Welcome, Janet!

[Guest guest]

Glad that you decided to introduce yourself, Janet. Welcome!

I'm sorry that you have so much pain and uncertainty to deal with right

now. I believe that many of us here can relate very well to many

elements of your story.

It's good that you are confident in your physician. Sometimes the exact

diagnosis takes time, but it sounds like you and he are working well on

it. Finding the right treatment is sometimes difficult in the beginning,

especially if your diagnosis is still under investigation.

I'm glad you are still hopeful, because I believe that optimism will

help you cope with the problems you are facing. Try not to worry. Things

can improve for you.

Looking forward to hearing more from you,

[ ] New member

> Hello - I have ben reading your messages to each other for a couple

weeks now after my sister Jeanine had her back surgery and met Deb. My

name is Janet - i live in central Texas and am 29 years old. I have had

pain for almost a year now and was finally able to see a rheum. the end

of July. So far everything he has tested for has come back normal or

negative - which has been good for some of those tests! In August he

did find antibodies for Sjogren's and began treating that with

Plaquenil - so it has been almost 2 months on that (wih no apparent

results?). I have also been on and off 4 different NSAIDS - Relafin is

the only one that doesn't make me feel sick - though I have a funny

feeling that it isn't doing much for me either since we had to start

prednisone 3 weeks ago! Funny how that works! I am in the middle of a

rather nasty flare right now - though he is still trying to find out

what is causing the pain. I have no real swelling - except in my hands

ankles since the pred. started. Jeanine and I joke about the fact that i

can finally tell my doctor when I call him that " I have swelling! " .

Though it isn't the kind he is asking about with the joints! He believes

that it is serum negative ra or just in an early stage.

> I am having great difficulty walking and doing day to day things right

now - my hands ankles and elbows are not much help either, but my toes

don't hurt yet! My doc increased the pred (again) for the weekend and

put me on rest orders to try and get on top of this. He also was nice

enough to tel lme to use Darvasett for pain - all that did was make me

feel drunk this morning and provided no real relief. It was supposed to

help me sleep! haha

>

> I have a 5 and 7 year old - so they are old enough to help out for the

most part. I see my doc in a week - my husband takes off to drive me to

downtown Austin (about 100 miles away - thanks to insurance) because

driving across town is difficult most days. But I feel like I have a

real god doctor and it is worth it. Pretty lucky for the first shot at

finding a good one. Friends and family were upset that I whad to wait so

long to see him - but I knew that God has a plan and He did in sending

me there.

> You all know how special you are and how awesome it is to find a group

of people who truly understand the frustrations and the pain. The last

few days at work ( in an elementary school ) I was unable to hide my

pain with walking being so difficult - and several people asked if I was

ok. I joked that I had a little arthritis problem and the response was :

oh - did you injure your leg? I WISH!! So then the quickest

explanation is that it is autoimmune which means pain all over because

your immune systme decided to go after your joints. That pretty much

gets em to leave you alone! The other response that I love is yeah - my

back hurts too. Most of them have no clue! And understanding and support

is such a major part of dealing with this. Thank you.

>

> I am being good and following doctor's orders (just so you know

Jeanine!) - it is almost 11 am and I still have my pj's on - off to a

hot shower in a little bit I pray for those of you who have been

struggling - and i ask that you pray for me. I went through an

" acceptance and grief " phase a few weeks ago and came out for the

better. but it is still frustrating if I let it be. As I hear all the

time - I am not old enough to have arthritis! Well - when it is in the

genes.......my biggest challenges now are in dealing with the pain -

however I have accepted that it is a process we have to go through in

finding the right treatment - but moreso in knowing that for the time

being I need to let other people swim and play and run with my kids. I

have always been very active and knew that I would play with my kids in

the park and run and all those things that Moms are supposed to do. And

when this is under control (as I must cling to that hope) I can do those

things in moderation - it is hard to accept that it has to be this way

right now. But they are great kids!

> God bless you all - and you are such a blessing!

>

> Janet