I am newly diagnosed w/RA and have lots of questions!

[lori_e]

Hello,
I am new to Health Boards and to arthritis! I was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago with rheumatoid arthritis. I had a surgery on my hand to remove inflammation and the surgeon recognized it as RA. I have since been to a rheumatologist who has done lots of bloodwork and put me on Bextra (valdecoxib) 20 mg a day. She says it will probably have to be increased. I also took a 7 day dose of prednisone that helped some, but not a lot. I am really scared of steroids - and gaining weight. I have also had 3 laminectomy surgeries on my back (disk L5 S1) for a herniated disk. These surgeries were in 1998 and 2000. My back is killing me agian, I'm hoping it's the RA and not herniated again. I was also diagnosed w/degenerative joint and disk disease in my back. My hands and feet have been in so much pain for so long, I am hoping the Rhumatologist can get that pain under control. I am 34 yrs. old, and want to be active again! I hate that I can't go walking or do the things I used to do. It is so depressing. My feet and hands are very swollen. Will all this pain subside once I'm on the correct dosage of meds? Is there anything I can do to feel better? I'm not sure what questions I should ask the Dr. I would appreciate any advice!!!

[Dolphin]

Lori_e, I feel for you about not being able to walk, or lets just say, you can't walk now. I don't know anything about back discs or the spine areas. I feel that once you are properly diagnosed, your doctor will give you the best treatment they know.

All you have to do is tell her everything about yourself. I mean where the pains are, how long have you have been affected. She will ask you a lot of questions too. It is good you are going to go to a Rheumatologist. RA is nothing to play around with. Lori_e, you also might read Kelsie's post and my response, and you might also go ahead and read mine(Dolphin). Kelsie said she had some bad wrist pain. Take care. Kevin

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"If at first you don't succeed, call the HealthBoards!"

[scbagrrrl]

Lori -
I'm one of those folks that hates the side effects of the pain killers, so I got my Rheumy to refer me to a Pain Management Specialist. It helped me a lot. You might want to talk to your doc about exploring that.

Good luck!

[lori_e]

Thanks for your advice, I saw my rheumatologist agian yesterday, and she put me on Arava. It takes 4 weeks to start working. She said to take tylenol also. I'm a little scared about side effects but am willing to try anything right now. I'm hoping it helps. She said to expect a 30% improvement. I would like a lot more than that. Has anyone tried acupunture? I don't like chiropractors because of my back problems. I have been thinking about acupunture though. Also, maybe a nutrionist.
Thanks for your suggestions!
Lori