Being Tested Now... New to Group

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm new here. I've just started the process of being tested for

RA. At this point, I don't know where to turn. I don't know how

long it will take to get a definitive diagnosis.

It all started with a nasty little virus called parvo b-19. It is

usually mild in kids, but it hit me very hard. It caused arthritis-

type pain in many of my joints, neuropathy, skin sensitivity,

swollen lymph nodes in my head and neck, fatique and muscle pains.

After having parvo b-19 for 12 weeks, the Infectious Disease doc

believes that I have developed RA and possibly even lupus. Auto-

immune diseases have run in my family for generations. My sister

has lupus, but doesn't know much about RA.

I wasn't supposed to have the parvo this long. At first, the pain

in my joints was just that... pain. Now it includes redness, heat

and swelling. That's why the ID doc thinks I have RA. She's not as

sure about lupus, but the testing has just begun.

I don't know where to go from here. I don't know how long it takes

to get diagnosed or what tests they are doing. I'm frustrated and

in pain. I can't take NSAIDs because I'm allergic... so right now

I'm only on tylenol which doesn't work very well. She told me about

steroids and the risk of increased blood sugars with long-term use.

Not a great option for me since I'm already borderline diabetic, and

my mom and grandmother have type II diabetes. Argg!

I hope someone can tell me what to expect, what other types of

treatment are out there, what this disease is really like. My

daughter asked me if I will be ok. She's 7 and I'm a single

mom. I told her I'll be fine.

But will I? Will I be able to go back to who I was before all of

this? Can anyone tell me what to expect? I'm at a loss here... I

don't know where to turn. In my experience, the best place to go is

the source... people who are living it...

Please help!