Ask your GP to give you a round of prednisone. It is a powerful anti inflammatory steriod that is one of the first DMARDs used - and usually continued during other treatments. Generally you will see reduced inflammation within 48 hours of starting oral prednisone. Most GPs will only give you a ten day dose pack - that starts higher dose and dwindles each day.

There are potential side effects with longterm use (which may be your future path) - but short treatments of it are considered safe.

The prednisone - and perhaps a nonnarcotic painkiller like Celebrex - will get you out of bed and help bridge the gap of time until you see the rheumatologist. Both are 'Band-Aid treatments' that most GPs will feel comfortable with in the short-term.

Good luck - and start reading up on current treatment options and their side effects now. John's Hopkins has a great website for quality information.

WebMD.com

Mayoclinic.org

Both good resources to learn about everything you'll be facing.

And remember - not all of us travel the same path to control/remission. Keep your mind open to any possibility - and research it thoroughly. My mother and I found control/remission through completely different therapies - neither of which is currently popular/advertised - but both of us have had years of feeling normal again.

2scicrazed - good, thoughtful advice. Thank you. I've already started the Mayo series, and I intend to call my Doctor in the morning. _Tim

Excellent: a new member with a sense of humor even when life has just turned into a steaming pile of poo. Welcome aboard our listing and creaking ship!

Do you have a rheumatology appointment scheduled yet? The sooner you can get in, the better. It can take awhile sometimes- rheumatologists are in short supply in some areas. If your primary can/will pull some strings for you, all the better. In the meantime, 2scicrazed has great suggestions. Prednisone should make a quick and dramatic difference.

Someone here was asking about the copper sleeves recently. Copper bracelets are an old home remedy for arthritis. Probably completely ineffective, but copper is a beautiful metal. Don't know what's in SalonPas. Your wife is dear to try to help you find something. The more she knows about what's going on with you, RA, and your treatment, the better. It really helps if someone has your back.

Fatigue is an interesting part of inflammatory arthritis. Almost everyone has it, and the medical field doesn't really understand it. The right combo of meds can help, yes.

There is some research out implying that early and aggressive treatment can put the brakes on RA. With yours coming on so suddenly you have gotten a quick diagnosis- some of us, like me, sputtered along for years before the pieces fell into place. This may give you a chance to stomp on it before you incur much of any damage.

Treatment is a lot of trial and error. What works for one person won't for another. You're in it for the long haul. We are here with you- this is a fabulous group, with tons of combined knowledge and experience.

One other good source of information: RAWarrior.com The woman who writes the blog is on hiatus, but there's scads of information there on most things you will need to know. Also, of course, the back posts here cover lots of ground.

Hi Tim,
Welcome to the RA Forum but sorry for the reason you're here. You'll find this is such an individual disease. and what works for one doesn't work for another. It's a matter of trial and error.
Hope you are one of the lucky people who have success early.

Welcome. Amazing how fast it put you out of commission.
Perhaps you were hit with a super flare. It can be a sneaky bugger leaving you to function with little signs here & there then jumps up & bites you in the bum.
Angel made an important statement. Although so many go through very much the same it's such an individual disease.

Excellent advice already.
Most find a Prednisone helps control the beast.

Enbrel really helped me with exhaustion & the brain fog while it worked.
It can be a hit or miss long process finding the right treatment unless you get lucky & find you have quick results. Not all meds work right away. In fact most take time. Got lucky with Enbrel as it did help almost from the start. Then just stopped working.

Now many love heat for treating those painful joints.
As far as OTC products there are some who find a little help with topicals. Can only speak for myself. My Husband brought home the Austalian Miracle cream & to my surprise it does help. Doesn't last bit shocked when it gave me some relief. No odor at all.
Thermacare patches may help if you like heat.
I use high quality essential oils.
Epson salt baths help some people.
Braces/splints/gloves provide relief for many. List goes on...
I'm betting there's some past discussions on this topic you may be able to pull up.

There are patients who turn to pain management doctors when the pain is hard to handle or control. As many get injections to help those out of control joints. My PM doctor takes care of that area for me.

As mentioned you may want to ask your PCP to give you a ScrIpt for Prednisone. Its not unheard of for doctors to prescribe while the patient waits to get into that first appointment. Especially if there is a waiting period.
It's usually part of diagnostic testing RA doctors use to see how the patient responds to the Prednisone.
There's a name I've seen applied to this drug; Good guy, bad guy.
Can give quality of life back but there's always a price. Saves me from staring at the bedroom walls. Yet the side effects are always present.
Last but not least (for now) make sure you "click" with the RA doctor you are referred to as its a long term relationship your looking at.
Cannot express how important it is to have a doctor that listens, empathizes & treats. Just to name a few of the qualities you'll want in a doctor. Like the meds for this disease it can take time finding that one doctor who has the qualities you require.

Many get lucky & do just fine with the doctor referred. Just thought I'd throw that in as many discussions pop up over doctors.,
Good luck & hang in there,
Sammy

Hey Tim

welome welcome welcome

we are glad you are here

we are an eclectic bunch of know-it-alls

here's some fluff while you are waiting for the rheumatologist appointment (tell em you will take any cancellation at any time)

try this site I love it

http://www.rheumatoidarthritisguy.com/

and then you need a book from the library or one used at amazon as a primer for welcome to RA. that way when you DO get to the rheumatologist with your supportive spouse taking notes and the rheumatologist brings up disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs you will know a little or at least enough to not have to ask huh? these are some of the common "starter" meds.

try this book. can't beat johns hopkins...you know better than asking the guys at the coffee shop sometime :)
Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book) Paperback July 1, 2014
by Tammi L. Shlotzhauer (Author)

alto covers the early use of taking predisone when you are a pred virgin. i took it in a moderately high dose at diganosis and it abated things enough for me to go in and tell my 1st rheumatologist "i'm all set I am cured". that's called the poor man's diagnosis. but I also had sero positive bloodwork like you and just for the sadism of it those hand wrist MRI's face down in the tube.

pick up a 5000 pill bottle of any nsaid you like if your liver can hack it. i loved and love aleve. better than nothing.

soft gel icepacks are the balls.

i also like heating pads and the wrist wraps on amazon where you stick either the heat or the gel in the wrist or ankle compartment.

also:

brownies
cognac
jazz

hang in there

depot

Tim, I'm fairly new to this RA stuff as well. As Sally said there are a few of us men here but we are the minority. The nice thing about that is there are plenty of women here to tell you just what to do. :)
The ONLY thing I like about RA is prednisone. As your new friends here have pointed out it can really make life easier. The day after I took my first dose I felt better than I had in the last 10 years! It is a helpful SHORT TERM crutch kind of thing.
Really caring people here and most any questions seem to get some helpful responses
Good Luck!

I was in your exact situation 3 1/2 years ago. Woke up one day and could hardly move - scared me to death. But being the bull I've been all my life and never calling in sick, I figured I would just work through whatever it was and be fine.

I had only gone to the doctor once every other year for my DOT physical and that was it. After suffering and it not going away after 2 months I finally broke down and went in. PCP did some blood tests which came back negative for any arthritis flags. Told me I needed to see a Rheumatologist to figure out what was going on which I of course balked at. But in the meantime to help hold me over she wrote a prescription for Mobic (Meloxicam). This helped me immensely and was good to go for 3-4 months before the symptoms started coming back. Than after a couple more months I finally caved and made a Rheumagologist appointment which took 6 months to get in.

I'll stop there with my story - my point is that you are getting very good advise here with getting your PCP to give you Prednisone or try the Meloxicam - it really helped me out for those few months.

And the cardboard box thing - later on in this journey that was all I could think about as I got worse and worse. I will just send along one piece of advise for now - plan for the worst and hope for the best. If you have been living beyond your means you need to correct that right away. Get yourself prepared for a period of time (6 months or more) for no income and have the means to pay your bills and feed your family. But I see you are 68 - then it is time to start planning on living on your retirement benefits. I didn't have that option when it all came crashing down on me at age 54.

Welcome, Tim! I'm new to RA, also. It took me two years of horrible pain and swelling in my ankles before I finally found a smart rheumy who looked at my symptoms, not just blood work. I happen to be one of the sero negative people here.

The fact that prednisone made such a dramatic improvement for me also let my doctor know what we were dealing with.

The best of luck to you on your journey. I would also recommend read, read, read! And ask questions here. The people here are very supportive.

Take care!

i did not even share about the whole financial house of cards. that's just too painful.

but yeah any unexpected onset of anyhing when you are walking a financial tightrope sucks.

in empathy

I don't gender base answer. meaning I just answer as a human. like everyone else on here. unless it's about prostate or fertility and these aint the boards for that. we are all in this together. as a support site, well we like answer in support.

I happen to like raguy's website better than rawarrior

go figure

depot

Hey guys, It's been a Hellish couple of weeks but one of the good things has been finding you guys. We are all raised to share only the good things and to keep the rest under wraps lest we be thought of as "whiners". So it's doubly nice to find people who are trying to find their way through the same stuff and are happy to listen and share their own experiences.
A few more things about me and my situation - I have Hepatitis C which means I have a dicey liver. No Acetominaphine. Ibuprophen is okay and I buy it in big jugs at Costco. The same for Naproxen.
I'm a patient in the VA system (Vietnam-era Vet) which is good because it's very inexpensive and the people are surprisingly caring and knowledgeable. The Not-so-good is that waiting times are very extended. Both Staff and Pharmacy are strictly M-F so I won't be able to talk to my PCP until Monday morning.
Sammy mentioned Epsom Salts Bath. Funnily enough, my wife suggested that as well yesterday afternoon. So I was in the tub when she left to go shopping. An hour later, I let the water out, then realized I couldn't get out of the tub. I finally put up the toilet seat and used the toilet as a handhold to drag myself out. We gotta get grab bars for that bathtub.
Tim

Hi Tim

I am enjoying your sense of humor as well- laughter is the best medicine- keep it up!
I was like you- healthy as a horse-went to bed and woke up feeling like I was in a train wreck. I had a few months of trying EVERYTHING and NOTHING bringing relief until I switched Rhuemy's. The new one put me on 40 mgs. of prednisone and then it was like a flag was tripped and I got "better" again.
That dose did not come without complications of it's own. It took me a year and a half to taper off of it but in comparison to my onset I have not much to complain about anymore.
Over the years I have not felt "well" but did not suffer any major flares until recently. I was "good" for about 4 years.
Back on prednisone right now- (only 10) and start my taper to 9 tomorrow
Long story short- you may have a rough patch right now- but keep the faith- you can and probably will get A LOT better.

Wishing you all the best

Hello Tim, nothing much to here to add. Everyone else has covered what little I could have plus a ton more. I was diagnosed 7 months ago and have been off work for 9 months now. I'm also trying to avoid the cardboard box myself. I ended up having to spend some savings that I didn't want to touch just to make ends meet. Hope you can find some results faster than I have but sometimes it takes a good while to find the right combo. Just wanna say welcome to the board and wish you the best.

Pw

I can relate to your bath tub saga.

I'm so used to working on my vehicles and tractors in the barn but it is almost impossible to get down on the floor now to work underneath something. But when I get into something I sometimes don't think ahead. Laid down under my tractor one day then found I couldn't get back up - and nothing within reach to grab hold of. This kind of thing has happened before and my wife knows me all too well - she will check on me about once an hour - good thing she did!