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 have just been diagnosed with RA and am anxious for what the future holds. I am just curious to see what I should be doing right now as I know I am in just the beginning stages of the disease. Thank you for your help and the opportunity to get support.
You might possibly hear from people that changing your diet would cure you. While it never hurts to eat a healthy diet, eat organic, etc., etc., I did not find that to be of any help for me.
Hopefully, you will have a great Rheumatologist, who is aggressive in the treatment. It could take months to find the right combo of what works best for you. I started with methotrexate and folic acid. When, after 3-4 months this was not offering any relief, I was started on biologics. This is when I started noticing an improvement. It still took a while to find the right biologic, but I think I am now on the right one (Rituxan).
Only thing I can really suggest since I'm half way to a possible Dx myself (ending a prednisone taper and have two pain meds on standby at all times when the pain gets unbearable) is to be very proactive with your doctor. Keep track of how you feel every day, what hurts...what meds you take, if you needed extra pain meds than normal, etc. It's so much easier to refer back to symptoms and pain levels/areas if you have notes.
Otherwise, ask questions and scop out what others psot because chances are you have the same questions or experiences and can learn more or offer your own input. This board really is great.
When I was first diagnosed, I had so many questions and concerns. Please feel free to ask all questions and more than likely someone will have a good answer for you.
One of the best things that I did early on was get myself organized, keeping all of my medical records in a binder that I still use today. Very helpful when dealing with doctors -- and you will be dealing with doctors from now on. Read as much as you can about RA from reputable sites and books. Keep a journal - how you are feeling, what works and doesn't work for you, questions for doctor, etc. This is a learning curve - be patient with yourself. Lots of trial and error with medications.
Glad you found us - take a deep breath and carry on.
Linda