my follow-on from "The big question for those who's pain has ever vanished for a long while...?"

[hamble99b]

I was going to add to the blog but there were so many replies!

I did once have a quiet period where I was on only paracetomol for any pains. It lasted about 11 months. - no-one suggested why.

there is hope.

sandra.

[Hidden]

I have had three to five month spells yes there is always hope x

[helixhelix]

My boxes of painkillers have a thick layer of dust on them......(not going to tempt fate any further than that!) Pollyx

[Hidden]

Glad this question is being continued Sandra - thanks. I'm struggling a bit just now to be honest. It seems its not possible to have a new puppy in a freezing cold patch with a new job, two teenagers with university applications and exams and to continue being entirely liberated from pain.

But I do still wonder if this whole concept of inflammatory arthritis isn't just a figment of my over active imagination - even today when I've woken feeling very sore and stiff with raging deep heat and swollen hands? But then I have no rheumy team to discuss the way this disease works so its perhaps unsurprising that I can neither believe that I have RA nor that I'm in drug induced remission?! Looking at your hands site really helped though! Tilda x

[hamble99b in reply to Hidden]

I often wear gloves in bed and leg warmers on my legs and arms [from wrist to shoulder]. I cant stand anything on my toes so the leg warmers cover part of my foot..

why don't you have a rheumy Tilda?

regards,

sandra.

[Hidden in reply to hamble99b]

I do have a rheumy Sandra but I have only seen him once since I was diagnosed over a year ago and won't be seeing him now until end of March at the soonest. I have no way of contacting him except through my GP. This is just a problem that affects people where I live because it's a group of islands off Scotland. It makes me feel as though he's got it wrong because most of the changes in treatments I've had to make have been carried out by my GP at the consultant's instruction from a distance.

I've got gloves on right now and I'm under the duvet and still too cold! My husband thinks I'm quite nuts because I used to be always too hot! I'm not sure whether it's the MTX or the RA or homonal changes being post meno that are responsible for being so cold a lot of the time but today it's going with raging deep heat inside me so it feels a bit flu like. It's not flu though as my head is fine!

I think RA is such a weird disease that often it is hard to believe in the symptoms so we almost feel we must be imagining them? In cancer remission is so much more clear cut whereas the term in the context of inflammatory arthritis means something completely different. And although my ESR has halved since I moved to injectable MTX and although I'm not in much pain anymore I still can't think of this as remission somehow - either it's gone away or I was wrongly diagnosed but I can't quite believe that drugs can modify a disease so efficiently by themselves? That's why I asked the question to begin with because I wanted to know whether people have felt as I have for quite long periods and then had the most horrible shock when it all came back. I don't want to become complacent I guess? Tilda xx

[agnieszka]

My RA is quite severe for most of the time but I had over one year painfree time, after tocilicizumab drip, which starte working within first few weeks. I didn't have to take any painkillers at all. Had to stop taking it as I am trying for a baby.

[swellguy]

Good luck to all, and don't want to be a downer, but I've never had any period free from pain, ok degree varies some days like a mild headache but most of the time I have constant pain from my knees and back sometimes with sharp stabbing pains. Never let it stop me though you have to learn to work through it and cope. Does stop me doing lots of things but just find different distractions. ONE THING do not let it make you depressed... I have a couple of times and it is very difficult to shake off, the way I do it is find a TV show which shows I have a good quality of life compared to some out there.

Merry Christmas and long life to all.....

[Hidden]

I am glad to read this information, as I was a bit worried, I was getting severe bilateral swelling and pain in fingers elbows hips knees and toes, so my GP has referred me to Rheumatology.

For the last few weeks things have calmed down a lot thankfully, and I wondered if I should keep my appointment, but as it seems relapses are common, and I have also developed what my GP thinks is Sjogrens Syndrome, I shall go any way.

I hope I may be lucky and not get so bad again, but now realise that it is a possibility, I was a bit worried about wasting the Rheumatologist's time, but I feel a bit more confident about going, I am always very nervous with doctors!

Best wishes to all,

cazx