I have had Mixed Connective Tissue Disease for over 20 years. Many people with these diseases, including Lupus, etc. spend years until diagnosis--often asymptomatic as labs + subjective observations are the deal. Change your diet to non-processed/anti-inflammatory and start with daily walks in the morning. For severe joint pain, I ask the Dr to get images and a referral to PT. Go to a manual PT who is more of a sole proprietor. Mine had movements that were from yoga, pilates and isometrics. I worked until retirement and most of the time, it was possible to tough it out. Resting due to pain is not the thing to do: you will feel better with movement--