just been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis im only 23 and have a 6month old son and a single mum.finding things a little difficult as the pain is awful.now on medication methotrexate amongst other pills.i live a healthy life work in a gym,although at the min im off work!!so was shocked when i was told what i had.anyone else in the same boat as me get in touch be good to chat :)

Keep smiling

Hi Sally,

So sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with ra. Glad to see your little comment Keep Smiling, thats what you must try to do, although it will be very difficult at times. 23 is very young to be hit with this disease, but stay positive. I have had arthritis for 5 years and I am 50, so no little ones to worry about! Mind you it breaks my heart when my granddaughter comes round and I cannot get on the floor or pick her up. I wanted to look after her two days a week to help my daughter in law, but havent been able to, so she goes to her other Nanny. I have it in most of my joints now, where are you most affected at the moment? I see you are on methotrexate, are you taking anything else? If you have any other questions please ask. I am sure I can help or others on this website can. My main advice to you is to rest when you feel bad and catch up on good days (tricky with a baby, but rest when baby does). All the very best to you.

Regards Ronnie

hi ronnie

thanks for replying.i know what you mean about being positive and its real hard i try to keep smiling but if im being honest i want to scream.They cant give me a reason as to why or how i have it which baffles me.When my mum brought my son to the hospital i couldnt hold him because of the pain in my hands i was scared of dropping him.I have it in most places you can think worse in my hands,feet and knees.Dont think my boss at work understands the pain as i have been signed off work and hes not happy to say the least!!!maybe he would like a dose see how it feels haha.im on the methotrexate,folic acid,hdroxychloroquine and last but not least steroids pednisolone.so overall a pretty good cocktail each day.Having to go the hospital twice a week for my bloods the side affects are worrying.

Hi sally what test did you have for RA, I am in pain in most joints I have nodules coming on my fingers, I know I have positive ANAs and my rheumatoid antibody level is 37 the range is range (<18 U) I already have a Autoimmune Disease I have a underactive thyroid.
I am also thinking it could be Lupus??
I hope you start to feel better you a young bless ya ...Mad Maz

Hi Sally,

I am not positive all the time, so dont worry if you feel down now and then! I have been in the terrible state of wondering what the point of it all is, but then you have to get into the positive state again to snap yourself out of it, if you know what I mean. (sounds gibberish but I know what I mean!!! lol). I have taken methotrexate in the past, but side effects were not good for me. what seems to suit one person doesnt suit another. I have taken sulphasalazine, and leflunomide, and prednisolone. Was on the steroids for a year, but being in the menopausal side of life my weight seemed to pile on. I must admit, the steroids were the best thing for my arthritis (I have psoriatic arthritis in all my joints. My feet and hands and knees are the worst. You have a lovely boy to look after, so you must try to be positive, but there will be days when you cant. As for work, my boss was sympathetic for the first year, then started to make me feel as though I was a nuisance, in the second year they cut my hours down (for my benefit they said) and in the third and fourth year I felt too ill to go to work but struggled in, and nobody really understood how I was feeling. I would type and my fingers locked, I couldnt get up quickly and the drugs gave me terrible diarohea and side effects and felt ill all the time. Last year my mum was diagnosed with cancer and I burst into tears in the doctors surgery, he then made the decision for me and signed me off for 3 months. To cut a long story short, I havent gone back, and it was such a relief not to have to force myself in every day feeling so ill. Can you afford to give up if you feel really bad? It has made me feel better about myself and on certain days if I dont want to do anything I dont have to. One thing with arthritis you must rest when in a flare and not make yourself do things just because you feel you ought to. How are you feeling on the methotrexate? Sorry, rambling on, will stop.

Ronnie :)

hey.no your nor rammbling haha its normally me!!!anyhows today i have come to the conclusion that like you said in your last reply rest on the days you are bad and make up for that on your good days so....having my son who is the most wonderful thing ever i dont want him to have a unhappy mummy and would hate for him to miss out on things.so the conclusion being for now until i have been on the medication long enough to work going to go on long term sick.i will miss it like crazy but priorities change.i totally agree that having one less thing to worry about makes a whole lot a difference so the days i find it hard i dont have to dread ringing the boss to say i wont be in.hopefully the tablets work.With the methotrexate i cant believe the side effects that you can have they scare me!!the fact that i take 8tablets at once plus the steroids folic acid an the other pills i will be rattling haha.

hey

well i have had that many tests im still tryin to take it all in haha.(not that i find it funny)i was admitted into hospital where they did bone scans chest x-rays and every blood test that they do i think.when i went to see they specialist it was then that he said i had ra.So to be honest i couldnt tell you which test it was that confirmed it.my hands keep flaring up its awful.i am back in hospital tuesday so will ask and then post you a reply.so sorry i couldnt be of more help. x

Hello! I just joined today and went straight to this thread. I am 26 years old and have RA. I don't have any kids, yet, but can sympathize with you. I was a nanny and realize how hard it can be, even without RA. Once you have been diagnosed, for me that was a good first step. I went many years with the pain, not knowing what it was. Now that I see a dr who knows what he is doing and am under pretty good treatment, life seems to get better and it is easier to cope. I am here though, because sometimes people just dont understand, they can't feel the pain, and sometimes the best feeling is for someone else to understand. With a child, do you have help from someone that you can get to understand and help you when you are having hard times? Be honest with your dr. and tell them everything, because they can help!! And so can we here. If you ever need to talk, please don't hesitate.

hiya.ah thanks for that.makes a whole lot a difference when somebody can understand what your going through.feel like im feeling sorry for myself at the min and just need to snap out of it.im sure in time i will.just wish my hands and feet would stop hurting.constantly takin pain killers and sometimes takes no effect.how long did your meds take to start working for you?what are you taking?yes i have great friends and family who help out when im bad.just dont like having to depend on them,being a young single mum isnt easy at the best of times let alone now i have ra.where abouts in the states are you??take care speak soon

sally
xx

also after reading through all these threads ppl saying how much methotrexate they take i have eight pills a week.this seems alot compared to others,an dread to think the effect on my organs.

Sally, it is great that you have family to help. Don't feel like you are taking advantage of them, that's what family is there for. I took 8 methotrexate once a week along with the folic acid and arava and the enbrel. My dr said the most he ever gave someone was 12 a week. Once I started on the enbrel, I was able to stop taking the methotrexate. My dr is old fashioned and really belived in the old medicine and methotrexate has been around for a really long time. I dont remember how long it took for the medicine to start working, the first medince he put me on i was allergic to and ever since then life has kinda been a blur. The quality of life once you get on the right track is just so much better. It still is hard, the last couple of days, the weather has been rainy and that never helps. I live in Florida, which is good, because the cold for me makes things worse. Let's see, keep positive, I know it's hard. I was in college when the pain got bad and I just wanted to stay in bed. Stay positive for your baby too! I know that can be really hard. Oh, are you on any antidepressant? That really can make a defference! Stay strong!

hey ah thankyou for replying.well not been too good very sick to add to everything else.altho i must say im sick and get right back to things haha hopefully staying positive will keep me sane.plus my little boy keeps me going.ah florida yes im sure the sun will help but like you say when the cold weather starts not so good.as you can imagine its not so sunny in preston,england haha.no im not on anti d's dont really want to start on those.keep smiling

xx

Hi,
I'm 35 and test negative for RA but my rheumy is 99% positive that is what I have. (since 2003). I have two boys....3 1/2 and 9 months. Some days are terrible.....I hurt so bad picking up the baby. Evening time is the worst time of day for me. I've tried many different meds but nothing seems to work. Doc wants to put me on Methotrexate but I'm not sure about it yet......just want some relief!!!!!:confused