Guest guest Posted February 4, 2003 Report Share Posted February 4, 2003 Hi My name is Jan and I was diagnosed with RA in 1995. I had symptoms of it before that but didn't know it then. It didn't effect me fully until 94 I became very ill with the flu and then things just started going crazy after that. I have heard many say that if one foot bothers you the other also does but with me that;s not the case. One day my chest will be so bad and the next it's fine and another day my wrist and my right knee or foot. it comes and goes everywhere. But I am always in pain. I did have it under control and then was diagnosed with MS also and the medication for the MS conflicts with the RA meds making them less effective. There is good medication out there to control your pain. I was doing very well on methotrexate. I wish you luck. Jan -------Original Message------- From: Rheumatoid Arthritis Date: Monday, February 03, 2003 9:14:01 PM Rheumatoid Arthritis Subject: When RA starts Hi, My name is Judy and I was diagnosed with RA this past summer after 5 years of foot pain. It started with my left foot and is now in both feet, both ankles, both wrists, some fingers and one hand. I swear it's creeping all over me. I am 55 years old, have two married children and two grandchildren. My question is; when does RA begin? I asked my Rheumatologist this and he said it doesn't start before the symptoms raise their ugly heads. That doesn't agree with what I've heard before. Can someone clear this up for me? Judy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2003 Report Share Posted February 4, 2003 Hi Judy, My name is and I am 28 years old. I was diagnosed over 8 years ago with RA. My symptoms, however, started before that. No one knows how RA starts or why. It seems that when you get symptoms that's when you go to the doctor. Who knows? Maybe the disease is always there and something triggers it to cause pain. I think this is something to investigate. I know for me I had foot pain to start and blamed it on new shoes. I was also very active in karate so I blamed my knee pain to making too many kicks. Well, it wasn't long before I couldn't walk, get dressed, or get up out of bed to go to college classes. I now manage my disease with NSAID's and Methotrexate. I occasionally take Prednisone on really bad days. Your question is a good one but I'm not sure medical technology knows the answer yet. Does RA exist before the symptoms arise? I don't know but that would make great research. The symptoms of RA differ from person to person and the degree in which we are afffected also differs. You may remember Tina Wesson, a Survivor cast-off (TV show), had RA but obviously her case was mild. Did you see what she could do? Kathleen also has RA. Don't let other's ability or difficulty deter you from feeling your best. You will soon learn what you can do and you will do it with pride. Don't dwell on what you can't. Celebrate what you can. You and your doctor will develop a plan of action. I wish you the best, > > -------Original Message------- > > From: Rheumatoid Arthritis > Date: Monday, February 03, 2003 9:14:01 PM > Rheumatoid Arthritis > Subject: When RA starts > > Hi, > > My name is Judy and I was diagnosed with RA this past summer after 5 years > of foot pain. It started with my left foot and is now in both feet, both > ankles, both wrists, some fingers and one hand. I swear it's creeping all > over me. I am 55 years old, have two married children and two grandchildren > My question is; when does RA begin? I asked my Rheumatologist this and he > said it doesn't start before the symptoms raise their ugly heads. That > doesn't agree with what I've heard before. Can someone clear this up for > me? > > Judy > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2003 Report Share Posted February 5, 2003 Hi , Thanks for writing. I think you are correct in saying that no one knows how RA starts or why. It sounds like you really had a bad beginning with your symptoms. Mine started rather mild with foot pain. Since I am (or was) a dancer, I thought it was related to the dancing. When I decided to mention it to my doctor I got the standard, " As we age, " speech. (I was 50 at that time.) I kept complaining about it until she took an xray. The xray showed an erosion that was thought to be from an old break. This went on for 5 years before I got a diagnosis of RA. Since that time, I have it in both feet and ankles, both wrists, some fingers and my hand. Seems RA creeps all over the body, doesn't it? I never watch that show Survivor, so I don't know the woman you are mentioning, but I have read about Kathleen . She's a real inspiration, but not the norm, I think. Maybe one day medical science will have an answer to my question. Not that it really matters once we are suffering with RA, but it would be nice to know. Judy > Hi Judy, > My name is and I am 28 years old. I was diagnosed over 8 years > ago with RA. My symptoms, however, started before that. No one knows > how RA starts or why. It seems that when you get symptoms that's > when you go to the doctor. Who knows? Maybe the disease is always > there and something triggers it to cause pain. I think this is > something to investigate. I know for me I had foot pain to start and > blamed it on new shoes. I was also very active in karate so I blamed > my knee pain to making too many kicks. Well, it wasn't long before I > couldn't walk, get dressed, or get up out of bed to go to college > classes. I now manage my disease with NSAID's and Methotrexate. I > occasionally take Prednisone on really bad days. > > Your question is a good one but I'm not sure medical technology > knows the answer yet. Does RA exist before the symptoms arise? I > don't know but that would make great research. > > The symptoms of RA differ from person to person and the degree in > which we are affected also differs. You may remember Tina Wesson, a > > Survivor cast-off (TV show), had RA but obviously her case was mild. > Did you see what she could do? Kathleen also has RA. Don't > let other's ability or difficulty deter you from feeling your best. > > You will soon learn what you can do and you will do it with pride. > Don't dwell on what you can't. Celebrate what you can. You and your > doctor will develop a plan of action. > > I wish you the best, > ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 For me, I know the exact moment my arthritis started. I had an eye infection similar to pink eye on September 11, 1999. (I remember the date b/c it was the day after my bday.) Drops cleared it up but exactly 1 week later I woke up with severe pain in my jaw and left arm. Over the next 2 weeks the pain spread to my leg and would be accompanied by numbness. 2 months later I was diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis (RAA). I know that the eye infection was a catalyst for my arthritis symptoms, but it was probably going on in my body before it came to the surface. At least that's my theory.Take care, in VA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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