My ReA experience

Just thought I'd post about my experience thus far to help people, as it seems difficult to find information about ReA owing to it being fairly rare and often Peters out before getting a diagnosis.

On March 20th 2018 I rushed cooking some hunters chicken. 4 days later I had developed full blown (sorry for the pun) gastroenteritis, which was terribly painful for 4 days and ended in a course of antibiotics. The other 'effects' hung around for a further fortnight.

On the last day of the infection my hands swelled up really painfully. The day after that I had lower back pain so bad I couldn't even roll over in bed. The following day hands swollen again.

Over the next fortnight I was only eating 2 plain bagels a day due to my the battle damage in my gut and became lactose intolerant. Hands were also a bit tender from swelling.

And then the ReA started.

Initially it was just palms, soles of feet and fingers that were swolen. I could push through with just ibuprofen. No biggie life goes on.

Then the knees got in on the game within a month of the original infection. If I was sat for an hour or more I would struggle to walk for the first 100meters (Think shuffling feet, knees frozen bent, looking like quasimodo).

My Dr didn't really know what to do or know anything about ReA. She just gave me omazerpole to stop ibuprofen giving stomach ulcers.

About 3 months after the original infection it then got bad.... the toes got in on the game properly along with the soles of the feet. Think can't walk with a heel strike and can't roll forwards on the toes. My workmates started calling me the penguin because of how I shuffled about. Ibuprofen was was still enough to make it bearable so I kept missioning on expecting improvement in a few weeks.

But this stayed ebbing and flowing or months. Sometimes I'd have a go at gardening and it would be fine. Other days I'd push myself to fill and move a wheelbarrow and id collapse crying from frustration at not being able to do simple stuff. It does your nut in to be able to think straight and feel good be physically fit at just 37 but not be able to do anything physical.

Then, woohoo, 3 pain free days. I was exstatic. Could this be the start of the end after 5 month of pain and frustration?

Nope.

At the end of August i got a rash over most of my body and my hands knees and feet swelled and hurt really bad. Using my hands and walking more that 100m were off the cards entirety and i coukd feel the ReA heading for my back. By now ibuprofen was doing nothing to help.

Cue a Saturday 'emergency' Drs appointment. Luckily the locum had seen ReA before and knew what to do. More omazerpole and this time some naproxen for swelling, 500mg 2x a day. Also blood tests.

Though the first naproxen dose made me fall asleep within 45 minutes of taking it, and I think caused a mild 2 hour long euphoric mania, it worked like magic on the ReA.

A week on and I no longer have foot pain when I wake up, and though I can feel the ReA lurking in the background, I've just spent a week in a forest retreat walking 5 plus miles a day without any issues.

The ReA is not gone, but it's definitely managed by the naproxen, and I can do almost everything again. I just take one dose of 500mg in an evening and it's enough to stave off the overnight inflammation. Currently awaiting the blood test results to see if there is a long term solution.

The lactose intolerance also seems here to stay as a reminder of the gastroenteritis. I miss breakfast cereal with propper milk the most, and sometimes risk a vanilla slice then suck up the consequences because life's not worth living without the odd vanilla slice.

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