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Comment by Annie D on January 2, 2011 at 3:04pm

Glad I found this group...I'm Annie and I've had RA for almost 5 years. Currently take methotrexate and used to be on Remicade (not anymore, though). Will see the rheumatologist on Tues 1/3/11. Wish me luck. :-)

Comment by Show Me MaMa on October 18, 2010 at 7:35am

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that Show Me Mama has moved to her own domain. WWW.SHOWMEMAMA.COM Please update your bookmarks and continue to follow Show Me Mama for more exciting crafts, reviews, giveaways, recipes and more! All active giveaways are still available for you to enter on our new site. Thanks for your your support and see you at our new site.

Comment by Lisa Copen on September 2, 2010 at 4:49pm

Anyone have an invisible chronic illness? In 2002 I began National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week and it's 9/13-19, 2010. We have tons of ways to get involved and a free online virtual conference during the week. Find out more at InvisibleIllnessWeek.com and feel free to share this with anyone. There are loads of tweets you can copy and paste as well as press releases, memes, and more (see "downloads") - Thanks tons!

Comment by Lisa Copen on May 10, 2010 at 11:12am

I just added a video at http://www.twittermoms.com/video/side-effects-when-you-live for anyone who has ever gained weight from medication! I've had RA since 1993. Hopefully you can't relate, but if you can, know you are not alone- and let's laugh together!

Comment by Lana on May 10, 2010 at 9:52am

Welcome Michelle. So good to hear you are in remission.

Comment by Mary on December 15, 2009 at 3:16pm

Heather, I'm so sorry I haven't checked back in a while. Life just got crazy for a while there. I hope that by now, you are doing better. I can imagine how frustrated you must feel. You certainly have it worse than I do. Since the last time I talked to you, my RA has progressed into my feet, too. But, it's still tolerable, as long as I wear comfortable shoes. So long high heels! ugh! I went to my regular follow-up appt, and now the Dr. is wondering if it is RA or Osteo. I'll be having more bloodwork in February, but as of right now, everything was negative, just like yours. How frustrating! I mean, I don't WANT something to be wrong with me, but I know that I'm not imagining things. With the meds, I'm pretty functionable, as long as I don't bump my hands, or apply too much pressure on them, and nobody steps on my feet! Hope to hear from you soon! Merry Christmas!

Comment by Heather Schuetz on October 26, 2009 at 7:29pm

My story is pretty crazy when I go back and think how it all happened, it is also very long so bare with me :). My pain and swelling started in my left wrist. It felt like I had fallen on it and fractured it or something, it hurt so bad. It then went into my right wrist as well. I am a hairstylist, so I couldn't go very long with the pain, and I thought I might have carpel tunnel because it is so common for hairstylist to get it. I waited about two weeks and made a doc appointment to get them checked out. about a week before my Doc appointment my left knee started to hurt and swell up. I didn't think anything of it though, I honestly thought maybe I ran into the side of a table or something and it was just hurting from something like that. When I went to the doc he checked out my wrists and said he didn't think it was a classic case of carpel tunnel but he gave me a steriod shot anyway to see if it would help and told me to come back in a week if the pain didn't get better. I got the shot straight into my carpel tunnel and another in my left wrist, which he thought had tendonitus because it wasn't going up my elbow....yet lol. I didn't mention my leg, because again i didn't think it was anything to do with my arms. well about a week after the steroid shots in my wrists, my other knee had swelled up as well. The pain in my wrists did not go away. I made an appointment with an IM doc, but had to wait about two weeks to get in. while I was waiting for the appointment, the swelling in my knees got so bad that I couldn't straighten my legs, and about a week before my doc appointment my ankles were so swollen and in pain that, added to the swelling and pain in my knees, I couldn't walk. My mother-in-law then made me go to urgent care near my house. He thought I had Lupus or RA, but tested me for everything known to man anyway. he didn't diagnose me then because he knew I was going to another doctor in a week, but he gave me naproxen and pain pills to take while I waited to go to the doc, to try and get some of the swelling down. I then went to my IM doc a week later. The swelling and pain was still very bad and was by then in my wrists, knuckles, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. I was so swollen it was rediculous. She believed I had RA and refered me to a Rheumatologist and also perscribed Prednizone, and more pain killers, and told me to stop taking the naproxen. The Steroids worked like magic! In two days I had no swelling anywhere. I still had a little pain, but no swelling. By now I was very confused why everyone was making such a big deal of me having RA, because I was uneducated and thought it was just arthritis, and nothing to be so concerned about. I then started looking online and was upset about what the doctors were saying I had. I was scared, because I didn't know anyone that has had this, but the symptoms were EXACTLY what was going on with my body. It took another two weeks to get to the rheumi. He diagnosed me with Rhuematoid arthrits because of the documentation from my IM doc, and my physical test. I have not had one positive RA test yet! I have had very high sed rate, but negative RA testing. He belives because of my swelling, pain, and sever fatigue that i have RA. I am currently taking 6 pills a week of Methotrexate, 4 pills a day of methoprednizone ( I believe that is what it is called, don't want to walk to the kitchen to get my bottle), and folic acid of course. I am lowering my dosage of steroid every five days, and if i swell i have to up the dosage, so slowley but surley I'm getting off of it. It is very hard to get used to everything, but I'm doing it. My son keeps me very busy, which is good and bad lol. The pain has gone into my hands pretty bad, so I work a lot less, but luckily I work for myself, and it is fine with all my clients so I'm lucky to have such a great support system. I hope I answered your questions Mary. How is your fatigue? That is what I seem to be having the most trouble with. Mine comes on so suddenly, and my whole body just goes limp. I feel like my muscles are like jello. Has your doc told you anything to help that? Mine doesn't seem to have any help in that area.

Comment by Lisa Copen on October 26, 2009 at 8:37am

I am having lefthand surgery 11/4 including my first joint replacements and then a cast for 6 weeks. I need prayer! My shoulders are eroded and need replaced themselves, so from experience I know the cast for 2 weeks I had previously was pretty bad and sent me into a horrible flare.

On the flip side, I am about 60% done writing a book for Christian moms with chronic illness. It covers practical topics as well as the spiritual when it comes to guilt, teaching our kids life skills, how to ask for help (going to try to take my own advice soon on that one). If you'd like to share your stories and answer questions, etc. please sign up to receive them with our yahoogroup. Send a blank email to
Christian-Moms-w-illness-Book-Team-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and feel free to invite others to join too!

Thanks, friends!
FYI: am 41 and have had RA since 24,. I am married with a son of 6.

Comment by Lana on October 25, 2009 at 8:35pm

Mary - has your rheum discussed combination treatment. with combination treatment, there is a higher chance of remission. come by and visit my blog where you will found a complete list of RA bloggers who offer support and advice through experince. http://ohboy-boys.blogspot.com/

Comment by Mary on October 12, 2009 at 8:22am

Wow, Heather. I can't imagine what you must be going thru, with a baby and your job, with all of that pain. It must be a complete struggle for you. I'm sure that your little one helps to keep you going, but at the same time, it's frustrating because you can't do the things that you used to do without all of that pain. I started with pain in my hands and fingers back in the spring, and went to the doctor to get checked after I had swelling. Of course my tests all came back negative, so he diagnosed me as having Sero-negative RA. Now, I have pain and swelling in my feet as well. We're still trying to get a medicine regimen going. Currently I am on Naproxen and Plaquenil. Did your pain gradually go throughout your body, or was it all at the same time in different areas when it started? I can't believe how many places you have it! How long until you went to the doctor?

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