Rheumatoid Arthritis Community

I' m also 27. I just got diagnosed with RA last year. Most of your symptoms sound all too familiar. Does your entire joint swell when this happens?? Do have stiffness? If you don't have stiffness then it may be more lupus than RA. RA stops you from moving completely sometimes. I had to take a semester off from nursing school because it was so out of control I kept missing clinical days. I would wake up an hour before I had to try and get my joints to move. They don't really give anything for pain, except steroids. I'm on 20mg of prednisone daily and still don't have relief all the time. Start really watching what you each too. If it's autoimmune disorder, certain foods could trigger a flare up. For me salt and tomato sauce makes me flare big time. It's a lot to handle especially when it's not well controlled. I've been getting sick and had 3 separate MRSA infections this summer. I've been off my usual medications for 4 months now, that's why my prednisone dose is high. Hang in there. Look for support groups,I have one on facebook for RA. It helps hearing from other people who know how your feeling and everyone shares what works for them-their triumphs and struggles. Good Luck!

Thank you so much , how could I find your page on facebook? I hope that this does not go on to the point I have to drop school. When i was on the steriods I felt "Better" but gained weight and acne. Not to mention the mood swings. And yes all around the joint area gets severly inflammed and hot. the stiffness is not to bad. Except for in the mornings UGH I also have a lot of popping I wake up, and my bones and joints sound like im 70 lol. When you have the flare ups Do you get fatiuged as well?

I was just diagnosed with RA and Im 27. First of all, 1 month away for an RA appointment is pretty good! The earliest I could find was 6 months. Then I called the doctor that did the RA test and he said he would do what he could. There is an Rhuemy in the same building and he told him that I needed to be seen ASAP. I was called first thing Monday morning and asked if I could come in at 3pm.

You need to go to your family doc and have the RA test done before you go to the Rhuemy otherwise he will just want to wait on the test. BUT if you go in with test results then you could quite possibly leave with medication.

My RA doc didnt perscribe pain meds, my family doc did. I have a pretty good relationship with him and he was the first person I went to when I started having the pains. He was with me from the start of the journey so he knew I had been suffering for a while. I had to sign an opoid agreement, but that was no biggie.

I have only taken one dose of MTX and the pain pills have done WONDERS for me. Seriously, wonders. I know if your having all these pains you know how great it feels for them to be reduced, even if its a little bit. I dont think the ER can give you any RA meds just because they are pretty serious medications. Its not suprising your getting antinflammatories. Im allergic to predisone so Im not getting any.

One thing to help with the pain in your hands is to wrap an ace bandage once or twice around your knuckles and wrist and put an ice pack on top then continue to keep wrrapping it. This keeps the ice in place but you can still use both your hands. I do it every single night on both knuckles/wrist and knees. I think the pharmacy thinks my husband and I are into some strange bondage with how many ice packs and ace bandages we buy. lol. Eigh... I'll let his mind wonder.