In the Beginning

Picture it, Sicily, 1922..oh, sorry, that's the Golden Girls. Picture it, Christmas 2009. Family of eleven gathered around the dining room table, eating a wonderfully prepared meal made by different people. Now fast forward to the next day and nine out of the eleven are puking their guts up. Food poisining!! Now you may be saying, so why is she telling us this? Over the next several posts you'll see the significance of this.

About four weeks later I started getting a pain in my big toe. No big deal, I've had pains just about everywhere at one time or another. I did what I usually do, ignored it. A couple of days go by and my right index finger starts to get red at the joints and puffy, with a little pain. A week or so later the left index finger starts to hurt. Back over to the the right hand, the middle finger is starting to hurt. Now it's Feb. and I think maybe I better go see the doctor. I hate going to the doctor. They always manage to find something else wrong with you besides what you initially went in for. My family doctor, whom I really do like, tested me for gout and arthritis. Both tests came back negative. yea! So he tells me to take naproxen and Prilosec and one ten day stint of prednisone. Well with the pred I just felt great. I felt pretty good for a few months. By July I was back in his office crying because I hurt, I couldn't sleep, I was so fatigued and was tired of coping. I was having tendon spasms every night in both feet and ankles. I was wearing a knee brace and a wrist brace. He gave me pred again, Darvocet for pain and Flexeril for muscle relaxation. Side bar....Flexeril will knock you out! It did me anyway. I had to decrease the dose by half. To continue....I managed until Oct. when I just couldn't take the pain and fatigue anymore. I wasn't able to make a fist with either hand. Both of my shoulders were so effected I couldn't hardly dress myself. It took forever to just get my body out of bed. I'd moan and groan in my sleep at night because of the pain and trying to roll over was a major work. I couldn't open jars, bottles, windows or pick up my precious grandbaby, Madeline.

I went to see my doctor and he told me I needed to see a Rheumatologist. My heart sank. I didn't know anything about RA, or Lupus, or Fibromyalgia. I didn't want to start the vicious cycle of tests and more tests like I had been subjected to all my life, just to be told, "we don't know what's causing your problem". But like a good girl I went to a Rheumy an hour north of home. I couldn't get in to see him until Dec 3rd. So in the meantime, the family doctor gave me more pred and Darvocet. The Rheumy listened to my history and came to the conclusion I had Reiters Syndrome brought on by the food poisining. It normally works it's way out of your body in three to six months. I had been sick for almost twelve. He put me on pred and methotrexate and ordered bloodwork. I was to return in six weeks. A few days later I received a call from the nurse saying all my blood work was good accept that I had tested positive for RA.

Now I'm a freak for researching on the internet. I started reading all I could about RA. What I read gave me more gray hair, and believe me, I already had enough. I felt like I had received a life's sentence to misery. I had visions of fingers disjointed and misshaped. Am I not going to be able to walk or lift anything? Am I going to be tired like this all my life? I mean tired like you just can't lift a finger tired? Am I doomed to have bone crushing pain 24/7? What's this about the lungs, heart , eyes, teeth and gums, skin, all organs and connective tissue being effected by RA? AAAHHHH!!!! Say it isn't so, please! No cure! What? People really live with this stuff? How come I never knew? It's a devastating disease. And to put the cherry on the whole thing, life expectancy was shortened by at least ten years. You have got to be kidding. Ok, I told myself, calm down. Find some support group somewhere and see what others with this disease do to cope. Find out what medicines are used to improve the disease. What can I do to help things along. So I found two Arthritis Support Groups on Facebook and started to find some encouragement and hope through them.

Next, if you want to know more, I will share what I learned about methotrexate, prednisone and all the other Dmards and biologics. I will also share what I have learned about Antibiotic Protocol for treating RA. Oh, and then the supplements. You had to know that was coming. Keeping track of what you eat to see if something sets off a flare. But come to find out.... that may be a big factor in a lot of RA sufferers.

Oh this walk by faith is just starting. I hope you'll join me in it. Until next time, God bless.