune diseases. It's one of the reasons it can take a while to be diagnosed. I would not look at this appointment as a "being diagnosed with RA" thing unless you have a long history of it in your family or something. It's a very complicated disease and not easily diagnosed. Again, I hope you don't have it.

Figure out what it will take for you to stay out of depression. When I say this I mean things like accepting your pain and doing whatever little thing will help to lessen it. Things that work for me are baths, meditation, prayer and getting out of myself. These all help to relax me as well as give me hope when I am feeling down.

I would most definately NOT take any prescription drugs that you have laying around that were not presdcribed by a Doctor FOR this particular issue. If you go into the Doc and are not flared up when they do their tests you will likely (unless you test positive for some very specific markers) prolong your agony by making it harder on your Doctor to diagnose your problem. It took me 3 years to be diagnosed.

Smoking can trigger a flare from what I understand but so can tomatoes so I take that with a grain of salt.

I have been living with RA for about 20 years now and I can perform daily tasks most all of the time unless I am in a bad flare. When that happens I can't lift a coffee cup but you know those flares have never lasted longer than a few weeks at most. I am still working, have two healthy kids to chase after and for the most part lead a pretty active and fulfilling life. It isn't easy to live with RA by any means but it can be deeply rewarding as well depending on how you look at things.

I hope you feel better soon, -Don

THanks for the Replys. I am on a cancelation list, so if anything opens up I'll get it. The last couple days I have been hurting so bad and felling sorry for myself Its just depressing. I feel like it could always be worse and that other people are worse off than me. I'm thinking of calling doc again and asking for some pain relief, but I don't want to be thought of As someone just trying to get drugs. I hate pills, but I can't stand it. I wish the best for all of you. It's good to know I am not alone, and others have the same concerns. God bless all of you and I hope that I don't have ra, but if I do atleast I'll know how to treat it. Step in the right direction anyways.