So when did my symptoms start? After the birth of my 5th and final child in 2002, I noticed that my hands would start hurting in my knuckles, (at the attachment knuckle at the hand, not the "bendy" knuckle on the fingers) so much so, that I had a hard time picking up my baby. Sometimes as the day would go on, my wrist would start hurting, almost like I had been roller skating and fell, and caught myself on my hands, where it would put some pressure on my wrist, yet I hadn't done anything cool like that to warrant the pain.
At one point the first knuckle on my right hand got so painful and it would swell slightly for weeks at a time. I went to my primary care doctor and she referred me to a Neurologist and to an Arthritis doc.
The neurologist tested for peripheral nerve damage and couldn't detect any and recommended an MRI to check for central nerve damage. My insurance would cover all but $2000 of an MRI so I opted not to do that at that time.
I went to the Arthritis Specialist and he performed his usual tests and couldn't see any signs of any kind of arthritis so he said that I probably had Fibromyalgia.This to me, is a diagnosis that docs give when patients complain of pain and they can't really diagnose it, similar to "Irritable Bowel Syndrome"- which I feel docs will diagnose anyone who seems to have a bowel dysfunction, rather than go the exta mile and check for allergies, or polyps, or even cancer.
I knew that it wasn't Fibromyalgia as the symptoms I read about were different than mine.
But for SEVEN years I dealt with it and called it "my mysterious disease". I added in some joint supplements and tried to eat foods that I found were good for over-all joint health.
After trying several "gym" exercises, I joined up with a local adult ballet class in 2009 and was thoroughly enjoying dancing again! With dance, I do not look at the clock except when the instructor tells us the class is over, but with every other form of exercise, I am dreading the movement, and watching the clock until I am done!
My sister was graduating from college and having her grad ceremony in Vegas, so me and my family made the trip to Vegas to see my sis and her hubby graduate. I walked everywhere in the June heat. mostly in flip flops and on the way home, noticed my left ankle was swollen.
I figured it was due to the heat and elevated it for most of the drive home. The only other time my ankles had swelled, was when I was pregnant, so knowing PREGNANCY wasn't possibly the deal, I figured I had over-walked in some non-supportive shoes for too long in too much heat. But the swelling didn't go down the next day, week, or even two weeks!
I was getting ready to travel to Dallas and thought I should at least go see if I had broken it perhaps, or what else might be wrong?
After getting x-rays, the regular doc said I needed an MRI and also wanted to run blood tests. The MRI showed a torn tendon in my left ankle, and the blood work showed that they had finally caught my Rheumatoid factor elevated, meaning I could now schedule an appointment with the Rheumatologist (they won't even schedule you unless your blood work shows elevated factors) and the appointment was almost 4 months out! Bleh! (and we wanted Universal health care coverage?!!! NO WAY)
The day came and I finally met the Rheumatologist. I was impressed with his office having a lab in house- but I soon learned why, and soon learned that this new chapter in my life, while now official, was not looking promising!
He officially diagnosed me with Rheumatoid Arthritis, drew more blood to check Vit D levels, and some other things he felt were necessary, then gave me a prescription cocktail of Vitamin D, Methotrexate, and Plaquinil. I asked what these two prescriptions were- he explained that the Methotrexate was an oral chemo-therapy drug- used to calm my over-active immune system. And Plaquinil was a drug used to get drug addicts off of their addictive drug ( I think he said Cocaine or something like that?) and that it would help to block signals to my immune system that there were foreign bodies in my joints and tendon sheaths so that it would not attack my healthy tissues. I questioned the side affects and was told that my hair could fall out, I would be more susceptible to disease, I needed to get my eyes checked every 4 months or so for retinopathy, also my liver and kidneys would need to be checked on a regular basis. This didn't sound too fun for me. When I got out to my car, I said a prayer, and got an answer to call my Dad immediately and share with him what I had been given. He told me not to fill the prescriptions and to look for alternative treatment as this was an auto-immune problem. I had asked the doctor about just fixing my immune system, rather than trying to shut it down, and the doctor sorta chuckled at my apparent "ignorance" about this disease, and told me the goal was to keep me out of a wheel-chair, and that today's amazing drugs could help me achieve that. My Dad and I believe the immune system can be fixed, and that's what U set out to do....
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