New to RA.. feel very depressed and alone

You’re feeling a touch vulnerable at the moment but life will change for the better and you will come to accept your circumstances. Life does not end because you have arther on your back, you are so much more than an illness. If you allow yourself to give in to despondent thought than you will lose the struggle, arther is just a minor setback in your, at the moment, young life. Yes you will see the rheummy and he may treat you but you will still be the same person, diagnosis or not.

I have lived with arther for many years but I still have the same thought patterns, still love, live and enjoy life. Put some logic back in your thoughts. Arther has given me so much, I’ve not had to work for a long time, I’ve looked after my grandchildren, followed my own interests and hobbies and held my family together.

These thoughts might seem harsh to you but they do work.

its a grin, honest!

So sorry you are feel utterly miserable.

as others have said, when you have seen someone, and had all the various tests, you will soon start on medication.

i remember crying most mornings because the pain was so intense.

my dog has also been my saving grace. She is bonded to me, and won’t go out with my husband, so I have to get up to see to her.

you will get sorted, just hang in there. Good luck.

Big hugs. I'm 38 and used to be very active (in fact I ran my first marathon in April 2021). Later that year had a very swollen knee and it was very difficult to walk. I then got a diagnosis of RA and started on methotrexate. I have now been able to get back to being more active including doing run-walk and actually did my local half marathon at the end of September. This post is to hopefully give you a positive experience.

Please don't feel alone.

Speak to your GP.

Reading you post I feel like I've written myself. I was same but got support of my GP. Talking to someone helps too. Don't feel alone. I'm in alot pain and due to inflammation some days I struggle to see to help my youngest before his school. Due to severe asthma i have to be careful what medication I have . but I have support from my GP

Reading all the post helps to know we not alone

Hi Kate, for one moment there I thought I was reading my own post! In a similar position, waiting to see rheumatology but started in left knee, now in right knee, both hips, both elbows, right shoulder and have been having chest pains too which I now understand may be linked. Mine is post COVID infection and I'm 50 . My orthopaedic surgeon referred me to rheumatology after cortisone injection resolved all pain for 3 weeks (pity it didn't last longer - it was wonderful). I'll keep an eye on your posts but it would be great if we could connect and help each other along this journey. 💜

Hi Kate

I hope having a diagnosis is helpful for you rather than being stuck in limbo. Take some time off if you can whilst you adjust to the meds. You need to be kind to yourself. I’ve got my initial consultation this month so hoping for some progress . In the meantime I’m now on beta blockers which might be related but might not be too so I’m having some time off whilst I adjust to these. Have also found out my grandma had RA so seeming more likely to be that now. I need to stay calm to help myself through this. Sending big hugs and hoping the medication starts helping you soon. Stay strong - knowledge is power 💓

Hello Kate, so sorry you feel so down. When my RA first developed it was triggered by PMR, and it crippled me. Luckily we had some steroids available, so my medic husband gave me some to calm the effects while we were away on holiday. On return home, i was told it could be 12 weeks to get an appointment with RA consultant on nHs so I went to see someone privately in another city. She started me on steroids and methotrexate and monitored me until i could see a local nh RA consultant. I now have shared care managed jointly by RA team and my GP, blood tests initially every month but now every three months. I did have to be careful with eating as steroids do increase appetite but i did lose the extra weight once I finished with steroids, and they were a magic bullet in helping to control symptoms until MTX kicked in. I started on 20mg/week, then reduced to 15 after a year with no flare ups, and again down to 10mg/week a year later. Now in 4th year and mainly problem free . I have occasionally resorted to seeing the private consultant if I needed to discuss a change of dosage and also earlier this year when I had a PMR flare up and again, it was 8-10 weeks to get an appointment with NHS RA team. So my advice is, get yourself a private consultation as a one-off and get started on treatment so the RA doesn’t cause any more distress. Then the private consultant can write to your GP and to the NHS RA team, and they will take it from there, but in the meantime you are getting started on treatment. I take daily folic acid to help with energy levels, except on the day when I take methotrexate, which I take in the evening, together with cyclizine to help with nausea (I don’t get any)l started with metoclopramide for nausea but that made me depressed. Only thing I would say regarding activity is not to overdo things, find out your limits. I do pilates 3 times a week, swim for cardio and a long walk once a week, but if I exceed my comfort zone in walking i do get pains in feet. I hope you can get yourself sorted and medications on track, but don’t suffer in silence as delay in getting proper attention can exacerbate symptoms and effects of RA. I have seen this at close hand in the wife of a friend. GOOD LUCK.

Hello @Kate1701 welcome to our community and I see that you have made many connections.

I understand that you have RA and osteoarthritis and have attached some information to have a look at:

Keep posting and all the best.