Anyone here with RA?

[peachdragon]

What were your first signs and symptoms?  I'm starting to think I have it.  Or something else is going on with me :-(.

I'm 38, and my left hip joint has been really weak and painful for a few months, and then my right hip started up shortly thereafter, but not as bad.  Today my fingers ache, and I can barely open jars or grip things - for the last few weeks. My knuckles look swollen (I think, but it's hard to be certain).  I also feel like just lying on the couch and sleeping instead of doing anything productive.

I have a doctor appointment on Thursday to get a blood test.  I want to know if any RA sufferers had similar signals or symptoms.

[Deleted]

I think razzles, peachykate?

I'm sorry

I hope you are able to easily find some answers

[Amy]

I do, but have had it since age 2 so I'm not much help with onset symptoms. Just wanted to tell you that if it is RA, there are tons of amazing medications out there! Hope you get it figured out soon

[luckystar2]

I'm a Lurker but thought I'd chime in.

I started with knee swelling then feet and fingers. I also had trouble opening jars, etc. I didn't have tons of pain but Moreso stiffness from the swelling. I had a bunch of tests that didn't really show anything. Went on prednisone and ended up pretty much not being able to walk because the knee swelling got so bad. That's when I got sent to a rheumatologist.

My rheum is great and treats by my symptoms. I was negative for rheumatoid factor but from what I read that is common especially if tested early on. Right now my diagnosis is inflammatory arthritis. But we are not sure the source. Could be RA but he does look at a lot of vitamin deficiencies, etc. I take plaquenil along with vit d and c (was low in those). Plaquenil helped. I was on steroids at a low dose for quite awhile but finally got off them.

There are lots of things it could be. Just a passing virus, Epstein Barr, parvovirus,vitamin deficiencies, Lyme, etc. I was tested for a ton of things. the first step was to see my Pcp for blood work. If there's enough swelling they may start you on a steroid taper. Hopefully that's all you might need!

[peachdragon]

thanks for the input! I hope we can get to the bottom of this soon. I feel I'm too young to be so stiff. My mom suggested I try a chiro first, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

[Amy]

Chiming in that I also test negative for the Rheum factor a lot. When I was a kid and trying to get a diagnosis, it didn't show up until we had been to Drs all over. One finally decided to run it again and it showed up. So just know if you don't test positive, don't give up on finding an answer, might still be RA.

[tripleshot]

Ask for an ANA blood test, autonuclear antibody. Mine was really high and it turns out I have a rare autoimmune disease in the arthritis family. My first symptoms were pain in my knees and swollen hands, unable to grip closed.

[peachykate]

I don't, I have osteoarthritis in my low back, hips, hands, and feet plus mild fibromyalgia but they still test me for RA every year.

I've been having similar issues with my hands and I use Voltaren gel. It's wonderful, ask for it.

Are you stiffer in the morning or is it an all day thing?

[razzles]

My current rheum thinks that it is RA. My symptoms started becoming worse after a foot surgery so a few months after I thought the soreness should have at least started fading I went to my general doctor. I suspect that I have actually had it longer than the diagnosis has been given to me. I have had three foot surgeries since I was 19 and had problems with my hand (said to be carpal tunnel) as early as 15 years old. My pain started in my hands and then moved into my feet. After my surgery my hip started aching and now it is both of them. I also test negative for the rheumatoid factor but my "baseline" x-rays are showing signs where I could start to have problems.

I completely understand being too young to feel this stiff and sore. I just turned 26 and I know I am too young to have days where I can't do much of anything. Medicines can help I just haven't found the right cocktail yet. If you have any questions I can try answering them even though I am still new to all of this.

[Ace]

I'm not diagnosed but it is suspected. I was originally diagnosed with osteoarthritis at 19. 3 years and a knee surgery later and it is worse than ever. I have awful pain in my knees, hands, and back almost constantly.

[peachdragon]

thanks everyone for the information!

It isn't worse in the morning, it's all the time, but only if I'm moving or trying to stretch. If I'm sitting still, I'm ok. If I try to sit cross legged, it's nearly impossible.

My feet and ankles hurt right when I get up, but they're fine after about 15 steps.

I'll definitely ask the doc to look at all of these possibilities. I wonder about Lyme. I don't think I've ever been bitten... I haven't had brain fog, headaches, or constant exhaustion, although I do feel like doing nothing when I am in pain.

[pretzel]

People who say "you're too young to..." be sick have never heard of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. You're never too young to be sick, so just let that one go by.

I don't have RA, but I have a similar autoimmune disease which moved in with nasty symptoms when I was about 35 years old. I had increasingly severe joint problems leading to successive surgeries until I got my butt to a rheumatologist.

I'm now on remicade, plaquenil, pt, and painkillers which keep things manageable. I'm happy to report, no more surgeries and daily mobility. My best advice is to choose your battles.. do NOT allow the healthcare machine to blow you off. Be your own advocate and if you are not getting the care you need, go ahead and ask for more. You may not get it in a timely fashion, but do demand that you receive adequate care.

PM me if you like.

Hugs.

[4speedy]

My DH was diagnosed with it 2 weeks after we got home from our honeymoon. He was 35. the whole time we dated, I remember him complaining about his hips. Then it moved on to his feet. it mostly just bothered him first thing in the morning.

We got married on an island and I remember DH walking back to our hotel barefoot after the wedding because his feet hurt so bad. Then we went on our honeymoon. We were tired the first couple of days so we pretty much laid around. After a few days, I wanted to get out and do things but DH was just exhausted through the whole trip. Shortly after we got home from our trip, he was in a lot of pain through out the day. As a matter of fact, he was barely able to lift his arms in the morning to get dressed. So he saw his primary who suspected RA. He was referred to a Rheumy who couldn't see him for 6 weeks. I called and begged the office manager to get him in sooner. it helped that I was a medical device sales rep and had done some favors for this particular practice when products were on back order. So DH went in the same day and the doctor saw him on his lunch hour. DH was going into his first rheumatic flare. He had all the classic symptoms and pretty much every test they ran indicated RA. His diagnosis was pretty easy, compared to many people.

DH started out on steroids, plaquinil (I can't remember how to spell that one), and methotrexate. I'll be honest, that was a pretty miserable time. The medication made DH feel pretty bad. Fortunately for DH, we intended to have kids pretty quickly due to our age. methotrexate can't be prescribed for people who are TTC so DH was moved pretty quickly to Humira and a few years later Enbril. he's been on Enbril for about the last 6 years or so, We are now about 12 years post diagnosis and the RA doesn't give him much problem any more. he's not in remission but it is well managed so there is no pain or effect on daily living from the RA. DH does have a another autoimmune diseases, which give him more problems than the RA. The Rheumy says it is not related to the RA, it is just something "else" for DH to deal with.