New to Rheumatoid Arthritis

[Alice70]

Seven weeks ago I was in hospital with chest infection due to copd ,I left hospital with piriformis siatica, two weeks into having this dreadful pain (which I didn't go to bed with for ten days and looked like a zombie)I started with neck shoulders,arm,wrists ,fingers ,this was put down to the way I'd held myself during the pain from siatica, trapped nerves in the neck was said,my gp looked back at my hospital record as I'd had blood tests while there for inflamation, he said it was he didnt think my neck ect pain was arthritis as my marker was eleven, and that was about right for chest infection ,this week he gave more blood test,had the test results next day,he phoned me to say my inflammatory markers were high ,and that he though Rheumatoid Athritis ,he has put me on 30mg, prednisalone, and diclofenic suppositories, zap pain if need he has refered me to Rheumatologist,thank goodness my siatica pain has gone ,still get a bit of gip from piriformis musle, my Arthritis is 80%better ,but feel like a cardboard cut out inthe mornings I'm so stiff ,the reason for my long post is ,I am 75 years old never suffered with Arthritis before ,wondering if piriformis musle and siatica can kick start this awful condition,also can rheumatoid arthritis be a one off considering I've never had it before ,anythoughts on this would be appreciated

[piglette]

Rheumatoid arthritis is in fact an auto immune disease which is not the same as the osteo arthritis people normally get when they are older. You can get RA at any age. If one is over 60 they call it LORA, late onset rheumatoid arthritis. They have done a lot of research into RA and there are several effective medications now available. I am glad your sciatic pain has gone. I find sciatica quite excruciating.

[Alice70 in reply to piglette]

Thank you piglette ,I do have other auto immune 30 years of hypothyriod,pernicious anemia b12 injection ,and auto immune urticaria ,seems like another one to my list

[piglette in reply to Alice70]

Do you have the auto immune disease Hashimoto’s affecting your thyroid? They say that once you have one auto immune disease you are more likely to get another one.

[Happyrosie]

just to add, Alice, that the website of the charity Arthritis Action might be helpful to you. There are other arthritis charities too.

[Alice70 in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you

[medway-lady]

RA is not awful and it is treatable with a lot of very good and relatively side effect free medications. Look up the NRAS website. I've had RA for many many years and lead a completely normal painfree life as am in remission through medications. I have a few other problematical medical issues but RA is not one of them.