Hi...I'm new here but have so much to reply to!!!

[Guest guest]

Oh my gosh! Where to start???!!! I have just been reading some

previous posts and I don't know why I visit here sooner!!

I have had RA for the past 11 years...I noticed symptoms right before

I gave birth to twins (who will turn 11 yrs. old next month). The

most curious thing I have noticed from all the previous posts is that

MOST OF US HAVE MORE THAN ONE ILLNESS. I believe that my arthritis

started out as LYMES DISEASE...but I also had a mild case of psorisis

too and from reading past messages someone else was told that their

RA stemmed from this....so maybe that had something to do with it

(???).

I didn't know anything about LYMES DISEASE until 4 years into my

symptoms and not being diagnosed. I was talking to my brother (who I

used to live with in Oklahoma) and he was telling me about his bout

with Lymes disease and all of his symptoms were identical to mine.

They were arthritis like symptoms but also included fatigue and

itching...also if the surface of the skin was scratched (even

slightly) it would make a red welt appear. In fact, when my brother

went to the doctor, the way the doctor tested to see if my brother

had Lymes disease was by scratching my brother's arm with his

fingernail...in a few minutes the scratch welted up and became red.

My brother was treated right away with the antibiotic Doxicycline and

the illness went away and he was fine. But I went 4 years without

being treated...I would simply take ibuprofen to ease my symptoms.

After learning this info from my brother I was able to convince a

doctor to prescribe me Doxicycline and my symptoms were non-existent,

but unfortunately he only gave me a weeks supply and according to my

brother he was required to take it for 30 days straight. I wasn't

able to get any other doctor to give me anymore. I think this

mutated my Lymes disease and caused me to develop RA...but I could be

wrong. A person can have Lymes disease for years and not know it

becuz it can be dormant, but when your body becomes fatigued or your

immune system is over worked (like during a pregnancy) then the

disease becomes active and your symptoms show up.

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO ANYONE? I live in AZ and Lymes disease

isn't common here due to the arrid climate but if you live back East

or where there is alot of vegetation then you could have contracted

this disease and not even know it. My brother is unaware how he

contracted it, but he did. Someone posted a question about itchiness

and burning...maybe this is related?

Gosh...I have so much to reply to...um...I was told by my

rheumatologist that it would not be good for me to have another

pregnancy...and that was years ago. I haven't become pregnant but

becuz I have wanted more children I didn't end up going on the

Methotrexate. The side affects were too risky and the waiver I was

required to sign stated that even if I take the drug theres no

guarantee that it will actually help me. So I decided it wouldn't be

worth the chance of not being able to have children...someone else

previously posted that they had a hysterectomy due to damage done by

Methotrexate.

Although I have much more to say about this illness and how it has

drastically hindered my life and those around me I would like to end

this post with a few questions:

HOW DOES EVERYONE HERE COPE FINANCIALLY? HAS THIS DISEASE KEPT

ANYONE FROM WORKING? HAS ANYONE HERE QUALIFIED FOR DISABILITY BASED

ON RA? DOES ANYONE HERE HAVE RA ONLY AND NO OTHER ILLNESS? AND

LASTLY WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK ABOUT THE NOTION THAT A VEGETARIAN DIET

WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE OUR PAIN AND SYMPTOMS?

I'm so glad to be here!! I understand and experience constant

pain...REAL PAIN that just won't stop or go away. Even with taking a

buncha painkillers it's still there!!! It's enuff to make a person

suicidal sometimes...I can relate to the post about feeling like a

burden to everyone around you. When my pain is unbearable it takes

so much mental concentration to deal with it that everything else is

a distraction...and that's not good when you have kids. I wish I

could be the healthy, active mother my twins deserve. Someone said

that sometimes all they're able to do is sleep....I heard that!! I

used to be an athlete and now I can't even manage to hold a job.

Sometimes I have to hop on one foot to the bathroom cuz my other foot

is so stiff. I can't dress myself...I can't brush my hair..simple

things that I used to take for granted. Life with RA is so hard and

I'm so glad I found people who know what I'm talking about.