Good to be here. I am just two days since learning my blood test came back as RA sero positive. So its all a bit new right now. I am lucky that my GP who has known me for some 14 years specialises in Rheumatology, so he recognised my symptoms quite quickly and we got Xrays and blood tests done quite quickly. I am now taking 7.5mg Prednisolone daily and Cocodamol for my pain until my refferal comes back. GP says I should hear within two weeks at the most.
Sooo..I thought one way to help deal with this thing would be to share as things develop. I hope you can all put up with me. Thanks for listening.
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linbin
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l love the kitten pic this is a great support site welcome x
You have a good gp. I have two in my practice with rhem expertise, the female doctor who also does any gynae stuff got me referred july 2009 but took until nov 2009 for nhs appoint and diagnosi
Nhs in my county just made local papers again on patient care suffering due to poor management . two senior consultsants approached bbc radio and local papers over poor patient care., Gp lady rheum/ gynae told me at last appoint funding has always been historically bad in my county which doesnt help me much .I complained to pals at lenghth of weight.
My recent urgent appoint on ringing mid December was feb12!!!!! luckliy I Got a cancellation appoint with registrar on jan 16th do not recommmened living anywere in the cotswolds. forest of dean or North OF BRISTOL the geography of my county health provider is complex and as mix or rural and urban, hence the funding problems?
Hehe, no worries Jo. I'm sure it will take me a while to get up to scratch with everything and why are you saying sorry? A hello is a lot to offer to a stranger! I am waiting for my referral appointment to come through so plenty of time to wade through the veritable mine of information and help here. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday now. X
Hi Linbin - welcome. I'm sure you know this already but it's actually possible to be sero-positive and not to have RA - although it is much more likely that you do if you have the symptoms. My advice would be to keep an open mind until you've seen the rheumatologist and had a diagnosis. Also be aware that Prednisolone might mask the symptoms of inflamed joints so you should discuss this with your GP once the appointment is through. I say this because I have a good GP who knew what to look for and a positve rheumatoid factor but was still not diagnosed until my second appointment, 9 months after the symptoms first started and my GP referred me. Tilda
Hi Linbin, Welcome to this site, there are a lot of helpful
and lovely people here who will help and advise you, we are all in this together, by the way i love the picture, as you can see mine is of my cat who has only one eye!
Hello and Welcome, It's really nice to know that you have a great GP like mine, My GP Diagnosed me at the being of September, and it was another 10 weeks until i saw the Rheumy to confirm the diagnoses, In all that time i was on all sorts of pain killers to help me get though the day and nights, My GP was really supportive like everyone on this site, but was annoyed of the fact that i had to wait so long, But then some people on here have waited longer, really hope you can get your diagnoses confirm as soon as possible, So that you can start the correct meds if needed and put your mine to rest knowing what is wrong with you,
I joined this site in September and have made some really great friends on here which i know you will also do, take Care and I look forward to hearing your experiences Xx
Hi Tilda. Good to meet you. Yes. I realised a sero positive doesn't necessarily mean RA, but I do have quite severe symptoms, Fingers, wrists, shoulders, feet, ankles and to a lesser extent knees. I am keeping a diary which I will take with me when my appointment with the Rheumatologist comes through. Am also noting down any questions I think of now so I remember to ask. I am keeping an open mind as you say. Take care now.
Hello shirl. Thank you for the greeting. Yes, I will be much happier once I know what is wrong. Once that happens I will have something tangible to deal with. Its the uncertainty at this stage which is hard to deal, with as I'm sure everyone knows. You take care too
Oh! nellysgran I'm so sorry! I missed your message first time around! Thank you for the greeting. Aww you cat has only one eye? Arent they amazing how they adapt? I have two rescued cats. Had them since they were three days old and 9 weeks old respectively. They are now 13 years old . The girl I found tied in a plastic bag with her dead siblings and thrown in a churchyard in winter...3 days old at most and she alone survived....she is quite the character. The boy, I ran off some teens who were using him like a football. I wouldn't swap them for anything.
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Greetings from Late bird🐦
Don't feel crap all the time do you?
Hi all having a bad day.
Wondering where this is all going. 
MY SELFISHNESS IS HURTING THE ONES I LOVE THE MOST.MATTCASS
