Reactive arthritis new diagnosis help

Alessia

Hello lovely community.

My name is Alessia and I am a 35 y.o. Italian living in Scotland. Since February this year, I have been struggling with symptoms of inflammatory arthritis in my feet, ankles and knees. I went from being an active, busy and happy woman to being barely able to walk. Once I finally saw a rheumatologist, they told me this could be reactive arthritis in response to a COVID-19 infection I had in January. However, now almost 5 months in, my symptoms have improved, but are still very much there, even if I have been taking prednisone orally for almost two months. The doctor has also started me on the Sulfasalazine, but so far (almost a month in) I haven't noticed massive effects. Yes, I have way less fatigue, but my legs are still very weak, and I struggle to walk/stand for more than half an hour at a time. I am worried that this is not reactive arthritis and that it won't leave me alone!

Because of this, my mood is getting really low as I keep cancelling plans and become more and more isolated. I just don't feel like myself and I am worried that it will be like this forever. I have a loving partner who is helping me a lot, but I feel so sorry for him as I am always either in pain or anxious… it's very difficult for me to break this cycle because every time I try to have a 'normal' day my swelling/pain flares up. This makes me feel like I am a 'bad patient' who doesn't respond well to treatment, possibly because of this underlying anxiety.

Any advice and reassurance are much appreciated. I think I need to hear that eventually it's possible to live a full life!

MaryL44

Hello @Alessia  and welcome to the Community. We are a friendly and supportive group and I hope that will be your experience as well. I'm sorry to hear of your struggles. I know how hard it is but the medications you mention do often take some time to kick in so the situation may improve. Our members will have had experience and may be able to share that with you.

I notice that you have repeated your post a few times. I have deleted the duplicates and amended the title of your post so that it is clearer to our members who may have some advice for you.

Our website is a mine of information so do look at it. You might be particularly interested in:

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

Please keep posting now you are here and let us know how you are getting on.

Best wishes

Mary