i got ra at 41 and my life has realy changed, ive got 4 children from 6 to 25, im 43 now and im on everything you can get for ra, injections and tablets, some days are better than others, ive been off work for 2 years now and im finding life a bit crap with the benefits that you get, im sick of being told that i cant get that because ive got a morgage and i cant get that because i have to wait 8 weeks till they decide how much pain im in, its a joke, dont work hard and pay ur bills cause at the end of it you just get kicked in the teeth, now that ive cheered you up on that score tell me about you,

Hi, I just found your site & yes, I am in my 40's but most days my body feels like it's in its 80's & I call myself 'grandma' as I walk like one most days! I have been thinking recently that I am blown away by the amount of women on RA DS site who have RA who are in their 40's. I know statistically this is when it hits but not nice, is it??? Also, a wise friend of mine who works in medical profession thinks that while my oestrogen is high (i.e. pre-menopausal) that my RA will be more virulent. Does anyone else subscribe to that theory? Reason being that we have lots of hormones pumping in our bodies, etc.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing okay and that the fun of Christmas season is cheering everyone up.

Cheeers, Anna

I am 42, I am past pre-menopause, because I haven't had a cycle in 8 years. I thought that it was mostly due to stress, but now that the situation is pretty much over, I didn't understand getting RA. I found out that RA runs in my family. I had hoped to get pregnant, but with all these illnesses floating around in my body, i guess it just wasn't meant for me. I get sad sometimes, thinking that what if I cant work especially when my body hurts so much. This week was bad for me, I overdid it Monday and I was in pain Tuesday like I wouldn't believe. It was a ruff week. I feel OK today so i am grateful. I own a cleaning company so this has really been hard on me, I have hired some people to help, but coming to grips that I may not be able to clean much is really hard. I also do organizing, which has helped me alot, seems like i can manage to do this alot better than cleaning. My goal is to pay down as much debt as I can in the next 2 years so that I can not have this to worry about if the RA goes downhill.

I am 42, I am past pre-menopause, because I haven't had a cycle in 8 years. I thought that it was mostly due to stress, but now that the situation is pretty much over, I didn't understand getting RA. I found out that RA runs in my family. I had hoped to get pregnant, but with all these illnesses floating around in my body, i guess it just wasn't meant for me. I get sad sometimes, thinking that what if I cant work especially when my body hurts so much. This week was bad for me, I overdid it Monday and I was in pain Tuesday like I wouldn't believe. It was a ruff week. I feel OK today so i am grateful. I own a cleaning company so this has really been hard on me, I have hired some people to help, but coming to grips that I may not be able to clean much is really hard. I also do organizing, which has helped me alot, seems like i can manage to do this alot better than cleaning. My goal is to pay down as much debt as I can in the next 2 years so that I can not have this to worry about if the RA goes downhill.

Hello all! I am 48, have four grown children - two boys and two girls (the girls are living at home right now), and two very active grandchildren (ages 4 and 2) that live with us. I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia a couple years ago and my rheumy officially diagnosed the ra about 6 months ago. Currently I am on plaquenil - which so far is helping very little. In addition I take robaxin (muscle relaxer), zoloft (for depression/anxiety), zolpidem (for sleep), prevacid (for GERD), mobic (anti-inflammatory), and tramadol. It's time to ask her to change a couple meds. Right now I have some nasty tendonitis in my right elbow as well. I'm already sick and tired of being sick and tired! I understand entirely where you're coming from with the "shoulds". I should be able to play with my grandkids, I should be able to stand long enough to fix dinner, I should be able to vacuum my floor, I should be able to sleep all night... and a few hundred other things. I think one of my problems is accepting that I have more limitations than I did even a few short years ago. I was on my way to start a new career as a pharmacy technician. My illnesses played a big part in that not working out as planned. Another problem I have a hard time with is when others don't seem to take my word for it when I cancel plans or decline because I either know I can't do it, feel too poorly when it's time to do something, or even out of fear of what I'll feel like afterward. I've gone from saying I want to be "understood" to I want to be BELIEVED. Anyone who thinks we WANT to feel like this is out of their mind (farther than I am)!!!! Like CleanerC says, it's easy to overdo it. Something that I did yesterday I can't do today, but maybe will be able to do it tomorrow. I've had a hard time accepting that I need assistance with things and that isn't going to go away. Sorry for rambling. I tend to do that!

Oh I can so relate to you ladies. I have had symptoms for years but I just thought that it was normal to feel bad. But in the last 8 months I have not been in remission

im 42 recently diagnosed with RA. I have been in a major flair up since Jan. was diagnosed in July 2015 with RA started out with MTX 6 pills 1 x week for the first month and my stomach didn't tolerate the pills so switch to injections last month started at .5 and then this week my DR up me to .7 on injections. i take folic acid everyday and am on 10 mg prednisone, and 200 mg celeberex a day. i feel like crap cant keep up with the things i use to do or daily things. my daughter who just turned 18 is getting ready to leave home for the military and my husband is disabled so i am constantly in and out of doc offices and im not sure how much more i can keep up. it takes me a long time to go to the store or just to clean house. my RA affects all of my big joints and have some problems with my hands swelling and hurting. anyway i hope it gets better soon. thanks for listing to me ramble.