New to the Group and RA

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone. I was diagnosed with RA on 24/12/09 and have seen the

Rheumatologist 1 more time since that diagnosis. It seems my Rheumy doesn't

tell you much about support groups diet etc but wants to concentrate on getting

my white cell count down, which he says is next to normal now. He has increased

the Methotrexate from 10mg to 20mg and is hoping that will work.

My question to you all is how do you all cope with the pain in upper arm

muscles? Exercise is painful and as my hands and wrists are involved with RA

they too are painful but mostly a dull ache which I can cope with. Does the

pain in the muscles ever go away?

These may be silly questions to you all but I thought I might ask as your

messages indicate you are all very nice people and helpful. Cheers Ann

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/7/2010 6:38:54 A.M. Central Standard Time,

annietm46@... writes:

My question to you all is how do you all cope with the pain in upper arm

muscles? Exercise is painful and as my hands and wrists are involved with RA

they too are painful but mostly a dull ache which I can cope with. Does

the pain in the muscles ever go away? >

I too get pain in my upper arms. I have tried PT, but the only thing that

really made it go away was cortisone shots in my shoulders. They last about

six months.

dd

[Guest guest]

Ann - I was diagnosed three years ago. The muscle pain, especially in my upper

arms, seems to better when I take vitamin D regularly, which in RA patients can

often be too low. It also took me a very long time to realize that a good

massage therapist can really help. I asked my massage therapist to steer clear

of my tiny joints (fingers and toes) and she's fantastic. I know it can get

pricey, but if you have a place that offers a memebership (like a once a month

deal), I've found it's worth the investment. REALLY improves the mobility of my

arms and shoulders.

Good luck,

>

> Hello everyone. I was diagnosed with RA on 24/12/09 and have seen the

Rheumatologist 1 more time since that diagnosis. It seems my Rheumy doesn't

tell you much about support groups diet etc but wants to concentrate on getting

my white cell count down, which he says is next to normal now. He has increased

the Methotrexate from 10mg to 20mg and is hoping that will work.

>

> My question to you all is how do you all cope with the pain in upper arm

muscles? Exercise is painful and as my hands and wrists are involved with RA

they too are painful but mostly a dull ache which I can cope with. Does the

pain in the muscles ever go away?

>

> These may be silly questions to you all but I thought I might ask as your

messages indicate you are all very nice people and helpful. Cheers Ann

>

[Guest guest]

Hi...

In my experience it took about a year to get everything down with the right

medications, how RA will affect you, and the things you can and cannot do. This

Group is really the best thing you'll find anywhere. From your e-mail I see we

suffer very similar symptoms from or RA. The emanates from the the wrist joints

and shoulder joints (not to say you don't have issues with flares in your hands,

etc.) Generally (in my case) the pain can be at a level that you really can't

tell where it's coming from, other than your arm really hurts when you move

anything. If you are convinced the pain is emanating from your muscles it

suggests to me perhaps you should back off on the exercises that may be causing

it. I've had a lot of really bad flares in my shoulders, arms, and wrists but I

can't remember attributing it to anything but joints. Any exercise that puts

stress on your joints, as is my case, is just asking for trouble. This makes

traditional exercise nearly impossible. Of course, sometimes even writing or

drawing are painful. Hope this helps.

Stan

Seattle, Cloudy.