new here and somewhat wordless . . .

[Guest guest]

.. . . . which when writing is unusual for me but i guess i'm still

trying to come to grips with the diagnosis of ra. when i went to my

primary-care doc and was finally honest enough to tell him of the

aches and pains (which i attributed to our horrid weather lately and

basically just to the aging process) i was surprised at how many

other questions he asked, then the fact that he was taking blood to

test for auto-immune diseases. never even entered my mind that there

really was a physical reason for my general fatigue and depression.

don't know why not . . . . . the minute my hounds show personality

or energy changes, off they go to the vet to be checked, so why not

me ? ? ?

anyhow, bottom line, the test came back positive for ra. he sent me

to a rheumatologist (i guess you call them rheumies here, yes ?) who

spent three hours with me, talking, examining, doing lab work. he's

started me on methotrexate (do i have that right) and folic acid

(because he said the med decreases what's in my system) and aciphex

(because i tend to take my aspirins and/or ibuprofens, which

thankfully are all i need for the pain, on an empty tummy). he says

i'll prolly take a while to " stabilize " and for now i have to have

bloodwork every two weeks. he says we can slow and/or stop the

progression of this disease. they're very positive, both my regular

doc and this new one.

i'm scared because i've never had to deal with something like this

before and yet i'm relieved because there's actually a treatable (or

so i'm told) cause for how i've been feeling recently. they both say

my lifestyle does not and will not have to change. i'm hoping

they're right. but i'm having panic attacks. i guess that's to be

expected . . . . . .

anyhow, i'm bonnie (as can be seen by my addy), i live in los

angeles with two retired racing greyhounds (who expect to go for our

three mile walk in the mornings . . . . when of course it's not

raining), i do yoga in the evenings and i work in a large lawfirm as

a legal secretary. when not involved with one of those activites, i

can usually be found with my nose buried in a book.

please . . . any advice, any comments, anything.

thanks, bonnie/boys