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What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease, which means that your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation (painful swelling) in the affected parts of the body. RA mainly attacks the joints, usually many joints at once.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) | Arthritis | CDChttps://www.cdc.gov › arthritis › basics › rheumatoid-arth..
The joint damage that RA causes usually happens on both sides of the body. So, if a joint is affected in one of your arms or legs, the same joint in the other arm or leg will probably be affected, too.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and Morehttps://www.healthline.com › health › rheumatoid-arthritis
I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis in 2017. It affected my shoulders, wrists, and hands. Causing pain and inflammation to the point I couldn’t hardly bend some of my fingers. I would wake up in the morning with pain and stiffness to the point I was not able to turn my right hand palm up because my shoulder would not rotate.
RA is diagnosed through a blood test. I got the results in a couple days. When my doctor’s office called and said I had tested positive for Rheumatoid, I wasn’t surprised. I was referred to a Rheumatologist who put me on a medication called Methotrexate.
How is it treated?
Methotrexate is also used as a chemo drug in higher doses. It’s a once a week medication. I started out taking five tablets a week. It is recommended you take it when the next day is an easy day. It is known to give you a “blah” feeling and you may not feel like doing much the next day. Leucovorin is another medication that I was prescribed. It helps with the side effects of Methotrexate. I told my doctor I wasn’t having any side effects, and I later found out it was actually counter acting the Methotrexate. I didn’t really have the “blah” feeling until I was taking eight tablets a week without the Leucovorin.
Medication helps, but your joints still don’t feel normal. My doctor told me, once I was on the medication for awhile I would be able to do more physically. I did not find that to be true. Another draw back of the medication is it suppresses your immune system. Making it harder to fight off infections. If you do get sick, even with a cold, you have to stop taking it until you are feeling better.
You will have flare-ups
Everyone has heard older people say the weather affects their joints. That is definitely true with RA. Any change in weather and over using your joints can lead to a flare up. Which can require an injection and oral steroids. Even after I got to the point I didn’t need steroids anymore, my doctor always gave me a prescription for them in case of a flare up. And it is possible to have a flare up while on the steroids too.
Some days you have more pain and stiffness. But not like during a flare up. When you are having a flare up you feel worse than you did before being diagnosed. Joint pain, stiffness, and fatigue. They are horrible!
Natural ways to treat inflammation
There are natural ways you can help control the inflammation and pain. Change your diet by cutting out processed sugar, processed foods and wheat. All these things are known to cause inflammation. Berries and cherries are said to have anti-inflammatory properties. Personally, I love blueberries and blackberries. Turmeric and cinnamon help with inflammation as well. And last but not least fish oil is good for joints too.
In conclusion….
I don’t have RA anymore. You can read how I got free from it in my post Taking My Life Back!