Newbie!

[sazlav83]

Hi everyone!

My name is Sarah, I'm a 33yr old mother of two and pretty new to this whirlwind of RA. I was confirmed seropositive in April after feeling for a long time that I was pretty much going crazy!! For months I was feeling very lethargic and achey, then I started to have trouble with my back which quickly moved to my shoulder. Docs diagnosed frozen shoulder and treated me for that. Then my foot began to hurt (a lot!!) so I ended up in a&e expecting a stress fracture, to be told that I didn't need X-rays, that I had gout! Within a few weeks my hands and knees were swelling, and extremely painful. Went to docs and he told me he didn't expect anything rheumatic but would do bloods anyway which obviously returned with high levels of anti ccp. Anyway, I'm now on 20mg oral methotrexate and 5mg folic acid once weekly. I work in a school as a teaching assistant so thankfully have been off for the summer which has gave me a lot more time to take it easy and rest when I need to, however I'm quite terrified of what I'll be like when I return to work! I'm pretty much on the go all day, there's not much sitting involved!!

I'm 5wks into mtx and I haven't really experienced any of the crippling tear inducing pain in the last couple of weeks, however the stiffness and tiredness never seems to let up and my left knee is just permanently full of fluid.

Does anyone else have quite an active job and do you cope ok? And how well does your work respond to your condition?

Can I also just say that this group is fab! I like to know as much as I can about things and do a lot of reading up but nothing compares to reading about people's first hand experiences, it can be very reassuring knowing you're not on your own!

Sarah x

[freckle71]

Hi Sarah.

So we share two things- RA and TA.

I work in the reception class of the local primary school and like you I never stop its head down on Monday morning and I don't resurface until Friday afternoon!!

For my RA I currently take MTX injected once a week and I am now also on a biologic monthly.

I have been diagnosed for 5 years now andin the beginning struggled to find a combination of drugs that would work but now I am able to do all the things I used to and have a good quality of life which with 2 children is important to me!!

Work are aware of my RA and I have needed the odd days off- the worst thing is the fatigue so it is lots of sleep to try and survive and hang out for the holidays!!

Keep going it sounds like you are in the right path- don't give up I promise your life will improve- the drugs are so much more advanced and new things are being discovered all the time.

Enjoy the rest while you can and let's hope the sun shines for the rest of he holidays xx

[sazlav83 in reply to freckle71]

Thank you so much for your reply!!

So glad to hear you get on well at work, I was slightly concerned about all the little bugs and illnesses kids carry too but seeing as you're reception and I'm p4 and up I'm sure you deal with a lot more little runny nose wiping than I do!! lol!

I found myself pushing a bit hard last term, I suppose refusing to believe I had new limitations so I'm determined to be a bit kinder to myself this year and hope they understand!!

Thank you for your reassurance!! Won't it be just typical the sun will appear right when we go back, we've seen more rain than anything else the whole summer!! 🙈 xx

[freckle71 in reply to sazlav83]

Ha ha. Yes the 4 year olds definitely come with lots of bugs- I have to remember to regularly wash my hands and stay away from any sick bugs as we are definitely more susceptible to it.

I can honestly say that the best piece of advise my rheumy ever gave me was to accept the condition and the drugs they offer- for a long time I tried to fight against the diagnosis and the drugs, but actually acceptance of both, and the limitations your body now shows have, without doubt, helped me to feel more positive for the future.

Try and remain positive-it's just a part of who we are!!

[sazlav83 in reply to freckle71]

Yep RA TA's!! 😂

Seriously though, definitely good advice, at the beginning I got myself very frustrated with my mind and body being on 2 different pages! Learning to adapt to things though and say no when I need to!

Xxx