Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) - Introduce yourself and meet others

@peach414144 If this helps I will be happy I love to research and found some sites for you to look at. https://healthzone/infectious disease ,, https:www.niad.nih.gov also WebMD.com this I use a lot . My suggestion is a Gastroenterologist but see what you think these sites have a lot of information. Good luck hope this helps Linda

I was diagnosed with RA when I was 18 and my knees had swollen up, turned red and were hot. Of course that was 42 years ago. I never had another flare up that I noticed. Eventually my knees became bone on bone and have a restricted range of movement.
I have other joints with pain and my opthamologist diagnosed RA, especially in my left eye.
All these years I've never had a doctor send me to a specialist for my RA and no meds for it. I just cope and keep going. Some days are harder than others of course.
Starting last Friday I've been having what I'd call a mild flare. It started with the backs of my hands between the knuckles. This morning it's my wrists too. Not huge swelling or bright red. My neighbor said they look bruised.
I have a doctor appointment the first week of March. Is this something I need to address now? I'm not having bad pain with this--just uncomfortable.

I am so sorry that your doctors have been so negligent in taking care of you. If you have RA it is constantly doing damage to your body inch by inch. You need to be on medication to stop the slow progress. RA does not just affect your joints it also can attack your heart, lungs, and even your brain. It is not something to ignore to a later day. Sometimes we have to tell our doctors what to do...after all, they work for us just like our yard man, plumber, and car mechanic.

@pearlbaby7 yes...doesn't sound like RA...so first see a Rheumatologist not a GP...get your RA factor checked...(approx. 25% of those w/RA, including me, are factor negative, leaving 75%)...could be Lupus, or a worsening case of osteoarthritis (that's the bone-on-bone you mentioned...it's osteo not RA)

Actually, it is RA and isn't limited to my knees and eyes. I've lived with it for over 40 years but have never noticed the flares. This time isn't bad but it's affecting me. I can see my hands and wrists but not if I'm also flaring in my lungs and blood vessels. The damages to my body have been going on for two thirds of my life. One of my concerns at this point is how much more damage I can receive internally before something quits.

I may have osteoarthritis as well. No doctor has mentioned it. But I've had RA since I was a teenager, unfortunately. Even with all of my challenges I still consider myself luckier than a neighbor I had as a child. She and I were about 10 years old when they moved onto the block. Every joint in her body was damaged. Her parents said it was arthritis. It made movement awkward for her but also made her vulnerable to severe consequences if she fell. I hadn't thought of her in years but she came to mind this week. They moved away about a year later but I hope advances in medicine made her life better...

@pearlbaby7 RA is system wide, not specific to just a few joints/organs...as yours is made me question the dx...hope you regularly see a Rheumatologist and together you two are working to significantly decrease your inflammation. BTW, when I get a blood vessel flare IT HURTS...so you'd know. When my inflammation worsens, so does my bronchiectasis, which I can also feel, and the inflammation has effected my eyesight, so I think you'll know when RA impacting something

@pearlbaby7, thank you for the additional information that your rheumatoid arthritis is not limited to your knees and eyes, but rather that these are your current areas of concern. I also appreciate the comments of @bluebird6156 and @boomerexpert regarding seeing a specialist and to inquire about RA treatment options. Am I correct in understanding that you have not been seen by a rheumatologist?

It has been a couple of weeks since you posted. How are you doing now? Did you end up getting an earlier appointment with your doctor?

No. I've never been referred to a rheumatologist. My appointment with my PCP is next week. I'll ask him about it then.
I'm still swollen in my hands and wrists. It may be why I've been running a low grade fever recently.
When I was in the hospital in October my levels were almost 23 times the maximum it should be. I'll ask that they check it again when they do blood tests again next week.
Thanks for asking.

Hi all -- I'm new here so thought I would introduce myself. I live in Australia and was diagnosed with RA (and fibro) in 2016. It took a long time for me to get a diagnosis as I am sero-negative, and I apparently didn't 'fit' the classic picture. I do have joint pain in my hands and feet but have always more battled awful fatigue and muscle pain as my main symptoms. I was eventually referred to a sympathetic rheumatologist who shook her head a bit and said she thought it was 'obvious' I have RA (by then I was pretty fed up with being told "there's nothing wrong with you" so I wanted to hug her! :). Most of all I was happy to finally get a diagnosis and some treatment. I'm currently taking Methotrexate, Plaquenil, Mobic, Prednisolone and Simponi for the RA and Clonazepam and Zaldiar for the fibro-related pain. For now the drugs seem to be working and I still manage to work 4 days a week although at times I'd like nothing more than to spend the day in bed! I've found keeping moving, doing yoga, and learning mindfulness-based meditation has helped me keep active. I'd love to hear what everyone else is doing to try and stay active.