Hello out there! I thought I would introduce myself. I am a newbie to Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was recently diagnosed in April 2009, or should I say officially diagnosed. For the two years prior, I had some symptoms, some pain, some stiffness, and then it would go away for 6-8 months (how nice!). I kept wondering.how can I be so stiff or sore, what the heck is going on with my body?? For me, I do believe stress brought this on (although I am sure it was there just waiting to surface!) I had two years of stressful situations with an aging mother, who passed away earlier this year, and an aging husband who has a ton of medical problems. When first diagnosed, I thought, how will I ever handle this RA thing AND take care of my husband? He is nearly blind, cannot walk without the assistance of a cane,(fell, broke his hip, and had a hip replacement a year ago)he had a heart transplant some years ago, and has several other health issues such as COPD, etc, etc. etc! Oh, and we own our own small business which I am active in the business full time. Between running a company and taking care of my husband, I just dont have time for RA! (yea, right.but it sure has time for me!) In the last two months I have had some fatigue, exhaustion, and been very stiff at times. And bowling was difficult and nearly impossible, mostly because I could not get a grip on my 14 pound bowling ball! Mostly I have some swelling in my kuckles in my hands, and my knees. I started on prednisone (5mg twice a day) about a month ago and it has provided some relief, in fact a good amount. I feel I have a great RA doctor, she spends a lot of time with me. We have gone over the various treatments available, and I am now waiting to see if I am approved for Enbrel by my insurance company. My doctor does not want me on prednisone too long. She and I both know the damage from being on it for years. Methotrexate is not an option due to elevated liver enzymes, and I am afraid to go on Plaqeunil, as I have read about the possibility of damage to my eyesight from the drug. Since my husbands eyesight is very bad, I cant risk having my eyesight damaged, so I told my doctor no Plaquenil.

I must say that I feel extremely lucky with my RA so far. It has not been debilitating for me, as compared to many of you who have days where you cannot get out of bed, or are in a lot of pain. Oh sure, sometimes I walked around the office like a 90 year old, and I laugh at myself saying Run, Forest, Run!. I was prescribed vicodin, but dont need it very often. I am able to go to work every day and do everything as I have been. Doctor says no long walking right now though, until the swelling in my knees goes down. But we do have a pool, and as soon as the weather starts to heat up, I am going swimming on a regular basis.

I have been thru some denial, some crying, some poor me moments, and anger since diagnosed, but for the most part, I have accepted this challenging disease. I had 54 years without it, so I feel lucky I enjoyed most of my life without it! I will feel truly blessed if my RA never gets worse than this.

Well, that is my story in a nutshell and I have rambled on long enough! I have been reading the posts on this site for many months now and have learned a lot about RA, the different drugs, your struggles to function with RA, and how all of you support each other. It is a wonderful site, the advice is great, and I am looking forward to being a member of DS as well as hopefully a contributor.