New to arthritis

[Cherbev]

My sister has just been to doctors and she has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis her doctor was no help says he can't give her anything because she has asthma .I have had it for 20 years never heard of this she is 66 years old and still working and struggling every day any help would be appreciated

[Lolabridge]

Hello Cherbev

I'm sorry to hear that your sister has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. In the UK a diagnosis is only confirmed by a Rheumatology Consultant and for that the GP will have had to make a referral. If that has not happened then the first step is for your sister to request it.

There is a huge amount of information on the NRAS website nras.org.uk about how RA is diagnosed and treated and I do recommend you get your sister to take a look. Also, NRAS has its own forum on Health Unlocked which is a much better place for you to request advice. I'm sure there will be other RA sufferers on that forum who have asthma and can offer advice. Obviously they cannot give medical advice only suggest things they have tried that have worked for them. I suggest you repost your request for advice on that site.

[Happy5]

The clue is in the title General Practitioner not specialist, see if you can encourage your sister to get the surgery/GP to refer her to an RA specialist.

Least you know what she's dealing with.