Health is Wealth - Living with RA

What is RA?  Click RA and it will take you to a link to read all there is to know.  I was diagnosed in my late thirties.  I got three local opinions and went to Penn Medicine for one last "official" opinion.  All 4 concluded - Rheumatoid Arthritis.  My brother gets heated when someone says oh, I have arthritis.  His wife has RA as well and he has seen firsthand how painful it can be.  I think people just try to relate so I never correct them when they say oh yeah, I have arthritis too.  I remember the day my body was thrown into overdrive and I believe that is when it all started.  I was in a truck that was driven by someone who normally didn't drive the truck.  I was in the back seat.  She thought she had the truck in drive but it was in reverse. She gave the truck a lot of gas and my body slammed against the front seat.  I was not prepared so I didn't try to block or brace for the impact.  Shortly after that, I could not lift my arms and I was achy all over.  I have shared my theory with the doctors and they politely disagree but up until that point I have not had body aches that I could recall.

RA is diagnosed by bloodwork and by the way your joints look.  When I am in a flare my joints are hot to the touch, red, and sometimes swollen. I can only describe the cramping as like a continual charley horse. RA is classified as an Autoimmune disease, which is where the body's immune system attacks healthy cells.  In my case my immune system attacks my joints, Lupus is a disease where the immune system, attacks its own tissue, MS is a disease where the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves. There are so many diseases related to the immune system attacking a certain area in the body and so many of us suffer in silence.                     

I have tried so many natural remedies and concoctions. I have tried EVERYTHING!  When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING!  The thing that works for me is a weekly shot called Enbrel.  To be honest, I do not like taking the shot and against my doctor's orders, I don't stay on it like I should due to the potential side effects.  I am currently taking it and it is working so for the time being I will continue to take it.  You have to do what is best for you and what works.  Don't feel guilty for doing what is best for YOU!

Now, one of the bad things about being on an immunosuppressant drug is that it depletes your immune system.  So the past few weeks I have been struggling to fight what started out as simple allergies and turned into an upper respiratory infection, sinus infection, and a bit of fluid on the lung.  This has been the worst I have felt in a very long time. Your body just feels exhausted.  I still have a cough and I still feel tired but I can tell it is starting to clear.  Thank God! 

One thing that I can tell you with most Autoimmune sufferers is that we get used to the pain and discomfort. It becomes commonplace and just a way of life.  Some days you feel great, some days are good, some days we just push through and those days where we can't fight anymore, we rest.  With my RA it is very unpredictable. I can go a very long time without a symptom and then BAM - it all comes at once. 

One of the impacts that RA has had on me is bone deterioration in my right foot.  It is tolerable and it is being monitored by X-rays.  The other impact is that I am in the early stages of cataracts.  I will need surgery at some point.  There are 50 million of us in the US suffering from one or more autoimmune diseases, 50 million!  That blows my mind!  If you are one of them, I feel your pain, your struggles, most of them silent, I am sure.  Take care of yourself!  Advocate for your health.  If something feels off tell your doctor.  Enjoy good health while you have it!  It is EVERYTHING! Be BOLD!!!