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Hi! I am 37 and was originally dx with RA when I was 20 and in

college. My rheumatologist said I had some similarities with JRA when

I was dx which would make sense b/c about 7 months before was when

the fatigue set in. I went into " remission " when I became pregnant

with my first child at 27. I had another son and continued to stay in

remission. I was able to discontinue all meds and have't been on

anything but Advil here and there until the past few months.

Unfortunately I have been putting off calling the rheumatologist

b/c I have feared it is slowly coming back.I haven't been there since

2000. I have permannent joint damage in my pointer fingers and wrist

from the original dx, and had knee surgery at 22 to remove all the

synovial tissue. Although my finger joints are swollen as they used

to be, the damaged joints ache more and more. I have also had back

pain since May, which I had been trying to chalk up to a really

horrible mattress. The overwhelming symptom that makes me think it is

back is the fatigue and overall achiness. If I take my 4 Advil, the

pain recedes within an hour.

My youngest son developed leukemia (he's great now and has been off

treatment for 16 months now, yeah!) , and I have even taken his

leftover decadron pills for relief on days. Since it gave me relief

the way prednisone did in the past, that just makes it more evident

that it is probably back.

Well, enough of my rant. My biggest question is has anyone been in

remission for a long time to have it come back, and also in their

back? I have taken almost every drug and stopped at mtx. The newer

drugs weren't available back then. What worked way back was

azsulfadine??(sp?) and prednisone (3-5 mg daily). I tried plaquenil,

minocycline, relafen, naproxen, cortisone shots, no gold shots

though, knee surgery (which worked great). I didn't want mtx b/c I

wanted to get pregnant.

Now I am scared about some of the newer drugs b/c they may cause

lymphoma/leukemia. With a family history of it, I don't know if it

would be a choice for me or one I would want.

Any advice or similar situations you could share would be greatly

appreciated.

Thanks!

Tina S.