RA will not win !!

tanyakent

Hellooo its been a long time since my last visit but im happy to say im feeling much more positive/confident and in control of my condition.

My first rheumatology appointment

i had my first appointment last week finally to see my consultant to talk about treatments and which joints are effected etc. Mixed emotions realy i was shocked at how many of my joints are effected and how developed it actually is but i was more confident about treatment and my future living with it. Though i havnt yet started treatment i did have a steriod injection which went straight into my blood streme, they decided this would be better as so many of my joints are effected as oppsed to putting the injection into each joint. i did find they were effective (i felt like i could go run a marathon ha ha ) but it only lasted 3 days and im back on the codine and gabapentin now untill they start me on some propper treatment. a little dissapointed as its meant to last a week but hey it worked for a few days, which is at least something.

Concerns

im still slightly concerned with what treatment i will recieve beacuse as you are all aware having RA requires anti-inflamatory however i cant take these as i was on diclofenic for pver 12 months without the stomach protector causing my stomach to nearly rupture. so im not sure what else i can have?

The consultant

My consultant is so lovely he realy made me feel more positive about things. he explained that its a tough journey living with RA but that there is allot that can be done to make me more comfortable. he made me laugh actually beacuse he said Omg i could right a book on you, you have so many other health problems. its nice when you have a doctor that can make you laugh it makes you feel more relaxed. he also said bless him that he was very proud of me for not letting it beat me and not giving up on my career to be a special needs PE teacher. which made me smile.

vegetarian

Ive been told being a vegetarian has not helped my condition at all and that i should stop?

ive been vegetarian for around 10 years but beacuse of this i developed a severe B12 difficiancy mine was so low that it started to cause ireversable damage to my joints. so doctors say if id never gone vegetarian i may not have developed RA at all or at least not till later life. my B12 is becoming normal now because im on the injections for them ever 3 months but the damage it done is permament sadly. i dont plan to stop being a vegetarian but i did come to a compramise of eating oily fish.

Dave

Dave is my parter, we have been together for just over 3 years now, and he's so amazing bless him he copes so well with me and helps me when and as i need it. so i just wanted to say really that if there is anyone on here who is a partner of or friend of a person with RA its important to stay strong for them and be there when they need you. Daves my life and i wouldnt have made it this far or stayed as positive throughout this journey if it wasnt for him.

so all in all

all in all i think im feeling mentally stronger than ever even though my body is getting weaker and weaker !

All the best to you all !!
xxxx