Good news!

katat1
katat1 Bots Posts: 43
edited 28. Feb 2010, 04:24 in Living with Arthritis archive
I received a copy of the letter from the hospital to my GP following my 6 month appointment on Feb 5th with Rambo the Registrar. He described me a 'a delightful lady' so I think there is a bit of buttering up going on there! The best bit though is the second paragraph which says :

On examination today she has no swollen or tender joints. She had a DAS28 score of 2.35 which indicates disease remission. Review of her blood tests show her white cell count and liver function tests have remained stable. She is doing very well and remains in remission on the current medication so I have not changed them today.

:D:D:D:D:D

I am posting this for anyone who is in despair and at the beginning of the road in diagnosing and managing their RA, which is where I was in April 2009. I was in pain, shock and a state of high anxiety about what would happen to me now I had this disease and terrified of the medications I was being prescribed to deal with it (Methotrexate and hydroxychloraquine). After getting my head round it all and accepting that it was real, I decided the only thing I could do was to be optimistic and positive that one day I would feel better than I did at that moment. Each day I would wake up and compare myself to the day before and mentally note each improvement, however slight, which helped me remain optimistic. Each time I found that I could again do something I had had to stop doing because of the RA, such as walking to work or cycling to a hospital appointment or spending a day out and about with my grandson without ending up limping at the end of it I would rejoice at the prospect of what the next day/week would bring in terms of further improvment.

I have been supported by people on this site in so many ways and that has made a huge difference to my attitude to managing my RA and I thank you all. I hope I can offer support to others so that they too can stay strong in the face of what can seem like overwhelming despair at times and help others to feel that there is hope for better times ahead.

Wishing you all love and remission - long may it last!

Kat
xxxxxx

Comments

  • woodbon
    woodbon Member Posts: 4,969
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello Kat, :D
    I'm so glad for you, its nice to hear when people have good news, and you are right it does make people feel better about RA or the fact that they might have it, to hear such a positive story.

    I hope you remain in remission for a long, long time.
    Love Sue :D
  • wibberley
    wibberley Member Posts: 421
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Kat,

    What fantastic news! Many thanks for sharing this with us and I hope your remission is very long lasting!

    Lois x
  • page35
    page35 Member Posts: 1,081
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Lovely to here good news Kat :D
  • dorcas
    dorcas Member Posts: 3,516
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    great news Kat!
    It's wonderful that the meds have been so effective!

    as you say, hearing good news gives hope to others and gives us all a wee boost. x

    hope you continue to go from strength to strength. Irisx
  • skezier
    skezier Member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Kat,,
    Thats such good news and thanks also for the hope it gives :D Luv Cris x
  • ritwren
    ritwren Member Posts: 928
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Delighted to hear such good news, long may it continue. Thanks for sharing with us as it does give a lift to know there is light at the end of the tunnel.
    rita :)
  • valval
    valval Member Posts: 14,911
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    hi kat thanks it does sometimes seem all doom and gloom so glad to hear good news
    val
  • dolittle
    dolittle Member Posts: 240
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Kat,

    What a nice post. Thank you for that. It's an encouragement to us.
    So glad to hear you are being able to do things again - it's a terrific feeling. I played my keyboard properly for the first time in a long while yesterday and more to the point my hands don't seem to have suffered too much. I was over the moon and so was my OH. So I know how you feel.

    Stay well and remember - Rambo has probably got some sort of inferiority complex if he has to throw his weight about. I've come up with a defence .... imagine how he looks in his pyjamas while he's busy being rude to you - I'm going to try it with mine.
    Dolittle
  • katat1
    katat1 Bots Posts: 43
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    dolittle wrote:
    Hi Kat,

    What a nice post. Thank you for that. It's an encouragement to us.
    So glad to hear you are being able to do things again - it's a terrific feeling. I played my keyboard properly for the first time in a long while yesterday and more to the point my hands don't seem to have suffered too much. I was over the moon and so was my OH. So I know how you feel.

    Stay well and remember - Rambo has probably got some sort of inferiority complex if he has to throw his weight about. I've come up with a defence .... imagine how he looks in his pyjamas while he's busy being rude to you - I'm going to try it with mine.
    Dolittle

    Thanks Dolittle, for making me laugh! The thought of Rambo in his pj's made me laugh out loud and if I ever see him again I will probably remember what you said and be in fits of giggles during the consultation - he will wonder if I have lost the plot at last! :D

    I am so pleased to hear you are playing your keyboard again - that must have felt wonderful and such a boost to your confidence. I know what that must have felt like as I am an artist and to be unable to work because of painful hands was emotionally painful as well as physically painful.

    Thanks too, to everyone who has responded to my post and my one wish is that it helps to give hope to you all.

    Lots of love,

    Kat
    xxx :D

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