Question posted by Anonymous on 24 March 2011
Last updated on 20 March 2017 by Chasity helton
I just got lab work results, and it seems that I may have Rheumatoid Arthritis. Just want to know the average age of people with this condition. I don't feel as if I am in the right demographic (for lack of a better word) for this disease.
Also, anyone that has an opinion on pain relief, please help me out on this?
Thank you in advance!
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I was diagnosed when 37but went through 6 months pain and suffering before that
I was diagnosed 12 years ago when I was 13. It mainly was in my feet then, then went to my left wrist, getting so bad that now I can no longer bend it. When I got pregnant at 23 it went into remission but boy has it come back since I've had my daughter. I am in excruciating pain daily and am currently self medicating with what I can get from my aunt (tramadol, robaxin, and lyrica) until my husbands health insurance comes through dec 1st. I am on subs though so my options for pain relief for the severity of pain I have are limited...
I was diagnose with RA when I was 40 years old. Though I had systems from 29 years old. I told I believe every medication possible and was very sick. Be careful and make sure you get a good Rheumatologist.
I was 47 when I was diagnosed with RA. I've also had a triple disc cervical fusion, a double disc lumbar fusion, and degenerative disc disease. Other than that I'm hunky-dory! lol! I hope you have better luck getting your Dr to listen to you about your pain than I do. I live in Western Kentucky, and it's like pulling teeth to get relief around here! I'm sorry to hear about your diagnoses, if I can help, just holler,ok?
I was 48 when diagnosed. It started when it decided to attack my eyes Scrolitis, it was the most horrific pain I have ever suffered. I was sent to Baylor medical by my optometrists and they immediately leaned to an auto immune problem which is your white cells attack any connective tissue thinking it is foreign matter. I have been on all pain meds out there Norco, fentanyl patch and currently on OxyContin which has allowed me to have a life. So many meds wow... for RA I'm on Humira, Methotrexate & plaquinal. I would not wish this on anyone horrible disease sucks all your life out of you and leaves you with no energy (zero), feel like you have the flu achy just terrible. but the oxy has given me a life of sorts. Basically its given me some sort of quality in life, I can at least go out and play with my kid & take my wife out to dinner,.
l;fsa,jpstf
i was diagnosed with RA at age 16 it has been and still is the tuffest battle of my lifetime i used to be top of my baseball team and hocky basketball football soccer and so on since i was diagnosed i have had 3 surgeris 1st being pelvic reconstruction 2nd being bone graph in right femur and 3rd an ortharoscopy i was perscribed oxy cotton when i was getting these surgeriesi eventually dropped out of school got addicted to herion and now i am waiting to start my 30 month prison sentense i understand these were my decisions but this is a diffacult disease to defeat well if you can and for a teenager to find out that thats the major pain in his legs after 2 to 3 years of complaining its a tought thing to handle words of advice stick to you normal routines as much as possible and dont go off the deep end just because you have a gang load of pain eventually it gets better but hey then you get to hang out with god!!! right?
Hi yoyo,
I am so very sorry about your H addiction and your prison sentence.
Very sad indeed. Yes RA sux!!!
I was diagnosed at age 30, however my youngest son was diagnosed with JRA(juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) at age 2.
I started having severe pain in my shoulder when i was 18 blood tests over the years showed negivtive for RA i am now 52 and have severe pain in my hands shoulders and hips and back and now the test is postive.I knew i had it all those years but the test was always neg.My whole family had it.I also have degenerative disc diease and fibro>arthritis is a severe aching feeling in the bone and it throbs joints swell sometimes sometimes there is fluid build up you feel tired alot and in general a feeling of not feeling well.
Hi Sharon and welcome back!! I saw and responded to your new query.
I am so sorry that you were diagnosed with RA!!
Keep your chin up dear Lady for the docs will have you out of pain soon!!!
Lara
xoxo
I think I am quite different than most RA sufferers. RA hit me like a brick wall when I was 36 and very active and healthy. Within a week of first falling ill, I was in severe pain. I couldn't hardly walk, my neck was stiff, my eyes had veins that had burst so they had big red areas- the parts that weren't red were yellow instead of white, I lost my voice for about a month and couldn't sing for several months, everything was so painful. I couldn't hardly walk I couldn't brush my hair or do up buttons or the like. I couldn't shift gears on my car. I was pretty much the equivalent of an invalid. I had 6 kids to care for and felt scared and guilty. My doctor diagnosed the RA and referred me to see a specialist and place me on prednisone. When I went to the rheumatologist it was really scary because I saw people who were severely disfigured, even an amputee who had lost both legs to RA and was in a wheelchair.
I did get some relief with prednisone but not much. My new doctor weaned me off the prednisone and started me on Celebrex followed by a few other meds. After a couple of years on the meds, I wasn't in as much pain but it was still pretty bad. I could only spend 5 minutes walking and then my legs and feet would be in pain. I felt like I had aged 40 years in 2 years. My face had changed and I could see what they refer to as moon face caused from the prednisone use. I felt like I had tremors all the time. I think it was a side effect from the drugs but I'm not sure.
A friend told me that he thought that I had what he had had a few years back that he referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome.(CFS)
He gave me a book to read about it and for the first time I felt like I understood what was going on inside my body. Some kind of toxins had caused too many free radicals to get busy in my body and had been triggered by stress. It's not really my body that my immune system wanted to attack but the free radicals that had attached themselves to my own cells. My immune system was at war with my own soft tissues because of the free radicals that attached themselves to my cells and the inflammation resulted in pain and damage. The problem with the meds that we are given for RA is that they suppress the immune system instead of enhancing it to find and destroy the real problem. People don't die from RA. They die from the drugs that are prescribed to them.
I did a lot of research and found some great natural antioxidants that I started taking in quite high doses. I stopped taking all of the prescription drugs. Within 2 weeks I was pain free. I could do things I hadn't been able to do for years. I was so excited to go see my doctor and tell her about my sudden health and happiness! I had been off the meds for about a month when I went to see her. I told her that I thought I had CFS and she told me "No, you have a REAL disease!" She told me she wanted to put me on methotrexate on my next visit so she wanted me to have a tubal ligation to ensure I wouldn't get pregnant. I knew she was wrong about what she felt about my theory. I didn't go back, and I didn't get the tubal lig. she had suggested. I continued to take my natural antioxidants and continued to feel great. At 41 I found out I was pregnant which terrified me because I was afraid the extra weight would make the RA come back, but as I did some research on it, I found out that alot of people have had the disease go into remission while preganant. The pregnancy went very well, no sign of RA , easiest delivery of all my 7 kids.
I am so glad I had my late gift child. I can't imagine my life without her. I feel like I got my life back when I quit taking the drugs. I haven't had many bad days since that. Sometimes too much stress or too much activity makes it flare up a little but I take a few tylenol and take more antioxidants and it is gone in a hurry. I know that doctors want you to believe in them and the drugs because that's how they make money, but I am taking the time to tell my experience without any personal gain because I hope that somebody someday will listen to me and try some of the alternatives that are much healthier-not to mention cheaper.
Hi janilyn,
Would you be kind enough to list the anti-oxidants you are taking? I would appreciate it very much!!!
Thank you for your post, very helpful,
sweetlemon
Hi friends,
I was just sent an email stating that Momma_D had answered my question, yet tis missing, how odd! Anyone else having site problems besides me?
And thank you to Momma_D for responding to my query, just didn't get your answer dear lady.
Lara
Gosh sweetlemon, you are popular! March 24th! Thought everyone alreay answered this for you. Did you find out something new?
Nothing new Mary, I think this question just sort of hit a nerve, there sure are a lot of people with RA.
And I am NOT going on meds for it either!!!
xoxo
Lara
Sending you a new email check in about 15 minutes!
K Mary!!!
I was diagnosed at the age of 36. At that time the doctor prescribed Darvosetts. Like you i also found out through blood work,and xrays i have it now in my neck and back 10 years later! Today i take motrin 800 ,soma,capsacin creme, and methodone from previous surgery's.Having R.A. can be very painful at times of rainy weather,and dampness causing inflammation to worsen. As far as age wise ? could be family genes ,old injury's , anyone can get R.A. at any age.
I was in my late 20's when I was diagnosed with RA over 30 years ago. Along with the RA I have fibromyalgia, Sjogren's (another autoimmune disease), severe degenerative disc disease, spondylothesis, osteopenia, and Rosacea. I am on methotrexate injections weekly, Ambien, sulfasalazine, folic acid, Boniva, 5 mg. prednisone daily, Vicodin as needed (for really bad days), and calcium with magnesium and zinc. (also a cream for the Rosacea) I was on Humira injections biweekly but was recently switched to Simponi. I was seen in the ER twice in the past 30 days, once for severe vertigo and once for severe headaches. Both of which we think are a reaction to the Simponi so I am stopping that but as this is a once monthly injection and my reactions started about three weeks after my first injection and worsened after my second injection it will probably be a few weeks before the symptoms subside. In bed right now with a severe headache.
I have this headache for almost three weeks now and no pain medication is helping. Morphine helped which was administered in the ER prior to a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. Vicodin helps for a very limited time. I am hoping things improve soon. Will be calling my rheumatologist on Monday to discuss other options.
My best advice is to seek a good rheumatologist and to be active in your treatment. Only you know your body and your reactions. I have found over the years that there are good medications that work but after a few years they seem to stop working and then I need to change my medications. Gold treatment (which is no longer offered) was a miracle drug for me but I had to stop it because of severe ulceration of my throat and mouth. Bextra was another drug that worked great but it was taken on the market. Humira worked good for about two years but recently I have been having severe problems with swelling and so my rheumotologist switched me to Simponi. We discussed infusions and it looks like that will be what I will try now that I cannot use the Simponi. We discussed a new infusion, Rituxan. This will be administered by an infusion and then a second infusion two weeks later. Then a repeat of the two infusions in six months. I will let you know about my response. The treatment of RA should be taken seriously and you really need to stick to your regiment. Educate yourself and hopefully you will have a better outcome. Considering that I have had RA for over thirty years and can still live a relatively active life I consider myself fortunate. Good luck to you and keep us updated.
Hi sweetiemon RA can occur at any age, children also can suffer from this debiltating disease, there is also eczema RA which affects many body parts and can be very painful also RA is not selective in age.There are many new medicines and alternative methods that can give you relief. talk to a rheumtoligist they can give you further options on what pain approach will help make you comfortable. Their constantly coming up with new ways to treat RA, I hope you feel better. boba54
I was 10 when I was diagnosed with JRA
Which is now considered Rhematoid .
I try to manage my pain with alternative Theraphy and diet,but recently my knee has got so swollen that I need to have it drained and get cortisone injections,which are magic for 30 days... I just started Enbrel tonight and I am nervous and skeptical.I am a acupuncturist myself,so western med is not something I enter into lightly...
rheumatoid arthritis, pain, fibromyalgia
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