Hello.

Dulcieflo

Thank you for letting me join. I am a 61 year old female. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in January this year after I was hospitalised with bilateral pneumonia. I also have Copd.. Recently I have also been showing signs of fibro myalgia. I am currently taking methotrexate and sulfasalazine and weaning off steroids. This has all been such a shock to me and am finding it difficult to come to terms with the fatigue. What a life changer😒

Poppyjane

Hello @Dulcieflo welcome to the online community,

You have been diagnosed with RA and Copd. after a bout of bilateral pneumonia and are also showing signs of fibromyalgia. You say you are in shock and are finding it difficult to come to terms with the fatigue associated with these conditions. Like many of us when we are first diagnosed you have experienced a shock and feel that your life has changed. We all go through stages of adjustment , some have likened it to a grief, whilst we reset our sights on new goals for the future and look back on life as we knew it. Some members find this more difficult than others but we are here to support you and offer information, peer support, distractions and humour.

I attach some links which I hope you will find useful

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/fibromyalgia/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2021/august/how-to-adapt-when-you-ve-been-diagnosed-with-arthritis/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2020/march/complementary-therapies-which-ones-are-right-for-you/

The online community has a wide variety of discussions and activities which you might find interesting especially the Living with Arthritis section. The Chat and News offers all sorts from gardening tips to unusual animal antics. So I hope you browse round and join in with our members and we look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Take care

Poppyjane