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Hi guys and gals,
Please share with me how your RA began. Was it a slow, gradual onset or swift and overnight? What triggered it initially? How old were you when it happened? Did anyone's RA begin shortly after a pregnancy? I appreciate your stories.
Thank you!
Liz
Hey Liz……I started out with fibro-type symptoms….flu-like symptoms…fatigue and hurt all over…. Two years later my joints started hurting. I still had the fatigue but not so much the muscle pain. My hands hurt the most. All my joints hurt though and still do. At that time my inflammation markers were elevated and was diagnosed with polyinflammatory arthritis. I can't really say if it came on suddenly or gradually as I started out with the fibro-symptoms. I am gonna be tested for Lyme as I feel that all of this was caused by some infection. I am hopeful that AP is the way to go for me. My RF and CCP were both negative so they say I have seronegative RA. Oh, and my daughter was 9 when this started so it wasn't after pregnancy….although I have had swollen lymph nodes and migraines since my teens and have always felt super tired even in my 20s which I attributed to stress. So, I guess all of this has been going on for a long time. The RA symptoms though started in 2008 for me.
Hi Liz,
The main symtoms of RA started for me after the birth of my 3rd child. I initially thought it was due to sciatic nerve (looking back I realize this must have been RA). I always had lower back pain then other symptoms came along. Sore right elbow, sore and swollen knee, sore upper arms. I really am not sure how long I have had this disease but I was diagnosed April last year.
Mine was sudden onset, severe burning in my joints. I was 44 years old.
In hindsight, my knees and hands had been aching for over a year, but I chalked it up to bike riding.
I woke up one morning with my elbows on fire, and knew I was in trouble.
I was diagnosed 3 years ago at 26. It came from nowhere and spread within 6 weeks. It started as pain in the balls of my feet and moved to hips, knees, hands, neck etc! I have no idea what triggered it- i did have foot surgery 3 months prior to that… not really sure!
~KristinHey Liz….nope I haven't started it yet….I just started researching it this past week and just joined this site this past weekend. I'm gonna first ask my rheumy about starting me on it which I'm sure he wont, and then go from there. I already have the name of a doc I wanna see thanks to this great site 🙂
My RA started the first week of December 2006. I was 36 years old. Mine started in my feet and within weeks was in every joint in my body and I could hardly walk or lift my arms. I had low grade fevers and a very bad swollen lymph node in my throat which has lasted on and off for years.
I started mino in March of 2007. I don't know exactly what triggered it. 2 weeks prior to the onset, I had a flu shot and that night my shoulder joint became inflammed to the point where I couldn't sleep. It never really went away. 3 weeks prior to the onset, I had a mercury filling replaced and no precautions were taken. I swallowed a bunch of mercury chunks. A couple months prior to the onset, I had some kind of weird cellulitis infection that I got on vacation. Besides these events, I was never sick and never had a stiff joint in my life. These are the only events fairly close to the onset that I can pinpoint as maybe having anything to do with what happened to me.
I, like another member here, had foot surgery also on both feet but it was when I was 12 years old though. It was for bunions. I have no family history of anything autoimmune. The onset of my RA was 6 years after giving birth to my last child.
Hi Liz,
My mother had severe RA. It hit me like a roadtrain in July 2009. First in my right shoulder and then everyday after that it would migrate to the other shoulder, balls of feet, toes, ankles knees, wrists, hands, fingers and neck. A couple of days later I was laid up in bed for two days with fever (no joint aches). At the time, I thought it was onset of swine flu, but had no flu symptoms and after two days the fever was gone but the joint aches came back. So I don't know what that was all about! Looking back a couple of years ago I recall that sometimes I had an ache at the base of my big toe (thought at the time it may have been gout!), so I can't say for sure that this was the beginning of RA. I have had no previous illnesses (I'm 52 years old) and considered myself pretty healthy. Finally diagnosed October 2009 and started AP therapy three weeks ago. I do not know what triggered the RA, just bad luck I guess, but genetically I was susceptible.:(
Hi Liz,
Good thread. Almost 3 years ago I got very sick from what I believed to be tick bites in my garden. Had flu like sympotms and migratory pain that changes locations sometimes within minutes. Had some dizziness, severe pain in one knee and shoulder. Lyme diagnosis made and put on doxycycline for 1 month. 4 months later woke up and couldn't walk, open my hands or even zip my pants. Red hot swollen top of foot one side, ankle other side and horrible pins & needles feelings all over. Low grade fever, sores in my mouth and very sore throat. Positive for Rheumatoid factor and antiCCP. Diagnosed Rheumatoid Arhtritis with the onset being lyme disease although lyme test negative for western blot/Elisa testing. I was 51 and had no history of any joint pain or other health issues. Very healthy active life stye but was and still am in a very stressful life cycle .
Geeze last baby…whew she is 22 so I don't think any pregnancy tipped this off.. HA! We have absolutely no history of any autoimmune diseases in the family.
PattiMy adult daughter was painting her condo over Christmas about 4 years ago, no windows open as it was cold. On about the 3rd. day she noticed one knee was swollen and sore and thought she had bumped it. Over the next two days both knees, elbows, shoulders,feet,fingers, jaws ( she couldn't chew) seemingly every joint in her body was affected.
She already had mild scleroderma( 7 years, not progressing) and was going through a very stressful time in her private life. She was diagnosed with RA and took MTX for 3 months- which did reduce the inflammation ( also made her hair fall out). At 3 months her rheumy was willing to prescribe Minocin and once the dose was adjusted my daughter had amazing results – a miracle really. She is in remission now but still takes Minocin as she can't imagine ever being back in that terrible beginning place.
We don't know what caused the RA but it certainly seemed that paint fumes may have precipitated it though maybe not actually caused it….we just don't know.
Liz,
I really don't know when my RA started, I knew I had RA in 1999 when I was about 58 years old, but looking back I had many signs that I had RA. It really hit me hard in 2005 and I started all the usual Rheumatoid meds without sucess. I started AP January 2008 and I think I am almost in remmision. No pain, very little RA problem, still some Dermatomyositis problems, so I think I am maybe 90% better. You can read my story when you click on the bottom line below the medsand supplements I take. I can tell you AP works. It may be slow, but it is better than fast and then you may be back where you started. Don't wait too long, the sooner you start the better off you will be.
Eva:dude:
Eva Holloway
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