Guest guest Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 Hi my name is Kathy and I am a newbie, My internest diagnosed RA after a bunch of blood tests after he looked at my stiff swollen hands. PT has helped the stiffness and I see the RA for the first time tomorrow. What do you think are the most important questions to ask? What information should I most definitely obtain? I am at the stage where the hand thing is painful, annoying and limiting some activities but I sure felt worse before my knee replacements for osteo (one place the d*mned ra can't go, hehe). I don't know what to expect. When you feel function slipping, do you fight it (my usual method of dealing with physical disability) or are you better off coping in some other way. I have my first grandchild coming in July and one way or another I WILL be able to pick that child up Thanks Kathy ScharkHamden CTkschark@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 Hey Kathy That's how I was diagnosed too, blood tests and a very thorough and painful physical. I'm still a newbie to all this too, but I just wanted to say hi and welcome - everyone here has been most helpful and I know they will be to you too (gentle smiles). Blessings - kins -------Original Message------- From: Kathy Schark Date: 04/10/05 11:12:18 Rheumatoid Arthritis Subject: Newbie Hi my name is Kathy and I am a newbie, My internest diagnosed RA after a bunch of blood tests after he looked at my stiff swollen hands. PT has helped the stiffness and I see the RA for the first time tomorrow. What do you think are the most important questions to ask? What information should I most definitely obtain? I am at the stage where the hand thing is painful, annoying and limiting some activities but I sure felt worse before my knee replacements for osteo (one place the d*mned ra can't go, hehe). I don't know what to expect. When you feel function slipping, do you fight it (my usual method of dealing with physical disability) or are you better off coping in some other way. I have my first grandchild coming in July and one way or another I WILL be able to pick that child up Thanks Kathy ScharkHamden CTkschark@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 Here's a link related to the first appointment. http://www.arthritisinsight.com/medical/new/first.html From the home page at that site there is a lot more information on RA and related diseases. Some people fight RA or related diseases with diet and nutrition and we hear from the ones who are successful. Unfortunately many others try unsuccessfully and we rarely hear from them. I believe in a generally healthy diet and appropriate supplements but I have not tried any specific dietary changes related to RA. I feel that I am pretty well controlled by medication. I believe in taking medication to achieve the degree of functioning that you feel is necessary for you, and that amount is a highly personal matter. Medications generally have bad side effects so I try to limit the amount of medication. There is a trade-off that each person has to make. In addition to maintianing function in the near term you need to be concerned about future functioning. Untreated RA is a progressive disease that continues to erode joints and can lead to permanent damage. You need to be on a DMARD (Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug) to slow or stop joint damage. The most common one to start with is Methotrexate but some people choose something else. A newer class of DMARDs is the biologics (Humira, Enbrel, Remicade, and Kineret) that often are more effective but are usually saved for later because they are so expensive. For example, full price of my Remicade treatment would be about $51,000 a year but I only pay a small fraction of that because of insurance. Most insurance will not pay for a biologic unless less expensive alternatives have been shown to fail you. Near-term function can often be improved greatly by taking a corticosteroid called Prednisone. This is not a body-building anabolic steroid but something entirely different. It has many undesireable side effects in many people (weight gain, mood swings, insomnia, bone loss, moon face to name a few) but it is usually fast-acting to improve function. On the other hand, most RA medicines take several weeks to months to find out if they are helping. I don't know how much information you are looking for but I could supply a lot more if you are interested. You can reach me at hvantuyl@... if you want more information. (I'm 77years old, retired chemist/manager from Washington state so I have time to respond.) God bless ----- Original Message ----- From: Kathy Schark Rheumatoid Arthritis Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 8:51 AM Subject: Newbie Hi my name is Kathy and I am a newbie, My internest diagnosed RA after a bunch of blood tests after he looked at my stiff swollen hands. PT has helped the stiffness and I see the RA for the first time tomorrow. What do you think are the most important questions to ask? What information should I most definitely obtain? I am at the stage where the hand thing is painful, annoying and limiting some activities but I sure felt worse before my knee replacements for osteo (one place the d*mned ra can't go, hehe). I don't know what to expect. When you feel function slipping, do you fight it (my usual method of dealing with physical disability) or are you better off coping in some other way. I have my first grandchild coming in July and one way or another I WILL be able to pick that child up Thanks Kathy ScharkHamden CTkschark@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 Gotta fight it if you think you have any space to move. stay active…. range of motion… squash inflammation… manage stress (and diet triggers for some, like food allergies) I don’t know of any other ways, though. Sometimes people think they can force it back, like you can with the aging process, but you need to be careful not to hurt yourself. RA isn’t about age, so it’s not just a matter of ‘keeping fit.’ Welcome Kathy. yellow -----Original Message----- From: Kathy Schark [mailto:kschark@...] Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 11:52 AM To: Rheumatoid Arthritis Subject: Newbie Hi my name is Kathy and I am a newbie, My internest diagnosed RA after a bunch of blood tests after he looked at my stiff swollen hands. PT has helped the stiffness and I see the RA for the first time tomorrow. What do you think are the most important questions to ask? What information should I most definitely obtain? I am at the stage where the hand thing is painful, annoying and limiting some activities but I sure felt worse before my knee replacements for osteo (one place the d*mned ra can't go, hehe). I don't know what to expect. When you feel function slipping, do you fight it (my usual method of dealing with physical disability) or are you better off coping in some other way. I have my first grandchild coming in July and one way or another I WILL be able to pick that child up Thanks Kathy Schark Hamden CT kschark@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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