Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
I am fairly new to this site and to RA. I was diagnosed with RA about a year and a half ago but I never really had a flare up till just recently. Went to my Rhumatologist a couple of weeks ago had blood work done and got word that my RA was in a very aggressive stage and it was time to treat as such. I have been taking Methotrexate and one other sorry can not remember the name..she took me off of that anyway. She gave me a script for Humeria but it has taken a couple of weeks to get here because of it being a specialty med. It will be here on Wednesday.
Anyway I know that sleep is an issue for RA. I am having a really hard time with it. I sleep a couple of hours here and a couple of hours there but it has been a long time since I have had 8 hours straight. I take pain medication and at first thought it might be that but now I have no doubt it is RA. Just sitting here writing this and I just want to sleep again. I am wondering if anyone has any ideas for sleep. I am getting really tired of being so tired all time. I also have developed a cough and sore throat and am not sure about weather or not it is part of RA as well. It has just been kicking my butt for the week and a half maybe longer. I hurt all the time from head to toe. I am starting water therapy on Monday and looking forward to it. Please help if you can.
Michelle Shelby
Anyway I know that sleep is an issue for RA. I am having a really hard time with it. I sleep a couple of hours here and a couple of hours there but it has been a long time since I have had 8 hours straight. I take pain medication and at first thought it might be that but now I have no doubt it is RA. Just sitting here writing this and I just want to sleep again. I am wondering if anyone has any ideas for sleep. I am getting really tired of being so tired all time. I also have developed a cough and sore throat and am not sure about weather or not it is part of RA as well. It has just been kicking my butt for the week and a half maybe longer. I hurt all the time from head to toe. I am starting water therapy on Monday and looking forward to it. Please help if you can.
Michelle Shelby
I've been on Humira now for 14 months and it does help quite a bit with the flares but still wake up every 2 hours every night.
I gave up trying to figure out the sleep thing and just go with it - it is what it is.....
you need a bridge until you get your biologic. that should have been continued dmard disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs like the mtx or any of its 5 cousines or so, or low dose pred, or something rather than free falling with nothing but narcotics and waiting.
but while you are waiting please know that we all feel like this in one stage or another, even the full time working folks who can not nap daytime, and the pregnant ones on here and the young mothers and the full time students. it's a real fatigue and pain killer the full time flu. your body is busy with the disease.
if you can structure your days not to sleep maybe you can get a little longer stretch at night with the narcotics. my office does not script narcotics - so I use a lot of different angles on pulling sleep out of a world of pain.
i am sorry you hurt as you say "from head to toe" that is the nature of RA.
i am in water therapy at a medically heated poo also!l. It is awesome! if you don't have high blood pressure, see if you can go in the sauna after.
if your liver is OK see if you can take an nsaid before water therapy class. I find that helps.
sorry about this journey
depot
"Tired" is RA's middle name, sorry to say. I wasn't on Humira long, but for me, it did lift the fatigue. Somehow, being less tired does seem to improve sleep. Anything that lowers pain will help your sleep, too. Ideally, the Humira will do that.