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...
Hi all, so glad I found this great group!! I have been new diagnosed about 7 months ago with RA. I am not taking any immunosuppressant or biologic drugs at this time yet. I am seeing a Naturopath for now. I work as a nurse and actually give methotrexate injections to many patients with RA and other autoimmune diseases.
My question to others is has anyone had their symptoms begin like this?? My symptoms started out with immune responses to anything or nothing.......I had what appeared to allergic reactions where I would have redness appear over most of my upper body or part of it and hives that would last 30 min and then reoccur several days later in the exact same place. First I thought I had Lupus cause my sister does, but my dad has RA. After the skin reactions stopped (2 months of random mild responses) then the joint pain began, minor/random at first. Now daily and mild/moderate in various joints. I still have some strange itchy stops appear and last only for a few minutes.
Thanks for taking the time to read or respond this this :)
My question to others is has anyone had their symptoms begin like this?? My symptoms started out with immune responses to anything or nothing.......I had what appeared to allergic reactions where I would have redness appear over most of my upper body or part of it and hives that would last 30 min and then reoccur several days later in the exact same place. First I thought I had Lupus cause my sister does, but my dad has RA. After the skin reactions stopped (2 months of random mild responses) then the joint pain began, minor/random at first. Now daily and mild/moderate in various joints. I still have some strange itchy stops appear and last only for a few minutes.
Thanks for taking the time to read or respond this this :)
enjoy us here and post away
but ALSO there is a second board on DS about treating RA alternative (natural) RA treatments or something like that - look into that also.
we are the druggie board. OK I did not mean to reference us that way really (kidding! really!) - they are another invaluable source of information
Ros
I had some very strange things go on with me years before all that stuff decided to be RA. Some weird periodontal disease that eroded my jaw, probably some CD. As you probably know, autoimmune diseases can have overlapping symptoms. Your autoimmune disease will not behave according to any textbook progression, everyone is different.
Check out "Leaky Gut". It did not work for me, but maybe it could help you. Also, don't wait too long for treatment if you don't feel better quickly. You want to prevent damage.
Good Luck!
Minocin, diet, pain management, etc... Some have been proven effective as prednisone in small studies... Others have put patients in longterm remission.
Just like aggressive therapies don't work for everyone - conservative therapies also don't work for everyone.
But I've had 12 years of mostly success with conservative therapies. And it was Minocin that put my mother (extremely aggressive RA. Hands twisted within 4 years of onset) in a pain free remission for 20+ years now.
Oh, and Minocin is a drug (antibiotic) that has been proven to inhibit the same Interleukin 6 that the newest biologics target. It just has a better/longer safety record and has been used by tens of millions of people for a multitude of conditions (infection, acne, RA, etc) It's just not a heavily marketed aggressive drug.
My early symptoms were different than yours Cantata, but they've morphed into similar ones. I'm now diagnosed with multiple food allergies. Some cause sore swollen throat but most cause significant RA swelling as my immune reaction. That's why I am in diet induced remission and no longer even take Minocin. As long as I avoid certain foods - I am pain free and symptom free. If I eat them, depending on which one I eat, I can have bright red bumps show up within an hour on finger joints which just last a few hours - or I can have a severe RA flare where entire limbs become useless for 2-3 days.
If you suspect this might be developing from food allergies, go get food allergy tested. You might be lucky and be able to control it through diet.
2scicrazed I am thinking my diet is affecting the pain I develop as it seems by Sunday I am worse then anytime throughout the week, and the weekend is when I allow myself to have some extra sugar and grains/bread. I had serum allergy testing done last fall and so far it said house dust/dust mites, no food showed up but we know those testings can be inaccurate by times. I am learning greatly here folks love this group :)
The conclusion of the study was that CAP testing is complimentary to ST testing but not equal to it. I'd look into getting the ST testing done.
And allergens can change over time. I will actually be discussing how often (every 2years, 4,etc) I should get tested when I get my annual checkup done. But I'll go to a different allergist.
I just take allegra daily now.
My RA is in remission for the most part, but it was combo methotrexate and Enbrel in 2011 that put me here. I stopped taking all drugs in Dec 2011, but have remained in remission. I still test very high on anti-ccp, so I'm sure it's still coming. Just gone for now. Dr. finds it very odd.
As you can see, we are a group of shy and voiceless folks who will never offer our opinions or voice our displeasure at something ....
What a great gathering of folks - Their hearts lead the conversation and their knowledge is invaluable.
Welcome
Peace
Bluedogs2