Sorry to welcome you to RA. But happy you found us! Things are a bit weird right now. DS just switched to a totally new forum, and we are all learning the ropes. I guess we need to be patient, while they make needed changes.

Yes, RA does turn your life around. With hands and feet being the most affected, you sound like you have sero-negative RA. I have that, and I was under-treated the first 7 years I had it. So if Plaquenil doesn't work in 6 months, go back and ask for methotrexate. And then a biologic if that is not enough. And do range of motion exercises for your hands and wrist especially, but also for the feet or you will lose mobility and strength in them. I was given RA physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy for free by our Canadian health care. Ask to get it. Even a book of exercises to follow would be better than nothing.

Then, my next recommendation would be to take prednisone. It only treats the symptoms and it can have bad side effects, but even low dose might help you. At this point again in my RA journey, I am taking side effects, over pain and joint damage. I wouldn't have made it so many times without prednisone to tide me through med failures and meds that don't work enough.

Anyway, hopefully others will have some good suggestions to share with you.

Hi and welcome from a fellow Michigander. I was diagnosed with sero-negative RA but that diagnosis may be in question, could be PsA and/or something else. I'm between rheumatologists at the moment. I'm also experiencing difficulty coping with work and life. I think that depression is rearing its ugly head. I'm seriously considering therapy.

What's going on at work? We may be able to help you understand your rights and tactics for dealing with management while protecting yourself.

I was diagnosed a few years ago and started Plaquenil, and it's been working great for me. It did take four or five months to really kick in, but I've been fine, for the most part, ever since. I am more careful now of overdoing it, but I am happy that the meds are working for me.

Hi and welcome to DS. You are in the right place and you will meet some good folks here and obtain a plethora of information. I have been diagnosed with RA for the past about 12 years. At the moment I am on no meds now except pain medication because I recently had spinal surgery and my surgeon prefers for me to be off all RA meds since they tend to impede the healing process. While I am waiting I have been out of work. You did mention the work factor. I plan to go back to work but in the meantime my job is being held for me. I also have a FML(family medical leave) in place when I am at work so that when I am out with MD appts, not feeling well, have an RA flare or unable to get out of bed due to RA I will not be punished or penalized for having a chronic illness. It is something that would be good to look into especially if you have been on your job for a year or more you would be entitled to it as long as your company has a certain amount of people in it. Once I do go back on medications I will go back on Acterma IV (biologic) and Arava (DMard) as that seemed to help me prior to the spinal surgery. To date I have been on almost all of the biologics and have run through many of the Dmards. The problem with RA is that these medications tend to stop working after a while. So if you are on one and it works stick with it. And again welcome to DS and hope to be hearing more from you as we all get used to navigating this site which is new to all of us.

Welcome! Yes, its a real bitch! I've been going through it since 2004. I hadn't been on anything for several years because the majority of the symptoms subsided...one day I got up and couldn't stand on my feet without taking a pain pill. I was told by a special foot Dr tht I had fractured my sesamoid bones and he put me in a walking boot..It got worse and worse so I went to another foot Doctor and he said they were not fractured and that It was from the RA. Got on steroids and Plaquinil and have no pain. They're going to switch me to Humira because they can't keep me on steroids that long. Accidental cure because I got a severe poison ivy outbreak and have been on high doses for about a week. This is the first time I have walked without pain in a year. I hope you stay strong and be an advocate for yourself...trust yourself in this process!

@etain11 I'm working part time right now, looking to get back into full-time work. The job I was (still am) doing prior to the metaphorical shit hitting the fan was pretty intensive (I work one-on-one with Autistic children, I'm a Social Worker). So I'm looking more along the lines of case-work or something desk related, but it's been difficult being as I've been "fired". The non-profit I worked for let me go in February because they believed I physically could not do the job because I was having fainting spells from a medication mishap. They didn't give me an opportunity to recover or get some answers, they just let me go. :(

@lifeis2short2 I was misdiagnosed for almost four years, and part of the problem was my lack of ability to advocate for myself. That's something I struggle with.

I saw the Doc today and he also mentioned I have joint-laxity? I didn't even know this was a thing?

I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sure this won't come as a surprise to you, but as a PT employee, you don't have much protection under the law, you're dependent on the good graces of your employer. That said, you did have rights when your job was FT and your termination may or may not have been handled properly. Have you consulted an attorney specializing in employment law and/or disability cases? If not, I think you should at least find out what your options are. That medication issue and your former employer's action has put you in a tough spot.

As a social worker, I am confident that you have the skills to be your own advocate but I also recognize that it's harder than it sounds. It's hard to acknowledge that you might be the one who needs help now.

After you've explored your legal options, if you're still looking to get back into the full-time work force, your local Michigan Works office *might* be able to help. Also, you might consider trying to get your foot in the door in a public sector job and disclosing your ADA protected disability while at the same time indicating that it's now under control and you are ready to return to full-time work. Their desire to meet diversity and disability quotas may help you. You do want to be careful not to disclose too much, I wouldn't tell them what the condition is, I would simply refer to it as a disability. I am so incredibly grateful that I work in the public sector. My job requires just cause for termination and my employer is much more capable of and willing to accommodate me than a small non-profit or business. They're also more concerned with doing things legally. It's not perfect, but better than the private sector.

I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to reach out to me any time.

@Etain11 My husband still actually wants to consult an attorney, at the time I was just so depressed and angry and a plutheria of other emotions that I didn't even want to get into it at the time. I have thought about it recently though. Especially as I work towards getting back into full-time employment and interview with different places. I had no idea that RA was a ADA protected status? I've found that as I've been interviewing if I mention it employer's get real antsy, and I never get a phone-call back. So I've been keeping it on the down-low, but also sit on the moral high ground of "I should be honest about it so they know what they're getting into". Nice guys (girls) finish last. :(

Yes, you are protected by the ADA. https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/ada18.html

Where your employer probably screwed up is on the "reasonable accommodations" bit. Most employers think that if there's any part of the job you can't do, they're off the hook and that's not the case at all. If they don't have great records of how they tried to accommodate you, if they don't have great records if the "essential duties" in your position description, well, I think that's what a good employment law attorney would sink their teeth into.

You have six months to file a discrimination claim with the EEOC, if you haven't done that, you need to get moving. Find an attorney ASAP and ask them if you should file a claim with the EEOC or the state's labor board http://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-17485---,00.html. Even if you're past six months, pursuing legal action is probably worthwhile.

Also, did you apply for FMLA at this job, or was it discussed with anyone at work? FMLA is really designed to protect in the event of absences due to the medical condition, but, employers often retaliate against people with FMLA in other ways. If you applied for it or talked to someone about applying for it, that is to your advantage and worth mentioning to anyone you try to get help from in this matter.