I just wanted to share my crazy twist to havig RA. I have been in pain most of my life. I went to see a RA doctor at 28 years old and was laughed out of the office. He did the standard test on my hands and legs....to see how well I could move. Since I am extremely flexable, since birth, he said there was no way I had RA. So I left feeling hopeless. I went back to doctors many times over the next 10 years only to get the same results every time!
One day I was in so much pain, I went to my local clinic and just cried while explaining my pain to the GP. She looked at me with a scornful glare and said "So you want pain meds right?!"
I told her I hate pain meds because the strong ones make my head fuzzy. I just wanted answers. She did the standard movement tests and saw nothing, but as a last thought, she wanted to do some blood tests. She told me she was sure there was nothing with me....it was probably mental...but we'd do the blood test anyway.
I left feeling like all the other times...hopeless.
A few days later I got a letter in the mail. It was from the GP doctor. She said my RF numbers were off the chart and I needed to see a specialist. REALLY!!! So all this time and not one doctor gave me a blood test.
Turns out I have hypermobility syndrome. It caused my RA. I have no inflamation and I can move all my joints more than normal, so all the doctors dismissed RA. It makes me wonder how many other people have had the same experience as I did.
My RF is 192.6
my anti CCP is 525.7
I lived in Minnesota until 2013. I moved to Cuenca Ecuador in 2013 and since then have been pain free and off all RA meds. There is something very special about living here. I have had several friends with RA and SA move here and they have had the same results.
I want to move to Ecuador 🇪🇨. I am Canadian and live in Vancouver. More a suburb called Maple Ridge.
I was a Financial Planner for twenty years and had started a retail business in 2013.
I was incapacitated in 2015 and did not respond to any treatment. I went off meds which triggered a remission. Loosing two businesses almost wiped us out. We are barely managing as cost of living here is astronomically high. In addition, my husbands parents sold their home and moved in four years ago. But my husband will be 59 in December and likely has Psoriatic Arthritis as well. We could live very comfortably in Ecuador given the rate of exchange. Need to win that lottery lol
Ecuador uses the US dollar, but it goes a lot further here. You can get a very nice 3 bedroom house or apartment here for $300 or less. You can get residency here by depositing $25,000 into a bank (CD). The money remains yours but must stay in the bank for the time you live here. But 8-9% interest on your money makes that pretty easy! Let me know if you want anymore info.
I have hypermobility but rheumy says its got nothing to do with my RD. I generally have to remind him when he looks at my digit flexibility and says its ok that its two thirds worse than it has been throughout my life, so for me very limited. Its interesting isnt it.
I live in the cold UK.....however love this country and the seasons
Im hypermobile throught all joints . No dont have hypermobility syndrome. It was wuestioned at one point when I was around 9 but decided not and told I have 'loose' joints
I believe it's because of the high altitude. We live in the Andes mountains at 8300 feet. When I go to the coast or the States My pain slowly comes back. The temperature is 70 f every day in Cuenca so just perfect.
Funny that you would mention high altitude as a healing factor.This is not the first time I've heard about it. There was a study done on cancer patients that showed the same results. Cancer patients treated at high altitudes had a better survival rate! In the olden days TB sufferers were taken to high altitudes for treatment. Science and biochemistry explain this by targeting on the CO2 level in your blood. At higher altitudes you have more CO2 and this in fact helps the body to heal. In fact CO2 therapy is used in hospitals to accelerate healing after difficult operations. You can increase your CO2 level by breathing into a paper bag, infact. Cheaper than moving to Equador😊
Funny you say that, cause moving here is so much cheaper than living in any State in the USA. I retired at 40 and have lived here for 4-1/2 years. Best decision of my life!
Reduced stress environment? Access to fresh/ local produce? Increase in Quality of Life? Elder/ retirement communities? Yada, yada, yada . . .
Yes, a deluge (❓❓❓❓❓) of queries. . . 😁 (If uncomfortable answering in forum, would you kindly consider PM-ing ( support.healthunlocked.com/... ) me if you've time?
If you've easy access to any pointers/ references/ links to information you'd found useful, accurate, informative, would you mind passing along, Peekapoolady? Appreciate anything you're comfortable sharing. 🙏 😌
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Delighted you've found relief via the move! Perhaps the 'altitude' does indeed contribute to your pain relief/ improvement?! 🤔 🤗
(I wonder, too, if 'foods' & maybe 'less stressful environment', etc. may also play a part? 🤔 )
Whatever factor (or combination of factors) contribute to your improvement, gawd bless ya, Peekapoolady!!
Soooo, yes there is a lot to say about moving to another country. But really 95% is an improvement to living. The only thing I have a problem with is the lack of driving skills by the local people. But that is minor compared to the pluses++.
The cost of living in Cuenca is a bit higher than other places in Ecuador but it's the best city also. Cuenca Ecuador was the #1 place to retire in the world for 10 years. There is a huge expat community here.
The Healthcare is top notch. Cost is incredible! Cash price to see a specialist is $30-$40. With insurance, which we pay $65 a month for the 2 of us, is a $6 copay.
Medical costs here are 10% of the costs in the States. For example : Hip replacement is $10,000.
Housing is amazing! We generally say $100 per bedroom or less. Our last house was 5 bedrooms and 4 baths for $360 a month. Lots of skylights and by the river.
Food is my favorite thing here. To get organic food at crazy cheap prices blows my mind. You can get a bag of apples, oranges, tomatoes, avacados....for $1.00 every day. There is every kind of fruit and vegetable here, so many more than you can get in the US. And you can haggle on the price.
I love the meat. I can buy 2 ribeyes for $ 2.00 to $3.00 regular price. This is real beef, grass fed.
The language of the country is Spanish but many people speak English. The people are very friendly towards foreigners. They are kind and family oriented.
The water is drinkable right from the tap. Everything is modern. Electric, water and gas bill runs $40-60 a month. The malls here are fancier than the States. They have English movies at the theater for $3 per person.
Restaurants here are amazing! Their big meal of the day is called almuerzo, between 12-3pm. The normal cost of a 3 course almuerzo with fresh juice is $2.50. More food than I can finish.
Transportation is great. The city bus system is fantastic. Buses come every 5 to 10 minutes and cost only .25 cents. If you're over 65 it's .12 cents. Taxis are only $2-$4 for most places.
We have a car. Cars are expensive here to buy compared to other countries but the cost to maintain them or repair them us very cheap. But the up side is that your car keeps its value. So when you sell it, you get almost what you paid for it, even after 10 years.
The pace is slower here. You learn to slow down and enjoy the mountains and flowering trees. It's 70* here every day. Everything is always in bloom. Being from Minnesota, it's the perfect temperature all the time and I'm never cold. The houses don't have heat or air conditioning installed because it's not needed.
We also don't have screens on the windows because there really are no bugs.
If you want to see pictures and get more information, Google Retire in Cuenca Ecuador. (Pronounced kwenka)
Bags 💼 🎒 packed, see you upon arrival 🛬 , Peekapoolady! 😁 🤣
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Many, many thanks for taking time to share this peek into a quality, affordable life in Cuenca! 🙏🏻 😌
You've given us a much appreciated jumpstart in research. 🙏 ☺️
Wonderful to know there are affordable, comfortable places to have an 'improvement to living'! 🤗
[Hmm . . . questionable driving skills 🚗💥🚙 is a concern 🤔 😳 & would be weighed in balance ⚖️ . Only hope 🙏 any accidents are limited to low-speed fender-benders & nothing more. 🤞🤞]
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Wowza! Outstanding to hear:
👍 Huge expat community 👩 👱 👵 👴
👍 Top notch healthcare 👩⚕️👨⚕️ 🏥 and affordable 😳
Actually I never had homesickness. And when I go back for short visits, I can't wait to come home. ..to Ecuador! It's just so much safer here. More normal. You really feel the commercialism once you get out of it. There's so much pressure to buy the latest stuff in the US. I hate that. Here it's more about living life a more simple way.
Also, there really aren't many accidents on the road. You just have to drive with the idea that the other guy isn't going to follow the rules.
If you really are coming for a visit, let me know. I'd love to meet you. 😆
Yes, indeed rampant global 🌐 commercialism/ materialism has made us lose sight of what's truly important.
Simple good health, simple/ modest life pleasures. ☺️
(Think only when we lose them do we eventually realise their true value. ☺️ )
Love that your true home is Cuenca & you suffer no 'homesickness'❣️
You've found your true home of peace! 🏡 ⛰ ✌️ 😌
We're practicing our 'defensive' driving 🚘💥🚗 (in prep for Cuenca) seeing as some folks appear to interpret 'road rules' ( 🚥 🛑 🚧 . . . ) as mere 'suggestions' rather than 'rules' for safely 'sharing the road'. 😳 😯
We're early in our research 🔎 📚 & looking forward to meeting you when/if we should make an initial exploratory visit. 👍👍
Thank you so much for taking the time to make us aware of not only Cuenca's high-altitude health possibilities, but Cuenca's affordable, quality of living possibilities! 🤗
Such an interesting post & i am glad you had such a positive recovery.. Were you put on RA meds like mtx after diagnosis? Did you experience any joint damage after so many yrs w/o diagnosis?
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RA diagnosis - follow up
Some of my blood tests are back
Rf positive, but no inflammatory markers in my blood work. RA?
