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 to the group! I haven't been on here for a few months, since about May. I have been seeing a Rheumatologist for over a year. The first appointment, all of my bloodwork came back anemia but negative on the autoimmune levels. Xrays of my hands showed chronic osteo in one joint, but otherwise normal. I was experiencing pain and dysfigurement, which is visible, in EVERY joint of EVERY finger and EVERY toe....visible to the eye, but not to an Xray. I also had pain in my elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and shoulders, both sides, but it would come and go. Also, fatigue, extreme at times, and weird periods of time when I would feel like I was run over by a steamroller and left for dead....fever, muscle aches. My PCP thought RA, but the Rheumatologist said no way. So I didn't go back for my next appointment, thought they would tell me I was crazy again. But then I couldn't take it any more and went back in June. More blood tests and now my ANA is positive and although the RA level is not at diagnosable, it increased (7 to 9.5). So they prescribed some Naproxen for swelling, pain, and stiffness (which is like taking nothing at all because there is no affect), they told me that I have autoimmune disorder "unspecified" so far and are running more tests. No talk of meds for treatment. Since my last visit, Friday, I have had another one of those weird fatigue/pain times, lasting 5 days so far. The new NSAID (changed from Naproxen because I had rebound headaches) has no affect either. I feel like I will never feel better, and I worry at it taking them another year to give me a diagnosis that they like enough to lead to a treatment plan.
The current protocols are to hit this disease hard at the beginning. If you do not, you will end up ultra severe like I am. I am on 6 drugs, including pain killers right now, and I am getting worse, not better.
You don't want to end up like me. Press for a DMARD, and if that doesn't help, a biologic. Press for a biologic that works, as some doctors want you to stay on these meds forever, even though they do not work. Not all biologics work for everyone, but some work very well for some.
The goal is to find meds that work, and work well. I hope you will heed my words. I am not the only one in this forum who has been through this sero-negative nightmare, and we are all much more severe than had we been treated properly, initially!