Re: Renae

[Guest guest]

Renae wrote: my rheumy told me last year that RA can infact

affect parts of the body that no one would think of, like the ribs. It

attacks the ligaments, cartilage & muscle, thereby making all those

areas sore. the sad thing w/this disease is that it's so very

misunderstood. It isn't just a *bone* disease. They have finally

classified it as a form of cancer. Also, the meds given for it attack

you in other ways. It destroys your immune system. It's attacking the

sack around my heart & my spleen. The meds are destroying my tummy. It

has created those calcifications in my lymph nodes. None of that life

threatening, just extremely painful. And as you may have read in post of

other members, it causes FMS, CFS to name a few. B/c you are in the

beginning stages, try to stay on top of everything. Do your research,

make your doc talk to you, make sure they explain every single thing.

when I was first diagnosed, the medical field didn't have a clues about

JRA. My father was an invalid from it, but they didn't know it was

hereditary. So to answer your question, yes the RA could be making your

ribs sore. Two days ago I had a pain go through my left rib cage that

made me nearly pass out. TG I was in bed :-)) Renae

Hi Renae,

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, I went to a large social

gathering this month. They were a lot of people coughing there and I

picked up a cold bug.

Felt like crap for over a week but have finally gotten rid of it. I

always get a little nerves when I pick up a cold, last year I came down

with pneumonia. Anyway I'm all better now and been out puttering in the

yard and garden getting lost of sunshine and fresh air. With help I got

my garden ready to plant, plus a new fence put around two flower beds to

keep my dogs from digging and rolling (darn doggies LOL) ..... some

friends of mine are running a water line from the house to my garden so

I don't have to drag the water hose around. Gardening and working with

my dogs are my biggest passions. Both have kept me active when my RA is

in remission.

You have my sympathy with that rib and tummy pain. When I had this

cold I had to hold a pillow against my right ribs...felt like they were

going to pop out of my side. I can no longer take anti-inflammatory

drugs because they caused an ulcer in my stomach. When I first got RA 8

years ago I started to do a lot of research...I had never heard of

anyone having RA. It was depressing and scary reading about this

disease. I am one of the lucky ones, the medications has helped me live

a fairly healthy happy life. I've only had two flare ups in 8 years,

both lasting around 6 months. When the joints swell and the pain comes I

get VERY depressed. One blessing I can say about RA...it has made me

more aware of my spirituality and my mortality. I hope you and all the

members on this list are having a happy and pain free day.

Chris