Can someone with Rheumatoid Arthritis answer please.....?

Is it possible to have a normal life with RA. It seems I'm in pain almost everyday now. I've had this for 4 years and it's progressively getting worse. I take medicine for it but need to go back to doctor and see what else is out there that would do me better. There was a time that I would have many good days and ocassionally a bad episode.....those days are long gone !

I am 34 years old and I was diagnosed with RA at 25. I had it bad and it progressed very quickly. I did the methtrexate thing and I had cortizone shots (many many shots more then your allowed). My insurance "Medical" made seeing a specialist difficult and it would take as long as a year in some cases to get approved. Alot of the medications my Dr. prescribed were not approved in time or at all.

Now at 34 yrs old I have completely lost my ability to walk (even move most of the time). I need to have both hips & knees replaced but I'v been waiting for approval for 2 yrs now. I cant even sit up in bed and I am carried to the bathroom. I have 3 kids now 10, 11 & 17 yrs old who have had to care for me instead of being cared for. And I hate insurance companies and HMO's whoever and whatever they are.

Can you live a normal life with RA? Yes you can even I can as bad as
I am, IF you have insurance and you edgucate yourself . You are going into battle and you will have to be prepared to fight this thing the same way you would fight anything else thats trying to take your freedom and leave you with pain. Don't ever give up or let things go (they are harder to get back) and NEVER sit quietly and accept defeat. I am living proof that this thing WILL get the best of you if you let it.

Oh ya and beware of depression I never thoght it could happen to me but it has and its only a pebble in the road if you keep it from becoming a mountain. If you ever need someone to talk to I'm here. I'm not a negitive person but I don't believe in sugar coating or tiptoeing around things so its more plesant or easier to deal with. Please keep in mind that you can NEVER EVER give up no matter how much you loose and you'll be okay. And keep up Dr. visits regularly as hard as it is at times you have to see a doctor you can't do this alone no matter how strong you are. Good Luck

My mother is 82 tears old and suffers from RA. She has good days and bad days. It has taken along time to get her medications adjusted so that it works for her. For time to time adjustments are still necessary but I would say that considering the severity of her RA she leads a fairly normal life for her age.

As she gets older it does get worse but she has suffered with it for years and I can say and she would too that with the right medication a normal life is very possible.

Good luck to you.

My Doctor says, this is the way RA works on the body. I used to have alot of good days also, but like yours, they are long gone. I have started taking a strong pain medicine called Vicotine, the only problem is that my doctor will not prescribe enough to keep the pain gone. Be careful with most RA medicines as they will cause alot of harmful side effects. I was a very out going person, loved to work in the yard everyday, take the boat and go fishing, now, I do nothing... if I do I hurt the next day for about 2-3 days. I am talking about hardly able to move whatever area is being affected. Thanks Phillip
Phillipwbell@yahoo.com

Well I think it is possible to accomodate RA and then return to a normal life but, sorry for being negative, I use a cane and I am in high school so I would hardly call that normal. But the thing is... I try to engage in every day activities and I don't limit myself. I'm on an ultimate frisbee team and I am a dance performer. I may not be able to run a mile but I can sure as hel try.

GOOD LUCK! :P

I personally do not have RA but my mom's best freind does. She has had it longer than I have been alive and i am 19. Her fingers and toes are drawn up and she can't really get around as good as she use too. To slow down the progression of her RA she has taken up beading. She makes necklases and other jewelry so that she doesn't lose all mobility of her hands. This has really helped her feel better. Anything is worth trying and who knows it just might work.

Hope this helps!

There are a number of associations in GB who support people with RA. Take a look at
www.arc.org.uk
They can suggest ways to make your life easier and there may be a patient support group in your area. Ask at your local hospital.

I'm 51 and was diagnosed with RA 13 years ago. Until then I was 10' tall and bullet proof. It all started with pain in my feet, then moved to my shoulders, fingers and wrists. The pain was excruciating, my son was only 10 months old and I couldn't even hold him. I went through a lot of mental stress along with the pain because I could not do the things I took for granted every day of my life.

For the 1st year I was hard headed and felt like I could hold my own against the pain and was doing OK until I learned that even though I could mask the pain with pain pills the disease was eating away my joints and I could not stop it. That's when I finally started seeing a specialist. We started out taking gold pills, pain pills, cortisone shots, and steroid pills.

This helped with the pain but did not stop the swelling and degradation of the joints. After 10 months of trying the gold pills, we switched to pretty heavy dose of Methatrexate pills. After 4 months of trying methatrexate the pain and swelling began to back off. After about 8 months the swelling was gone and the pain had decreased tremendously. After 2 years I was back to my old self again. We started backing off of the steroids, cortisone and pain pills. After I was off of everything except the methatrexate we started backing off on the dose of methatrexate until I was down to 25% of the original dose.

A few years after that, I now take the dose of methatrexate about once a month and I'm doing fine. My RA is in remission, maybe I'm one of the lucky ones, I don't know. But I do know that if I hadn't seen a specialist that cares I would not be in the shape I'm in today. If what you are taking isn't working, talk to you doctor about alternatives. There are several drugs out there that work, it's just finding the right one for you. Good luck and I hope you get the same results I did.