rheumatoid arthritus diagnosed at age 40

January 23, 2011

Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis

* My RA Was Diagnosed After I Had a Baby at 40

By _Health.com_ (http://www.health.com/health/)

Young, age 45, had _rheumatoid arthritis_

(http://www.aolhealth.com/health-concern/rheumatoid-arthritis-special-1)

symptoms for years, but her

doctors didn't take them seriously or thought she was making them up. At

one point, a general practitioner looked her husband in the eye and said her

_symptoms_ (http://www.aolhealth.com/symptom-checker/) weren't even

possible. After fighting with her HMO and switching insurance companies, she

finally found a specialist who recognized her symptoms for what they were --

severe rheumatoid arthritis. She now offers support and information to others

via her website, Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior.

When I was 13 years old, I woke up one morning with my hands locked into

fists, and I had to pry them open. The pain soon eased. But it happened

again each morning for several weeks, and then it stopped.

A couple of years later I began to have frequent foot pain that doctors

thought might be a bone spur or _plantar fasciitis_

(http://www.aolhealth.com/conditions/plantar-fasciitis-major-1) . Then in later

years, I had problems

with my shoulders and hips.

Turns out, I had what is called palindromic rheumatism -- attacks of

rheumatoid arthritis that can come and go without leaving permanent damage.

However, like many patients, I was not diagnosed with this condition because

the blood tests were negative.

I didn't know what I had until about four years ago when I was diagnosed

with severe rheumatoid arthritis, which has affected every joint. Not all

people with palindromic rheumatism develop full-blown rheumatoid arthritis,

but I did.

I Had a Baby at Age 40

Rheumatoid _arthritis_

(http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/arthritis) is often triggered by an

event like childbirth. I had a baby at 40, the

peak age to get rheumatoid arthritis. When my baby was a few months old, my

feet swelled up and I couldn't even put weight on them.

I was scared and went to a podiatrist, who wrapped the foot up to force my

toes back to where they are supposed to be. A week later the same thing

happened to my other foot. The podiatrist told me that years of working on my

feet and not wearing proper shoes were taking their toll.

Then my shoulders and knees also flared up, and within about six months,

it had spread to every joint. I went to see my general practitioner, and he

looked straight into my husband's eyes and said there was no such thing as

what I was describing.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with me. I was enrolled in an

HMO, so after a few weeks of fighting to get a referral, I saw my first

_rheumatologist_ (http://www.aolhealth.com/conditions/rheumatologist) . I didn't

have any swelling when I saw the doctor, and he was unconcerned. I changed

insurance companies so I could see another doctor. The first day I saw her,

she prescribed treatments and explained how they work to fight the disease.

She was very gentle, but unfortunately I was quite disabled.

In general, the public, general practitioners and some doctors can be

ignorant about rheumatoid arthritis. You can have rheumatoid arthritis for

years without doctors knowing what's wrong with you -- or worse, telling you

that your symptoms are all in your head. It's a big problem. Early diagnosis

is the only hope for remission with RA. And if general practitioners don't

recognize it when they see it, your chances of remission can be reduced.

So I did the same thing that, I think, most people with RA do -- I just

went on with my life for as long as possible. Women in particular are

ambitious and busy and care for others and have busy lives; we do as much as we

can to suppress the pain and keep going.

Talking to Others Helps

I was first put on Humira, and my doctor doubled the dosage because it was

helping. Still, it wasn't stopping the progression of the disease. I was

also on the maximum dosage of _methotrexate_

(http://www.aolhealth.com/drugs/methotrexate) . After a couple of years of not

seeing any improvement, I

went on Enbrel. Last fall I began treatment with Orencia. I've been on it for

almost six months, but it hasn't helped very much.

I haven't had a day or even an hour or 10 minutes when I haven't been in

severe pain. The first few months after I was diagnosed, I met with a

counselor because the diagnosis triggered such fear and grief. It is difficult

to

learn that you will be fully disabled with an incurable disease. It is

like being given a sentence, not one that is life ending but life changing.

Counseling helped me process the grief. But the most helpful thing is to

have at least some people you can talk to and who will listen to you. That

usually means other people with RA -- they understand and believe the

constant nature of the pain.

That is one of the things that has been so positive about my website

Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior. I got the idea to start it about a year and a

half

ago. I was frustrated that I was not getting better. While researching

information about the disease, I realized how hard it is to find accurate

information written in a way patients can understand.

The material I found wasn't consistent; I began to dream about having my

own website and imagine how I would design it. I wanted to provide

information and encouragement that is straightforward and doesn't lead patients

astray. Now my website is full-time work for me, and there are more than 2,700

members on my Facebook page. It is continuing to grow.

People I know will say to me, " Why do you spend so much time talking with

others? " But being able to offer encouragement to others also helps me and

keeps me going. Having that connection with someone else helps, and I love

to know that I may be able to offer that connection to other people.

As told to: Tammy Worth

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rheumatoid arthritus diagnosed at age 40

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