Had RA for over 5 years

[Guest guest]

I don't post often anymore but I've read your posts recently about

" normal " with RA. I have been on Humira and MTX for most of the 5

years that I have had RA. Once I was on Embrel, but that only lasted a

few months. About 2 years ago my insurance didn't cover Humira and I

didn't think it was doing that much, so I quit. Big mistake. Now I

appreciate how much Humira does. Maybe not so much for the pain, but

defiantly for the disease. When I was diagnosed I was a Vet Tech and

had been for 18 years. It became harder and harder to do my job. When

housing prices were through the ceiling in the DC area, I decided to

sell and move to an area that was warm and cheaper. I made money on my

townhouse and bought a single family home in Florence, SC. I am very

happy here but I tried to do a job 8 hours a day a few months after I

moved here and I wasn't able to do it. After 3 weeks, I quit. I

volunteered to do taxes for AARP last year and worked from noon til 5

PM 2 days a week and loved it. I simply don't have the energy to work

a full 8 hour day. Even one day a week. When I really want to do

something, I save my energy, sleep late, don't do much so I can enjoy

what I want to do. The worst part of this disease for me is the

fatigue, not the pain. Yes, I have pain in the mornings, but after

stretching and taking a hot shower, I feel better. I have to admit

that I usually get 11 or 12 hours of sleep a night, you couldn't do

that if you had a 9 to 5 job. When I worked the last couple of years,

I had a 3 hour break in the middle of the afternoon and I slept, then

went back to work and closed out. I just want to say working a regular

job, being in an office 8 hours daily, would be very difficult if not

impossible for a person diagnosed with RA. I used to be the life of

the party, never home, always at a happy hour or going to the beach

over a weekend. All that stopped when I realized I had RA. I simply

didn't have the energy any longer. I really hate it that I can't be

spontaneous any longer but I can live with that. I would advise anyone

that is diagnosed with RA to be Proactive with your disease. Ask

questions, read the feedback here on this support group. There are

things that are difficult to do with RA and others that can be

accomplished with RA.One of the things that I have become convinced of

is that exercise is the key. I know it hurts, I know it is hard, but

to use your body to do any type of exercise is a good thing and in the

end will help you. I am not suggesting anyone go running but simply

try and walk a little each day. I do believe anything you can do to

exercise your body will help with your RA.

Gentle hugs to all,

Colleen