Hello I am told I have RA

Thunderstorm
Thunderstorm Member Posts: 3
edited 1. Sep 2017, 14:39 in Say Hello Archive
Hello,

Just introducing myself. I have been diagnosed with RA in April this year.
I was very ill back in Jan and Feb, didn’t know what was wrong with me.
My doctor referred me to the Rheumatologist and after a 2 months wait I was seen by a consultant.
After blood tests, x rays, physical examination and a chat I was put on steroids, methotraxate and sulazine.

I don’t recognise myself anymore. How can anyone go from being happy, proactive, engaging, career orientated to being tearful, stressed, moody, in pain all the time, with no interests in anything anymore. All this in the space of 8 months!

I can not accept it and don’t want to have arthritis. Please someone tell me positive experiences, have you managed to reverse your situation? Will it go away? Please, I would love to be my normal self again. :-)

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello thunderstorm
    welcome to the forums, getting a diagnosis like rheumatoid arthritis is a huge shock to the system and I am not surprised that you are not coping with it. Sadly I cannot promise you anything as everyone is so different and how their arthritis affects them is fairly unique.

    The good news is that you have a diagnosis and a rheumatologist and a treatment plan. All these things are good as you and your rheumatologist will be able to work together to find the best treatment for you.

    Can I suggest that you take things slowly try to look forwards and take one step at a time, hard I know but we will be here to listen and support you.

    You might at this stage find it useful to dip into the section on our website about living with arthritis just so you can reassure yourself that it is not all doom and gloom and that there are lots of things you can do to help yourself too https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/living-with-arthritis.

    You can also phone our help line free on 0808 800 4050, the helpline is a free confidential service who will support you. Of course our members here are also amazing and they will be able to share their experiences with you. Let us know how you get on and remember you are not alone
    Best Wishes
    Sharon
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello, what an awful shock for you and no wonder you feel as you do. I don't think there is anything I can say at the moment to help or encourage you because my situation is very different (I am 58, in my 21st year of psoriatic arthritis and, thanks to other auto-immune issues which began at birth, have no idea what constitutes good health) but I can understand how difficult your world has suddenly become. I know that arthritis has no respect for age or gender; if it ever crossed your mind before diagnosis I'm sure you thought it was something that happened to others. Suddenly you are one of them and it ain't fair. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello Thunderstorm and welcome from another 'R.A.er'.

    It's no wonder that you are feeling so depressed. Your life has suddenly changed for the worse without your input or consent. It is true what they say that this is like a bereavement and we can't rush the grieving process for what is apparently lost.

    I write 'apparently'. It will seem all too real right now but that 'happy, proactive, engaging, career orientated' person is still there inside you though currently overwhelmed by the ' tearful, stressed, moody, in pain all the time, with no interests in anything anymore' part of you. The latter (with the possible exception of the 'in pain' bit) is due to all the upheaval and uncertainty. Once you are on a more even keel life will seem much brighter.

    Of course you don't want to have arthritis. None of us do. But there is life after diagnosis and many positive things can come from it. I was diagnosed at 15 and, retrospectively, probably first started with it at 11. That was all 56 years ago. Since diagnosis I have got a degree, married, had two children (admittedly, the latter put paid to my working life :roll: ), done lots of voluntary work and still get to fly to California every year to visit the elder son and grandson. That sort of life mightn't be quite what you fancied so here are some celebrities, all with different kinds of lives, all with RA. http://tinyurl.com/y8f6ms5r .

    You have a big advantage in being diagnosed quickly (Yes, that was quickly by arthritis standards. It can be a complex procedure for some.) and getting on the meds quickly. Most of us adapt to a certain amount of pain but, if the disease itself is being controlled, that's the really important thing.

    Please keep talking to us. We do understand – much as we'd prefer not to :wink: It's not all doom and gloom. Really.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • Rog
    Rog Member Posts: 24
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello,

    Just introducing myself. I have been diagnosed with RA in April this year.
    I was very ill back in Jan and Feb, didn’t know what was wrong with me.
    My doctor referred me to the Rheumatologist and after a 2 months wait I was seen by a consultant.
    After blood tests, x rays, physical examination and a chat I was put on steroids, methotraxate and sulazine.

    I don’t recognise myself anymore. How can anyone go from being happy, proactive, engaging, career orientated to being tearful, stressed, moody, in pain all the time, with no interests in anything anymore. All this in the space of 8 months!

    I can not accept it and don’t want to have arthritis. Please someone tell me positive experiences, have you managed to reverse your situation? Will it go away? Please, I would love to be my normal self again. :-)

    Welcome to the forum and try not to be too hard on yourself (says i who is doing the very same thing just like you) but seriously we cant beat ourselves up about it, take each day as it comes, good or the bad and keep at it. Should really take some of my own advice here too lol