I have RA and Fibro. Its important to keep your body moving, joints range of motion, and do exercises that help with this. Good posture is an important part for anyone, but since I have inflammatory Arthritis of the spine, good posture is a command I give myself. I was greatly pleased that my PT specialist complimented me on my posture!
There are classes for people with arthritis; exercises in the water are great, if the local pool is warm enough. If you want to search the internet, there are many exercises to be found. You Tube has quite a few.
As for pushing on, you cant go until you are exhausted, or the pain becomes worse. If you do, you will pay the next day, possibly longer, with pay and fatigue, severe fatigue. The last time I pushed myself too far, I was so tired the next day, I could barely stay awake long enough to read three sentences.
Its best to do a little, rest, and then do a little more.
I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but glad you have found our group. These people have been wonderful for me, and I hope they will be for you!

I pretty much always need to go to work, regardless of how much pain I'm in, just because I don't have enough days off to take off every day I'm in pain. If I'm in literally too much pain to get out of bed, I'll call out. But like inkjoy said, it really is important to pace yourself, even if you do need to go to work or get other things done. You can't just go to the point of absolute exhaustion, or else you will definitely pay.

I find that after being up a couple hours (with NSAID in system at the morning or night before), I know how much I can push.

Moving is important, it frees up some stiffness and some swelling. But, as far as really pushing it when you are in pain - I don't. Over exercise would result in a major penalty for a couple of days for some people, and being out that long has to be worth the price you paid. (so 30min of tennis with my son is it for me and at the end I have a hip joint or bottom of foot pain...if I kept going, and played a typical hour, I'd be in bed the next day, not worth it since my son is satisfied with the 30min) Your body knows it's limits, push them, gently, then back off. How is the enbrel working for you?

I Also have to work and cant afford to call in sick so i go and do it my way to push through the pain is my three boys i know they need things and the only way is me working. The work i do is physical and is tough on my hands and ankles and like others do to much and pay for i rest most of the day take a naps with my 16th month old the house works does not always get done up to par but if i do that and work then i wont get anything done the next day or too and i also end being at work longer as i work on a performance base system the faster i work the early i get to leave get paid for my full shift the RA has slowed me alot i used work at almost 200% now its like 130% to 150% but if i go harder i pay for it you have to learn how much you can do and what your limts are i still go past them as im new to ra and just learning

Being a perfectionist, I am used to pushing myself pretty hard. The pain and fatigue has forced me to ease up a bit. Although I greatly admire other teachers who seem to have superhuman abilities and contribute so much, I have come to grips that I can never be such a person. I usually made it to the end of the school day, but came home simply exhausted. Weekends were recovery time as well. I may have to ease up a bit more....
I have now completed three injections of Enbrel. I have tolerated it quite well, but haven't felt much different yet. I pray that it will kick in soon. I will have access to a heated pool at school, so I will try to do some simple exercises in there, as Inkjoy recommended. Have to save energy for that!
So far what I've heard is that pushing one's self too far mostly results in crashing that day or the next. Can one cause further damage to the joints by working through the pain?

I also have the fibro/RA combo (I'd like some fries on the side please!) I'm also as you describe yourself, a perfectionist, used to pushing through... fibro felt so much better after I got into a good exercise routine. Ahhh if only RA worked that way!

To answer your last question, pushing through the pain can definitely cause permanent damage. I pushed through when I wanted to walk and move more, and just over a few days of walking too much, I did some bad damage to my knees. Due to this, I find my down time has to be a lot more than my up time. I still follow the rule Ink mentioned, activity/rest/repeat. But my rest stage is more now, if I stand too long my knees and feet swell. I now have bakers cysts on both knees, if I stand or walk in very long stretches (over 20-30 mins), I'm in danger of them rupturing. Because of my younger age, I can't get a knee replacement for several years. I'm very close to giving in and getting a wheelchair just so I can have more of a life. But I'm also adapting, doing activities I used to do standing while sitting (folding laundry, cutting up fruits and veggies, etc etc.) All this because I was stubborn and rebelled against what my body (and my doctor) was telling me!

I have been reduced to part time work. I am a warehouseman, on my feet ALL the time. RA is mainly in my feet and ankles. I am 63 years old and have 21 months to go to retirement.[thats if I make it; I am a lung cancer patient as well] Life is bloody agony but I push on. The fatigue is terrible, I could be an olympic gold medallist for sleeping !! [and whinging]
You are a long time dead............

I am in remission too but I remember those days of dealing with the pain and anger about the condition. I pushed through it because I had no choice. My ex wouldn't work and my son needed support. Not a fun time, but you do what you have to do.

Hi, this is a great question with some interesting responses. I have an FML in place at work. I am a nurse and work in a busy ob/gyn clinic. There are a several days that I push through work or doing what I enjoy doing such as gardening. Though I have an FML in place if I were to take off every time I did not feel well, I would end up being off many unpaid days. When it becomes to the point of exhaustion or just cannot make it in is when I know I have to stop. If I do not stop one day will end up being two or more as a flare will come on. A lot of times like now I don't feel well and trying to ward off a summer chest cold before my next dose of medication is due to be given next week. We cannot push ourselves beyond what we can do. The body will say Stop. That is what usually happens to me.

Basically, you really need to listen to your body. With RA, as has been pointed out, you can definitely cause permanent damage by pushing too far. I already have a wheelchair and a cane that I use depending on how far I'm expected to walk on a given day. On a regular workday I don't use either, since I have a sit-down job, but if I'm wandering around a city being a tourist with friends, I usually bring the wheelchair so I don't push myself too hard. And if the pain gets too bad and you start feeling really tired, you just need to listen and take a rest. I also have intermittent FMLA at work, meaning that I can call off when I'm feeling in too much pain or too exhausted to come to work and my job is protected. Of course, if I do that too much, I would also be taking lots of unpaid leave, and also using all of my vacation time as sick time, so I really try not to do it unless I'm in dire straits. But it's nice to know that my job can't fire me for being sick or needing to take time off for treatments.

I wish they would extent the FMLA to business' with less than 25 employees...maybe down to ten.
I know this makes things difficult for a smaller employer...so I don't expect this to happen, but it makes employment difficult for those in areas where there are few large companies

If wishes were horses....

When I have a flare I find I recover quicker if I rest. But with pushing through I think it depends where the flare is. eg cant see it is good to keep walking if your ankles stuffed. In fact I cant walk when it really hits my feet.

With my hands I bandage up and take care.

Recently hit my hips/lower back and I found I was better not resting but moving gently. I know you teach and when I was teaching when first struck used my students from regality of Teacher Desk. (Think I told you before).

Using localised inflammation creams under the bandage seems to help me. I use a product called voltaren but there are others around.

Have you started new job yet? Hope you able to cope. It may also explain flares as change, even positive one, is a kind of stress on which the beast feeds...

I try not to take much time off due to my RA. It is difficult. Nearly every morning I think about staying home then I remind myself that I'll feel better after I get my joints moving. I do need to get enough rest so I often go to bed early. I have had one day that I was so fatigued that I was falling asleep at my desk and when I moved or spoke I thought I'd be sick. I had to go home and I slept for hours. I felt better when I woke. I had increased my MTX so I assumed that was the cause. I try to read my body but I also try to push through it as well. It's tough. :(