Re: Saying Hello Dawn

[Guest guest]

Hi Dawn:

Welcome! You are very right, it is very comforting to

be amoung people who truly know what we are going

through, and can relate, when sometimes in our family

and friends there are still some who don't understand

it and probably never will. We always will,

unfortunately for that.

Yes, it is a scary disease with even scarier

medications when you read all the side effects they

can cause! Just be aware that they have to tell us

every little thing that has ever been related to the

drug, and that your chance of having any of those

severe reactions is very small. The meds I am on now,

and have been on in the past, have been quite scary

when I first started them, but they have helped me

over the years, without any terrible side effects

really, and control of the pain and disability is so

important that I am willing to try whatever will help

me.

You are on the one hand lucky and on the other hand

not, to have had an aunt with RA, so that when your

symptoms started you had something to point the doctor

toward as a possibility. I hope that this has helped

to get your medications started earlier than they

might have if you had not had family history, and that

you will be better off for it.

My grandmother had RA quite severe, so I also, when my

hands and fingers swelled up like balloons, and were

so painful, knew deep in my heart that I might have

RA. Yes, it can be very depressing when you can

really see what RA has done to someone you love, and

now it's been diagnosed in you too. It also made me

very much in awe of my grandmother in that I never

heard her complain, not until she was over 70 and the

disease caused her to have deformity of her fingers,

and knee and hip surgeries. But we have medications

now that were not available to my grandmother, so I

have every reason to believe that the RA will not

affect me as severely as it did her. It's still hard

to deal with, but I also think that my doctor was very

right to get me started immediately on medication. I

believe that doing the right treatment immediately is

what has saved me from having joint deformities, and

more disability than I have.

I was dx 7 years ago, and have been on several

different medications, but am now on Enbrel,

Methotrexate, Mobic, and also take Ultram for pain (I

also have FM, and take meds for that too, and Ultram

is also part of that treatment program). It does

daunt me every day when I look at the amount of

medication I am on, but these drugs do keep me going

and allow me to live my life as best I can. I hope

that your current medications will help you too.

Take care - and remember, we are here for you -

Kathe in CA

Kathe

" To ride a horse is to borrow freedom. "

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