RE: waiting my blood work results

[Guest guest]

Hello talia and thanks for sharing. I was just emailing Jess and telling her I was only a teen when I was first diagnosed now I,m 46 and the pain only gets worse. Just make sure you take your meds and stretch as much as you can, and prayer helps and the support you get from the internet.

From: ncnurselr <taliahendricks@...>Subject: waiting my blood work resultsRheumatoid Arthritis Date: Thursday, May 21, 2009, 1:55 AM

hi, im new to the group. im awaiting my test results to confirm RA. I just wanted to mention my symptoms and see what everyone elses symptoms were when they first got diagnosed. im just very anxious and scared about it. im 24 and been experiencing a lot of morning stiffness for about 4 months now...the balls of my feet, my knees, hips (especially painful), my elbows are starting to hurt. my fingers and even my toes hurt sometimes but on very rare occasions. my hips are my biggest problem when getting up in the morning....i almost fall to the floor it hurts so bad. my neck started hurting last july 2008 and was excruciating for about 5 months and the doc couldnt figure out what it was until my other joints started hurting. i feel very fatigued and want to sleep constantly. is this what everyone had? any advice or info would be great. thanks!

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the board. I’m not typical, but then

again maybe nobody is really typical because RA presents in so many ways.

I hope you are seeing a board-certified rheumatologist because few other

doctors are really able to either diagnose or treat RA. It is so variable

that of the seven diagnostic criteria from the American College of Rheumatology

that any four will qualify for a positive diagnosis. I was diagnosed 7 years

ago at age 74 along with getting pneumonia. In my opinion any stress can

cause our immune system to be overworked and it can then make a mistake and

start attacking our bodies. The test you refer to is probably a blood

test for the Rheumatoid Factor and that is only one of the seven

criteria. It is negative in over a fifth of the people diagnosed with

RA. I hope you get effective treatment for your RA or whatever it is you

have. God bless.

RA Criteria adapted from American College of Rheumatology

(Any 4 qualify for positive diagnosis)

1. Morning stiffness, lasting for at least an hour, present

daily for at least 6 weeks

2. Arthritis of 3 or more joints, lasting for at least 6 weeks

3. Arthritis of the hand joints, lasting for at least 6 weeks

4. Symmetric arthritis, lasting for at least 6 weeks

5. Rheumatoid nodules

6. Positive rheumatoid factor (blood test)

7. Joint changes on x-ray

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis

[mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of ncnurselr

Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 10:55 PM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: waiting my blood work results

hi,

im new to the group. im awaiting my test results to confirm RA. I just wanted

to mention my symptoms and see what everyone elses symptoms were when they

first got diagnosed. im just very anxious and scared about it. im 24 and been

experiencing a lot of morning stiffness for about 4 months now...the balls of

my feet, my knees, hips (especially painful), my elbows are starting to hurt.

my fingers and even my toes hurt sometimes but on very rare occasions. my hips

are my biggest problem when getting up in the morning....i almost fall to the

floor it hurts so bad. my neck started hurting last july 2008 and was

excruciating for about 5 months and the doc couldnt figure out what it was

until my other joints started hurting. i feel very fatigued and want to sleep

constantly. is this what everyone had? any advice or info would be great.

thanks!

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06:22:00

[Guest guest]

Sounds exactly like RA to me. I was 25 when I was diagnosed. Dont lose hope. There are great meds out there. I hope you find one that is your Miracle.

From: ncnurselr <taliahendricks@...>Subject: waiting my blood work resultsRheumatoid Arthritis Date: Thursday, May 21, 2009, 1:55 AM

hi, im new to the group. im awaiting my test results to confirm RA. I just wanted to mention my symptoms and see what everyone elses symptoms were when they first got diagnosed. im just very anxious and scared about it. im 24 and been experiencing a lot of morning stiffness for about 4 months now...the balls of my feet, my knees, hips (especially painful), my elbows are starting to hurt. my fingers and even my toes hurt sometimes but on very rare occasions. my hips are my biggest problem when getting up in the morning....i almost fall to the floor it hurts so bad. my neck started hurting last july 2008 and was excruciating for about 5 months and the doc couldnt figure out what it was until my other joints started hurting. i feel very fatigued and want to sleep constantly. is this what everyone had? any advice or info would be great. thanks!

[Guest guest]

Hello Talia- Your onset is typical. I myself was symptomatic as of

3/6/94 and even though my ANA test was positive, RA did NOT show up in

a test until 2/95. Usually RA begins with inflammation that can be

symmetrical or asymmetrical......both joints at once. Hot swollen

spongy and lots of pain. My advise is to see a Rheumatologist

Straight away. Have your PCP refer you. I would push for an

aggressive disease approach straight off since you are so young. A

biologic on board asap. Low dose prednisone/and plaquenil and

Ibuprofen as well as a Disease Modifier like MTX. While the pain and

thought of RA is scary, with the new meds on the front line these

days, newly diagnosed patients can resume their day to day routines

after a few weeks to two months. I started on Cyclosporine (a soil

fungus) which managed me for 5 years until I started on Remicade

(biologic) and am still finding good results from it. Keep your chin

up. Be sure to go to www.arthritisfoundation.org for support group

and disease info. Yours, Deborah

On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 1:55 AM, ncnurselr <taliahendricks@...> wrote:

>

>

> hi,

>

> im new to the group. im awaiting my test results to confirm RA. I just

> wanted to mention my symptoms and see what everyone elses symptoms were when

> they first got diagnosed. im just very anxious and scared about it. im 24

> and been experiencing a lot of morning stiffness for about 4 months

> now...the balls of my feet, my knees, hips (especially painful), my elbows

> are starting to hurt. my fingers and even my toes hurt sometimes but on very

> rare occasions. my hips are my biggest problem when getting up in the

> morning....i almost fall to the floor it hurts so bad. my neck started

> hurting last july 2008 and was excruciating for about 5 months and the doc

> couldnt figure out what it was until my other joints started hurting. i feel

> very fatigued and want to sleep constantly. is this what everyone had? any

> advice or info would be great. thanks!

>

>