Email a copy of 'Your Rheumatoid Arthritis Onset Stories, page 2' to a friend
Loading ...
E-Mail 'Your Rheumatoid Arthritis Onset Stories, page 2' To A Friend
Loading ... Loading ...10 thoughts on “Your Rheumatoid Arthritis Onset Stories, page 2”
Comments are closed.
Hi Irene,
I read your story and cant write too much as my husband is sleeping and telling me “no” in a halfway sleepy way, which translates as “get off the computer, kids have school tomorrow”. So I will just say this. I also smoked for a very long time in my life. However, I would always quit cold turkey and stay away for a year or so. One time for 3 years. I had noticed that I was having RA symptoms for quite sometimes but I was never dx. I quit smoking this past 6 months because my blood pressure was so high and I could not figure out why. I quit and was off of them for a total of almost 3 months. Once again I quit cold turkey. That is pretty major nicotine withdrawal. 2 1/2 months after I quit I was having major RA symptoms and was finally dx after several years. I too started smoking again 2 weeks after being dx. I dont really care too much now. I have read about RA putting women at a 3x higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death than regular women. I am “sick” of being unlucky in life, and believe me I have been unlucky. The only good in my life is my precious sons and a husband who sometimes seems to care that I am still alive. I am tired of people telling me how to live my life or that I am bad in some way when all I have tried to do all my life was be good to people. I worked my a** off for 3 years to obtain a teaching certificate and my student teaching was horrible. The pre-k teacher I taught for treated me bad and I honestly think it is because the kids showed more interest in me. I ended up with a B in student teaching and I did pass the tests and get my certificate. However I can not use her as a reference and I am sure that seems peculiar to prospective ISD’s. I have been an unemployed teacher since last May and was looking forward to subbing this spring. I was told they would have a subbing orientation before Christmas. I called to find out a date and now I am told they “may” have one in January. They may not also. Everyone is subbing because of the economy. Also they needed my fingerprints and I clearly had them done, otherwise i would not get certified. Well, they are telling me they cant find a record of them anyway. I paid $50.00 for them, if they cant find the fingerprints I will not be able to sub until next year. It seems every where I turn there is another obstacle or negative thing to deal with. So believe me, if people want to say anything about my smoking I will freak out. Good luck to tyou! :cat2:
Kate,
I truly understand your frustration. I was almost 52 when diagnosed, but can trace my symptoms back to age 21. Good luck with your treatment.
Anita
Irene, I quit smoking pretty much “cold turkey” and a few months later was diagnosed with RA. I never put the quiting and RA together. However it is a well known fact that your pain from RA is acerbated by smoking, I say this to you because I had an incident last year when I smoked for 3 days and my pain was HORRIFIC! It had never been that bad before and I quit immediately, I will never pick up another cigarette again.
Kate, I understand how frustrating it can be to try and trace your symptoms. God Bless!
UR, U ROCK! You are an inspiration to anyone dear one. May our Lord continue to Bless and keep you!
I was moved by Jordan’s story. I’ve thought about it before, but never have met anyone, or heard their story, of someone with JRA at a very young age. I know how trying my life in my late twenties and now early 30’s is, I can only imagine what they deal with at such a young age. That’s when I was care free and playing all day long. Stay strong, Jordan and mom, you’re both beautiful and an inspiration, and may you both be pain free today. Take care.
Hi Irene,
this Thursday the 6th I will be celebrating 365 days without a cigarette after 30+ years. I quit this time for good using the patch and had my first major flare up on Mothers day weekend. I had been diagnosed years before but never had major problems until last winter. I had blamed my left shoulder, wrists, hands, fingers, knees etc to a large art project I had been working on. this project put a lot of stress on me. My daughter had questioned if there was any correlation between the two, I will keep digging also for the answer but will not smoke again…. My mother lost her life to RA and suffered for numerous years too. I have had to give up almost all the things I have done all my life, the hardest one is not being able to lift my grandbabies.. trying to cope the best we can and asking for help which I have never had to do.
I wish you well and hope you will try to quit again. It is nice not smelling, coughing, and all the other terrible side effects of smoking anymore and the pride on my children’s face is worth it.
Julie
I was very interested if other RA victims also suffered from sciatica, it just seems to make sense since RA causes inflammation and sciatica is an inflammation of the sciatic nerve which runs from the buttock all the way down the leg to the bottom of the foot. I have had RA since 2009 when it was diagnosed after a wicked attack. But I’m sure it was lurking in the body long before that. I have had degeneration in my spine both cervical and lumbar for yrs. My knees always cracked when I would walk up and down stairs, the kids in school would go what was that noise, that’s just my knees. Also I have had chronic sicatica in both hips for yrs, always before a Medrol pack or steroid injection would get rid of it. Now in the left leg I have tried all that and still it aches with a burning pain that is disabling. My right leg hurt for 2 yrs before I had an xray on it to show I needed a hip replacement which I had in 2008, I’m afraid to find out I might need one on my left hip now. Has anyone else suffered with sciatica like this both before and after your RA diagnosis. Thank you
Irene, I am in agreement with you. I quit smoking 4 years ago because of lung issues and it was time. Soon after started with my hands and ankles swelling and pain. Fatigue and stiffness in the morning, I was referred to a rheumy, who proceeded because of being sero negative with a diagnosis of osteo. Cortisone injections in the hands helped but finally by xrays and 2 years into it he finally said there were erosions and it must be RA. I changed doctors and started seeing progress a year and a half ago. He treated me aggressively with sulfasalizine, plaquenil, tried Enbrel but was allergic. Put on methotrexate until I broke my ankle in October. In the meantime last summer I was with a dear friend who passed away…I don’t know why but I picked up one of her cigarettes and smoked it, I have continued to light up with restraint. My joint swelling has subsided to the point that the Rheumy said maybe we won’t have to start the metho again. I told him I thought it was because I was smoking again, of course he said there was never a good reason to smoke. I told him God put every thing here for a reason and maybe tobacco was my drug. My hands tell the story. I had a similar blow up around 7 years ago after quitting the evil cigarettes. I didn’t last three years and the flare was a short one…Just saying!
Hi Irene: I am new to this site and just diagnosed with RA, waiting to see a rheumatologist in November. I quit smoking in January 2012 and in April 2012, I got what we though was plantars faciitis in the balls and toes of my feet. I thought it was because I had gained about 8 pounds. I was sent for orthotics, and my feet got really swollen. I was sent back to family doctors for x-rays and blood work. Blood work came back and I definatley have RA. My feet and toes burn like they are on fire. I soak them in a pail of ice cold water, and I took 2 aleve a day. Wake up about 6 times and night with burning feet. Between getting up for bathroom break (diabetic also), not getting a lot of sleep, just grumpy. Last week, my right knee doubled in size, back to family dr who put me on a round of prednisone (steriods). WOW, my feet don’t hurt and the swelling in them and my kneee is totally gone. I am going to really be terrified to come of these pills, but dr said I could not stay on these indefinately. I am not sure if the quitting smoking triggered the RA, but I am definately NOT going back to that habit. I am 60 years old, still working and absolutely terrified of this RA. I am trying to educate myself by reading all that I can, but a lot of the stores make me cry. I have never been a depressed person, normally happy go lucky, but for the past couple of months seems like all i do is cry. That’s about it for now, thank you for listening
Irene! Thank you!! I smoked for 15 years and quit four months ago. I have struggled with certain auto immune like symptoms for a few years and therefore decided to turn my life and health around : eating paleo, no alcohol, relaxation, pilates regularly (blah blah blah). I was doing awesome, so it was time to quit smoking. Now … I … AM… IN… SO… MUCH…. PAIN!!!! My mother has RA, my brother has RA, annnd my GMA. I always thought with my autoimmune like symptoms that RA was laying there waiting to rear its head, but who knew that quitting smoking would be the catalyst. So alas four months of clean lungs and I am now working through a potential RA diagnosis. I am in grad school and have access to lots and lots of research literature. I have tried to find something linking quitting smoking with increase of pain, but nope nothing! There is no $ I guess in researching such things. Thanks for the story and for those that agreed with you. I knew I wasn’t crazy!
Pingback: #4 What Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis? Do early life events affect risk? - Tumbling the Stone