Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) - Introduce yourself and meet others

I have RA and when I have a flare my knee gets red, hot to touch and swollen.

Hi @candrgonzalez, you'll notice that I moved your message to this existing discussion group about RA. I did this so that you can easily connect with other members who have RA, like @boomerexpert @margarita514 @champ482 @kozlo52 and others.
What do you do to help manage the flares?

Heat and rest helps me the most and some Advil.

be very careful with the advil on your stomach. make sure you eat some food , then take advil, then more food. if you bury it in with the food the it has less likely effects on your stomach. have you considered CBD drops under the tongue. you can get these in vanilla flovor or orange flavor......kozlo52

Is anyone aware of the studies being done on Baking Soda and water mixture as an anti-inflammatory treatment for RA?

I am trying to stay positive and think forward in what is going on in my body. I've had several chronic issues going on in my body for years. But know I have RA. The list is long. From thyroid, type 2diabetes, Prinze Metal angina, interstitus of the bladder, fibromyalgia, abdominal adhesions, cataract surgery/ scarring, droppy eye lids x2. Just to name a few. Take a lot of meds and Vitamins. I just had a 4 hr robotic surgery for 5 hernia and adhesions surgeon rebuilt abdominal wall. Then I continued to have major pain in rib/ abdominal pain. Walking/standing would cause pain and hurts to breath . So after more test I found out I have a bulging disc that is pushing on nerves to my right side of my ribs. Because of all the blood work I was also sent to rhematolaguest had an ultrasound on my hands and diagnost with RA. So much over laps and I don't know what to think. Taking new drugs. Methotrexate, folic acid and hydroxychlor. First round this week. Any one out there have stuff like me? Now I have a lot of calcium in my blood, so now have concerns for a perathyroid tumor. I'm only 55 yrs old. Feel like I'm barfing on you with all this stuff. Wish there was a Dr. That would look at all this at the same time. I'm one person. But seen separately by many Dr. High heart rate and irregular heart beat as well. Physical therapy, chiropractic care, genetic issues and venous insufficiency in right leg and flares up at times. Just weird stuff! Any suggestions would be appreciated. Sitting on the sidelines but don't want to stay that way! Thanks for reading.

since you are on methotrexate keep tabs on your liver enzymes. i was on that for 3 weeks and it drove my liver enzymes very high. only bloodwork can tell.since you have RA what was you SED rate (0-20 is normal range)?.. god bless and good luck.......kozlo52

i have never heard of such a treatment as i have had RA for 30 years. i have been thru almost all the biologic modifiers with terrible side effects; torn retinas, kidney failure; rashes so severe that i almost lost my scrotum... i haven't been on biologic modifiers for 17 years. i control my RA with 10 mg of oxycodone and 4 mg of prednisone. my RA is still active at age 67........kozlo52

Sorry to hear that you have all these health issues. I was diagnosed with RA at age 42 (now 59)- I was started on Methotrexate for many years but I was having side effects and no improvement. Finally I found a good Rheumatologist that tried different medications (little improvement- I was in pain 24/7) and then 3 years ago he prescribed Xeljanz 5mg twice a day and finally I felt better. I still get some flares but not as often or severe (I use heat, Tylenol and some Ibuprofen when I have a flare). My daughter told me to try a gluten free diet- that is helping with my inflammation (my blood work 2 months ago showed no inflammation). I am taking the Xeljans now only once daily. Unfortunately, now I'm seeing pain management because I have damage (arthritis) to my cervical spine, lumbar spine and feet. I hope you find a medication that really helps with your RA symptoms. Good luck and God Bless you...

Good question...