New to rheumatoid arthritis

I really like the article about emotional wellbeing. I think to be in touch with our own feelings is important as it can then become like an early warning system that conditions are becoming worse, and knowing what to do, we can near enough pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps before it gets even more worse. My first feeling after catching arthritis was I become old overnight. I regularly check now if I am not feeling at my best.

Hey Beano, so sorry about your situation. I haven’t any magic solutions but perhaps a couple of suggestions:

1. sign up to Trash Nothing, everything on it is freely given away, include your situation in the profile.
2. You can make requests for what you want. I’d suggest requesting flexible solar panels first, as they are light, and can charge your mobility scooter. You can string many panels together to increase the amount of electricity going to charge your scooter. You would need to watch a few YouTube videos for beginners or read up, but I assure you it’s easy to learn. I cut my electricity bill in half doing this. Also if you have dual rate electricity (day rate/night rate) use cheaper night rate for those demanding appliances eg your scooter.
3. There may be food banks near you, they are often very discreet. Do sign up to Olio, which is like trash nothing, but for food. Also community food charities/meals on wheels type things. These tend to be local area specific so you’d need to do a bit of research. (Trash Nothing & Olio are apps usable anywhere, but typically the giving occurs locally).
4. Unfortunately the problem with the money is not the amount of £ you have, but it’s reduced ability to buy you what you need. Successive governments have destroyed the value of Sterling, so having more of a currency that keeps declining only temporarily delays the problem. Nobody complains about this devaluation because most don’t understand what has gone wrong with their £, and think it’s simply because everything costs more, but it’s because the £ buys less. It is less credible and desirable as a currency, and when foreign investors see it as less desirable, its value falls.The currency of countries with strong exports and market connections, efficient government use of money and not badly in debt is highly desirable, and that currency will buy you more goods. The previous govt sold off our National gold for peanuts, then kept borrowing to prop up highly paid government non-jobs, to make it look like there was high employment, but it was hocked up to the hilt, and when it could borrow no more, left a post it for the next govt saying “the money’s run out, good luck!”. The next govt destroyed any prospects of recovery by taking the UK out of the common market with our biggest trading partner, through the exit referendum and their cronies made millions selling Sterling Short, this resulted in farmers with produce rotting in the fields, small exporting businesses going bust because they can’t open up a European branch office and the customs clearance is now horrendously complex and expensive. This is of course a brief summary of why your £ does not buy what it used to be able to, why you need more of it. BTW, did you know Scotland has so much renewable electricity that they don’t know what to do with it, while England has to import electricity at a hefty price from France, because there is no big transmission grid to bring the Scottish excess production to England to lower costs. But we will have HS2, to allow people from the North to rush to the south(!). Sadly a transmission pylon has no photo op or grand opening that politicians love.

The apps above are very good as the people signed up on it are amazingly good kind and generous, so do please try. Maybe someone with a pick up truck might be able to bring you a load of solar panels, often discarded after big projects do their renewals, and end up in the council dump, but even discarded panels have over 80% capacity. They even work in winter sun! Try to learn as much as you can about solar. The sun is always there, and will never send you a bill for its services.

Hi all,

I went to the GP as I had morning stiffness and a bad shoulder, can’t use my hairdryer, problem with my knee (just above) can’t bend up and down properly, sore elbows and some problems with feet.

The GP. did a blood test and I tested positive for the RF factor but it was a low reading.

The GP told me I definately had RA, I asked him twice. I was very upset etc and waited 7 weeks for a Rheumatoloy appointment, I managed to get this so soon, as I spent a lot of time chasing.

I saw the Rheumatologist, who I thought was excellent and he spent a lot of time with me, this resulted in him telling me he couldn’t see any evidence of RA at that time and to trust him, he knows what he’s looking for. They did an ultrasound of my hands, feet and elbows. The elbows showed no signs of RA just bursitis. He said some people test positive for RA but don’t have it.

I left feeling very confused, not knowing what to think.

This appointment was at the end of April.

Since then I have now developed Reynauds. It seems quite bad as finger ends are sore.

I saw a different GP who said it could be hives, wouldn’t listen to me at all, when I said it could be connected with RA, she said you haven’t got that, so it’s muscular skeletal, she wouldn’t discuss my joints, even though I wanted to tell her the stiffness is getting worse. She opened the door for me to go in the end and I was in tears.
she gave me antihistamines for hives.

I went to see another doctor at our local hospital which we are able to do if we can’t get GP appointment, she said to throw antihistamines away and it was Reynauds.

I’m in limbo now I feel like the morning stiffness is getting worse it seems to be all over my body and my knee is getting worse and my leg below the knee can lock up when I get up.

I know a lot of you are in a lot of pain and a lot worse than me but i just feel like I’m in the early stages of RA and it’s scary that you have to wait until things get worse until you can be diagnosed.

I’ve got another GP appointment in 4 weeks but they just don’t seem to want to know now Rhuematoloy have said at that time no evidence of RA.

In addition to developing Raynauds, the worsening morning stiffness, I have also had a bad neck for about 3 weeks.

I have no swollen joints.

Just feel in limo, worried and scared really.

Thank you for your reply. It sounds like you have also had an awful time.

I can’t say my pain is unbearable, that must have been awful for you and I know lots on here are going through so much.

I just feel like things are not right with my body and the stiffness through the night is getting worse, it’s my legs, both arms and both hands. I’m trying not to curl my hands up when I go to sleep. The hands are the worst not nice.

The reynauds is not nice either, that’s if it is reynauds, all my finger ends on palm side are sore and when I do anything with my hands they go red, then I get this weird thing where the veins turn a funny blue and show through.

It just seems a coincidence that all these joint problems started round about Xmas, apart from the neck thing, which is recent, reynauds has developed.

Because the rheumatologist couldn’t see any evidence of RA in my hands and feet, he said that where is normally starts he didn’t check the other areas out.

I’m just worried and scared really feeling like what’s going to happen next.