Re: not sure if I have RA? but sure seems like it

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy:

Welcome to the group! There are great people here, very friendly and

supportive, and lots of information. I hate to say it but it sure sounds as if

it might be RA, and if it is, you don't want to mess around with it. I am sorry

for your insurance difficulties, but there are others on this board who might be

able to offer you some advice for that. I'll stick with the RA side of it.

Yes, you need a blood test which will help the doctor to diagnose RA, but that

is not the only thing to diagnose it with.

The greatest part of the diagnosis will be in your complaints and how your

joints appear at the time of the office visit. The doctor will also probably

want to take x-rays to see if there is any joint erosion from the RA or any

other joint problems.

If it is RA, then you need to be started ASAP on a DMARD or disease modifying

drug, and these drugs are used to try to slow down or stop the progression of

the disease process of RA.

Otherwise, use of pain meds, Icy Hot, etc., will only mask the symptoms, and

underneath your skin there might be damage being done to your joints which is

irreversible.

I have no idea how much a rheumy visit costs where you are, but here my office

visits generally are around 100$, so I would assume the first office examination

would be about 300$. (I am blessed to have good insurance). That is a lot of

money, I know, but RA is not something to be played with. Also, blood work may

not be positive for the RA factor, and you can still have RA, so just getting

and blood test and not being seen by a rheumy would not do much good in that

case.

I hope that you are able to afford to be seen by a rheumy and get this figured

out. Letting it go will only end up hurting you in more ways than just pain. I

hope this helps you, and I know you will get more advice from others regarding

the insurance issue. Take care - and let us know what you decide to do, okay?

Kathe in CA

[ ] not sure if I have RA? but sure seems like it

Just wanted to see if y'all can help...

I am 34, married with 4 kids, very busy and active. For the last

year or so I have been so tired that several days a month I can

barely function, and exhausted the rest of the days. Seems like I

can never get to really feeling good. I also have frequent

headachiness and feel like I'm running a low grade fever. (If I am,

it's really low, just enough to feel bad.)

In the last few months I have begun experiencing pain in my hands,

wrists, and elbows. I thought at first that it might be carpal

tunnel since I do work on the computer for a couple of hours each

day. I tried to rest my right hand but now both hands hurt. It

feels like pins and needles all the time in my hands and sometimes up

my right arm towards the elbow. Parts of my hands around the first

two knuckles often feel almost scalded.

Last week my right knuckles began to swell, then the left joined in

and now my right wrist feels swollen. It's not huge but enough that

my mom noticed when I visited this weekend.

The kicker is... we do not have health insurance. One of my sons has

type 1 diabetes and we are paying for all his care ourselves. I

don't want to waste money on a blood test for RA if it's not going to

change anything or if I don't have the right symptoms.

Should I get the test? Any ideas how much a dr. visit to a

rheumatologist might cost, and how much the test might cost?

Does it even matter or do most people treat it with Aleve and Icy Hot

anyway?

I am not normally someone who gets sick. With 4 kids, work, life,

etc. I run really hard so it takes a lot to get my attention. I'm

afraid I've got RA and I can't afford (financially and otherwise) to

let it get too far without taking care of it.

Thanks everyone, sorry for the long post. I appreciate any thoughts

you might have.

Amy

[Guest guest]

My first office visit cost $180. Maybe a rheumatologist would give you a

discount as you do not have insurance. It couldn't hurt to ask.

Lori

[ ] not sure if I have RA? but sure seems like it

Just wanted to see if y'all can help...

I am 34, married with 4 kids, very busy and active. For the last

year or so I have been so tired that several days a month I can

barely function, and exhausted the rest of the days. Seems like I

can never get to really feeling good. I also have frequent

headachiness and feel like I'm running a low grade fever. (If I am,

it's really low, just enough to feel bad.)

In the last few months I have begun experiencing pain in my hands,

wrists, and elbows. I thought at first that it might be carpal

tunnel since I do work on the computer for a couple of hours each

day. I tried to rest my right hand but now both hands hurt. It

feels like pins and needles all the time in my hands and sometimes up

my right arm towards the elbow. Parts of my hands around the first

two knuckles often feel almost scalded.

Last week my right knuckles began to swell, then the left joined in

and now my right wrist feels swollen. It's not huge but enough that

my mom noticed when I visited this weekend.

The kicker is... we do not have health insurance. One of my sons has

type 1 diabetes and we are paying for all his care ourselves. I

don't want to waste money on a blood test for RA if it's not going to

change anything or if I don't have the right symptoms.

Should I get the test? Any ideas how much a dr. visit to a

rheumatologist might cost, and how much the test might cost?

Does it even matter or do most people treat it with Aleve and Icy Hot

anyway?

I am not normally someone who gets sick. With 4 kids, work, life,

etc. I run really hard so it takes a lot to get my attention. I'm

afraid I've got RA and I can't afford (financially and otherwise) to

let it get too far without taking care of it.

Thanks everyone, sorry for the long post. I appreciate any thoughts

you might have.

Amy

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

Welcome to the group. I'm so sorry that you don't have insurance. Where do

you live? Is there a teaching hospital near you (even a few hours away). After I

saw every doctor near my college (a school of 4000, town of 10,000), my family

doctor in another state suggested a teaching hospital. I found someone who would

take there, which was 3 or 4 hours from my school. After telling my story to 1

neurologist, he immediately brought me to a rheumatologist. The rheumy listened

and immediately felt my symptoms were RA. He did tests & sent me home. By the

time I reached my dorm, he left a message dx'ing me with RA, calling in a Rx,

left his HOME number, & scheduled me for another appointment several days later.

I had insurance then & now. I live in the shadow of the University of

Virginia, one of the best teaching hospitals in the country & my fellow

arthritis friends say the hospital works very well with those without insurance.

If you have arthritis, all studies show early treatment has the best

outcome for medication induced remission.

Take care,

Steph in VA

Just wanted to see if y'all can help...

I am 34, married with 4 kids, very busy and active. For the last year or so

I have been so tired that several days a month I can barely function, and

exhausted the rest of the days. Seems like I can never get to really feeling

good. I also have frequent headachiness and feel like I'm running a low grade

fever. (If I am, it's really low, just enough to feel bad.)

Last week my right knuckles began to swell, then the left joined in and now

my right wrist feels swollen. It's not huge but enough that my mom noticed when

I visited this weekend. The kicker is... we do not have health insurance. One of

my sons has type 1 diabetes and we are paying for all his care ourselves. I

don't want to waste money on a blood test for RA if it's not going to change

anything or if I don't have the right symptoms.

Should I get the test? Any ideas how much a dr. visit to a rheumatologist

might cost, and how much the test might cost? Does it even matter or do most

people treat it with Aleve and Icy Hot anyway?

I am not normally someone who gets sick. With 4 kids, work, life, etc. I

run really hard so it takes a lot to get my attention. I'm afraid I've got RA

and I can't afford (financially and otherwise) to let it get too far without

taking care of it.

Thanks everyone, sorry for the long post. I appreciate any thoughts you

might have.

Amy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change

the world -- indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. " (Margaret Mead)

AmeriCorps Alums -- We're Still Getting Things Done

---------------------------------

Access over 1 million songs - Music Unlimited Try it today.