Thanks for the concerns everyone.
Three months ago I saw my doctor for this, he prescribed some anti-inflammatory meds and I went in for nerve conductivity tests. The tests showed normal.
Tuesday I went back and he prescribed a blood test. I found out that I tested positive for RA from a phone call on Thursday night from my doctor’s secretary and was told to find a rheumatologist. Of course I Wikipedia’d RA and was pretty floored by what I read. One third of folks with RA are no longer working after five years; half are disabled by ten years. Lifespan is shortened by 5 to 20 years. It’s very painful and life becomes all about managing the pain. It’s incurable and crippling. Women are three times as likely to get it, but men tend to get it worse. It can strike at any age. It’s not from wear and tear; it’s from the body’s immune system attacking the joints and bones for some unknown reason. That’s some pretty scary stuff.
On Friday I talked to a number of people at work who know people with RA and one co-worker who has it. The only person known by anyone who ended up in a wheelchair was someone who was overweight and never did anything about it. Our Kindergarten TA has had back and knee surgeries, but can still walk and work. My principal’s friend has had it for a decade, but it’s only in his hands. Medications have helped him greatly.
My wife set up an appointment with a rheumatologist on the 28th and one with my regular doctor Friday afternoon. My doctor said that my blood tests results were just into the RA zone, not severe. I don’t know if that means that the disease is just beginning though. He said that he has many patients with RA and none are in wheelchairs. He thought that the Wiki stats sounded pretty high and thought that most of the people who would end up in wheelchairs would be those who ignored it. We are most likely catching it early and I’m motivated to exercise, alter my diet and try meds or whatever to minimize its impact.
Right now the joint problems and pain are limited to my hands; especially my pinkies and thumbs. I have good strength, but sometimes a light duty action will send a severe jolt of pain, like a popping tendon. I also have rheumatoid nodules on some pinkie and thumb joints. A month ago I went to a RA website and took the self diagnostic test. While some things looked spot on, others really didn’t. The biggie is that a very common trait of RA is morning stiffness; people are very stiff in the morning for several minutes or hours; I don’t have that and figured RA wasn’t my problem. Everything I’ve read since has indicated that morning joint stiffness is a big issue with RA.
Within the last day, however, it’s occurred to me that while I may not have stiffness, I have a heck of a lot of back pain. It’s only in the morning and lasts for a few hours. I’ve been dealing with this for the past five years; I’ve seen doctors and chiropractors for it. They all said that I had degenerative disks. X-rays of degenerative disk damage and RA damage look very much alike to me. I now wonder if I’ve had RA for the past five years, my back was phase one and my hands are now phase two?
Although there are some drugs out there that help combat RA, many of the potential side effects are as severe or even worse.
JB73,
I feel your pain, somewhat. Best of luck to you.
LePaul,
My mother has osteoarthritis; I’m not sure heredity can span different forms of arthritis.
