My RA Journey

[amberlee4]

I am 27 years old and this is my story.
It all started in February 2011 with a stiff neck. I thought i pulled a muscle and ignored it but it never went away. The next month it spread into my left elbow. It was so severe that I could not straighten my arm. The doctor thought I pulled a muscle doing yoga. I also remember my 2 year old son jumping on that arm the night before. After X-rays, ultrasound and MRI- the tests showed nothing was wrong. This is the moment that I knew something was awry. By June 2011 It spread to over 20 joints even affecting my Achilles tendons. After attending my grandmother’s funeral in JUne 2011 I could barely walk, feed myself, or drive. Going down stairs, washing my hair, standing for more than 5 minutes was excruiating. I was severly depressed by this point, crying for hours at a time. What kind of mother could I be if I couldn’t take care of him or myself? I got to the point where I was ready to admit myself to the hospital and make them knock me out until they could fix me. I just wanted the agony to go away. I started the year 2011 in the best shape of my life. Working out 2 hours a day, I was on top of the world. I went from the highest peak to the deepest abyss within 4 months.
My visits to the doctors were NOT encouraging. I initially thought I had Lyme disease. I don’t remember getting a tick bite but it sounded better than an autoimmune disease. I tested neg for Lyme. And was referred to a rheumatologist. He was ancient and depressing. He told me I had reactive arthritis, and methotrexate was my only option. He said I would have to be on methotrexate until the day I died. I hated that drug, and loathed taking it. I was also put on 10 mg of prednisone. Wow, what a miracle drug but I hated this too. During this time i tested slightly positive for RA. All of my pain slowly subsided and I was able to function for the rest of 2011.
I began to notice how diet affected my joints. Gluten especially. I would eat really healthy and then go on a junk food binge every couple of weeks and have severe setbacks. By December 2011, I stopped taking methotrexate, stopped seeing my rheumatologist. I became a gluten-free vegan and slowly weaned myself off prednisone. My pain was minimal but still had stiffness in all my joints. I found the Road Back Foundation and read “The New Arthirits Breakthrough”. I found an AP doctor 4 hours from my house and was able to get an appointment within 1 month.
I received X-rays of my worst joints, lots of lab work and an rx for Minocin. 100mg/ once a day. I don’t have to see my new rheumy for 4-6 months. Awesome. I started my AP therapy on Jan.18th 2012. These last few weeks have been hard. I had to start taking prednisone (2.5 mg) daily. My larger joints seem to be doing better but my small joints are way worse. My neck,thumbs, wrists and right TMJ hurt so bad. I have a lot of faith that AP therapy will put me into remission. Now I just need some patience….. 😕

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