I am 26 yo, just got a call back from the dr about a blood test i took few days ago. i have some joint pains for years now which i suspect were either types related to rheumatoid and finally went to the orthopaedics (i'm not sure if there is rheumatologist here in my small town). I was told to do some blood test, after few days the dr called saying there were no markers to tell i have the 2 common type of rheumatoid, but there were signs of inflammatory, possibly another type of rheumatism that is less common. I should do another more in depth test later on, but for now to try finish the medi ..read more

Hi, 26F here! For context, here's a timeline of the past 2 months. -Mid-February: unusual physical/muscle weakness (immediately noticeable as I am/was a frequent gym goer), severe fatigue, and the sense that my body is giving out -- couldn't pinpoint it, but had to put a lot of mental effort into trying to comfortably move, yet everything felt weirdly "off." -Late February: neck stiffness/difficulty with my posture; x-ray shows mild cervical and lumbar disc degeneration + lumbar arthropathy, which matches up as I've had some lower back pain since last yr. -Very early March: alternating knee p ..read more

Hi all! I don't have anywhere else to put this, but I am so beyond frustrated! I recently moved to CO to be my grandmother's full time caretaker. Because of this I am on Medicaid, and finding a rheumatologist that's takes medicaid AND is accepting new patients has been a NIGHTMARE. I have RA, was diagnosed 4 years ago or so. I am very well controlled on 3 tabs of methotrexate, but I have not been able to get my meds for 6 moths. My previous rheumatologist won't fill prescriptions without blood tests (which I totally underatand) but CO won't cover out of state prescriptions or orders. Everythi ..read more

Recently diagnosed with Seronegative RA and waiting on meds to kick in. I went to a physical therapist once, after being diagnosed, and she was basically like yeah, sucks to have RA, can't really help you with that and discharged me. I'm thinking about trying again with another PT. I'm struggling to walk some days because of pain in my feet/ankles/knees/hips. Has anyone had positive experiences with physical therapy? How was it helpful? submitted by /u/r_d_ok [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

All I can find anywhere on the internet is that it is. No discussion of why. And no discussion of if the obstruction is intermittent. If you have a current obstruction you'd be in the hospital anyway, so they'd be stopping any immune suppressants. Anyone know any data or had this conversation with your dr? I'm looking for excuses not to take it, mostly because I hate nausea so fucking much ? submitted by /u/Funcompliance [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

So I went and had blood work done and everything came back normal except for low vitamin d. My joints are huge in my fingers and some days I can't even hardly walk because my knees hurt so bad. If I stay moving all day everything seems to loosen up but if I sit down for just 15 minutes, all my joints turn to concrete. What do you guys think my next step should be? submitted by /u/Frequent-Scallion-91 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Hi! 27, based in the UK. RA is present in my direct family, with my late grandma having it. As a teenager, I was diagnosed with raynaud’s syndrome, but this winter has been especially hard. My knuckles, wrists, knees and toe joints have been swelling and painful, to the point where I can’t get up the stairs. Other symptoms like loosing sensation in my left foot, my fingers curling and resting in odd positions, morning stiffness. Had bloods done and my rheumatoid factor was 43.9. I also tested positive for ENA and ANA antibodies. Unfortunately the news came through today that Rheumatology have ..read more

Hi all! I turn 27 this June and was seronegative for RH Factor. The good news is that my RH Factor wasn't very high but the pain all over every joint in my body has been excruciating. There's swelling on every joint from shoulders to toes and these smaller flesh colored bumps have shown up underneath where the joints have become swollen. My GP believes I had a flare or it's just polymyalgia rheumatica. Is that normal when RA starts or does that happen after a while of having it? These symptoms happened pretty suddenly. What started as wrist or knee pain 2.5 weeks ago has become widespread an ..read more

So I'm 24F, I was diagnosed 3-4 years ago. But I believe I had it so much earlier, but no doctors were able to see what it is, so I kind of self-diagnosed and went to see a rheumatologist. My fingers are starting to show signs of distortion, also my spine, and somehow medicine doesn't help. Tried MTX, biological solutions, etc. But never helped, they had more side-effects than effects. And I'm 24, I can't help but think about my 30s, 40s, dear lord, 50s. I feel like a burden to myself, my family and my partner. (They are fine, but problem is my psychology.) So how do you cope? What do you rec ..read more

Im pretty excited but also pretty nervous . This will be the first time I will be seeing a rheumatologist and I have a lot of questions , but I don’t want to bombard him with loads of questions. How did it go on your first appointment? I don’t even know what I’m gonna say but I guess I’ll spend the rest of the day thinking it over lol. What can I expect when In the appointment? I am in the uk btw using NHS. submitted by /u/QuantumPunisher [visit reddit] [comments ..read more