MTX often takes a couple of months to kick in. Give it a chance.

When the MTX kicks in or you move on to another drug, keep in mind that you will find one that works and that you'll get most of your old life back.

Being fearful may be "normal" in the beginning. I personally was not. I decided early on that I would get the facts, get a great rheumatologist, get effective treatment and not turn my life over to this disease. I would pace myself and deal with it.

I've had this disease over 20 years and I still sail and have never taken a day off from work due to the disease. And no, mine is not a mild case.

This can be YOU, too.

Oh yes....holistic treatments, diets, and vitamins......save your money. They do not work. Would you treat cancer with those things? Of course not. So why would you consider those things for RA, an autoimmune disease.

Thanks for responding see the rheumatologist next week got really scared when looked up anti ccp and found out it is a good indicator for future progression on the disease, when she said I was over the top I asked for a copy of my blood work and it was 100 times normal. Try to avoid celebrex as that raises blood pressure. Ice seems to be my best friend at the moment and take advil mussel and joint when its really bad. Just starting to research got any other suggestions Yoga, Swimming relaxation? Some days my hands feel like claws and am worried this is my new norm.

I have hypertension and have taken Celebrex - max dose twice daily - for as long as it's been available.

Swimming is good. Not sure I would recommend yoga....I keep thinking of joint damage, but then I have never done yoga. Others can advise on that.

Good that you have rheumatology appointment in a week. Make a list of questions. Research DMARDS. Aggressive treatment is the present-day standard, as you want to get the RA under control. Once damage is done it is not reversible.

I love my chair yoga class. I have joint damage in my wrists and can't put much pressure on my hands, so this class works well for me. It has also improved my balance, which declined when I developed RA.

One of my instructors suggested finding someone who teaches "restorative" yoga. She thought I'd get even more benefit from that type of class.

Good luck on the MTX.

Best pain management I've found was Jon Kabbat Zin's "mindfulness meditation for pain" relief.

I do practice a specific diet that does help me because when I break it then I pay with pain. I do not eat nightshades. It doesn't work for everyone but it helps me. It isn't a cure, not by a long shot. Nightshades include white potato, tomato, red and green pepper (paprika is from the red and is in so very much), pimento, cucumbers, spinach, almonds and there are more. Just google it. Oh, there are in so many things.......paprika is one of the things used to give Dr. Pepper it's taste, it's in mustard and many mayonnaise brands.

Take your meds, I would not recommend trying to cure/stop RA holistically. Start a journal of what you eat and drink, when and how much. You'll learn how long things stay/exit your body. When I did this originally (on my own, no prof prompting) all I ate was tuna (in water, NO VEG BROTH), Ritz crackers, romaine lettuce, pecans, walnuts, banana and apple; cleaned my system; started adding a food as a trial; on-and-on-and-on. You'll learn as you do this and you'll learn lots about your own body. Pecans, walnuts and pineapple are excellent natural anti-inflamms but if you've urinary problems stay off the pineapple. Water, lots of water.

Try things, learn, share with us. So many of the DO's that I've spoken with (we've a school here for them so they are everywhere) suffer from the "Junior God Syndrome". They mean well but think they know everything. I ran into one last week at a store and she was telling a guy with diabetes how bad he was to himself because of what he was doing (his sugar had dropped out so he was eating a cracker). I interrupted and took over the conversation so the guy could get out and I asked her what she recommended for the diet of an individual with an auto-immune disease and she started down the road of the paleo-diet and if everyone would come to her store I knew of it and also of her previously) and let her supply there food for the week everyone would be so healthy. I started listing the things in the diet (some nightshades are in it) and she said "You sound like either one of my customers or a competitor, which are you?" As she said that I slipped off my shoes to reveal the deformities in my feet (was wearing thin socks) and took my hands (classic RA hands) out of my pockets and replied, "I'm neither. I am a sufferer of an auto-immune and you have no clue of what you speak and are possibly causing more harm than good in pursuit of a dollar." She turn and walked away quickly before I even finished the sentence.

Take your meds, try things if you'd like but keep record, we're all traveling this road with no good map but we're still going forward.

sometimes I give myself a pat on the back if my function is better than my brain and blood work (smile). In other words if I am doing my life despite the disease and our best friend, the damn meds :). to answer your question on holistic, I like the hot water pool at either the hospital (PT) or the Y (membership), I like my wrist wraps from amazon that have hot pads I can insert, and I like my ice pack from the PT that stretches across my traps. In general I love PT and the gym or anything that results in better range of motion or function for me. I have the weirdo lucky (I guess you can say) situation insofar as my best bud has rheumatoid also - she has the claw hands - and she does injections of steroids with the hand guy in the ortho group (my rheumatologist does not do the hand injections - but she has done my wrist). Oh! that is not holistic. oh well, worth a mention anyway. It's a chronic disease process but then again so is ageing. so you will have to welcome and adapt to some limitations and restrictions or accommodations that kind of thing. as the years pile on and then the decades and you succeed with the disease at however you want to love and do life, you'll gain mastery of the fear. Plus your own personal medication mix might give you reprieve(s) which you can take advantage of. :) Hugs

depot

One of the unexpected positive things about this stupid disease is that it can guide you toward losing that fear of the future entirely. It makes you realize that no one - whether they have RA or not - has total control over what's going to happen tomorrow anyway. So you do the best you can, and you live the best life you can, and you enjoy life, and you take tomorrow when it comes.

Jon Kabat Zin, gentle yoga, and being gentle with yourself helps quite a bit.

I take it one day at a time. It really the only way anyone can live. The past is gone and worry about the future is futile, for it changes nothing. You could also try HOPE. Hope for a cure. But until there is one, remission works very well for some of us, like me.

When I said about holistic approach I was meaning in conjunction with MTX and will look at the nightshade family. Was once tested for food sensitivities and it did not leave much for me to eat but I must say this is a few years ago and I did feel better following it. Sure need to get my stress levels down have been very worried about what the future holds for me as I researched into my anti cpp results it said it was a very good indication of the future for me and that scared the hell out of me. Had a better few days this week and back to injection tomorrow, feel like hell within about 3 hours and just want to lie down. Does anyone else have the need to not eat in general and definitely not in the evening as I cannot either lie down to sleep or wake up with vomit in my mouth, sure scares the hell out of me.

You might check into GERD. Medication is simple.

Already on Dexilant proton pump inhibitors for reflux and is on the list of of possible interactions with MTX

The best advice I can give you about vomit in the mouth, is don't read the news. I don't do MTX, so I can't help you there. Omeprazole was good for me when I needed it.

I believe I had an early manifestation of RA, or something auto-immune many years ago, and massage was the go to, end all therapy for me, but when I was blown away with positive RA, I could not tolerate massage, either lying on a table, or manipilation or palpation. Better now, but I'd rather stretch and do self-massage. Back when I had the early AI stuff, I saw an Auyurvedic physician. I changed my diet radically, to fit my dosha, BUT the truly amazing thing was sesame oil massages, followed by steam chambers. If you have an opportunity, I highly recommend that. I scoff at nightshade diets. I've had one person tell me that stopping sugar cured them of RA, and I know one person who has had success with nightshade withdrawal. But, you make the choice.

I wish you success.

I'm sorry to hear you are having problems like that, Fear57. I had that and still can't bend over for several hours after I eat. I'm on GERD meds, but it wasn't enough. My doc told me sometimes RA can cause gastroparesis or other motility issues of the esophagus. Have you seen a gastro? Have they done a gastric emptying study? I don't remember the name of the swallow test. I ended up with gastroparesis and on meds for that. It has helped, but there is no 'cure'.

I hope you find out what is causing this and you can get it stopped. That is a horrible feeling.