In October of 2010 I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. This is an auto immune disease where your bodies immune system attacks the joints (hence the name arthritis). There is no cure for the disease only treatment to try to stop the progression of the disease. This came as quite the shock to me and I am still learning more about RA every day.
Leading up to the diagnosis, I had three surgeries within about 8 weeks. I had neuromas in both feet and I had a stretched rotator cuff from too many years of playing and coaching volleyball. Because we were in the midst of trying to have a baby, I wanted to squeeze these surgeries in a short amount of time. All three were a success, and the feet were super easy compared to the shoulder. While I am having surgery, I am applying for jobs and maintaining a household. Well, I got a job and less that a week later, we found out we were moving. So now, I have to add moving to the long list of things going on in my life. I was experiencing some joint pain during all of this but nothing that a little Advil wouldn't help, not to mention I was so busy that I think I just didn't notice.
After a successful, move I really started to notice the joint pain and stiffness. I was doing physical therapy for my shoulder and it just was not getting any better. My physical therapist suggested having blood work done just to make sure everything was normal, then we would know if it was just my shoulder being stubborn. Having surgery before and going through physical therapy, I new it was difficult and took a lot of work, but for some reason this felt different. I had blood work done and was told to see a rheumatologist. After waiting 3 months to get in, I saw my doctor and discovered in fact that it was RA. I was shocked! I had no clue what would happen, how I would manage with joint pain everyday, or if I would ver be able to be active again.
The bad news is that there is no cure, but the good news is that there are drugs out there that can stop the progression of the disease. This means no deformed hands or feet, no knee or hip replacements. But, I will forever be at risk for heart disease. The doctor ran another series of tests so she could start me on my meds as soon as possible. So far, I have not noticed a huge difference but I am hopeful.
