RA management

Its best ot assume that you've got it for life. Some people are lucky and it disappears as mysteriously as it arrived. Others have flare ups occasionally and are fine between the flares but these people are the exception.

Managing it means lots of experimentation. Your doctor will try different drugs in different combinations to get the right mix for you. This may take some time and you'll find out what doesn't work by how much pain you're in. You need to experiment with diet and find out what you're allergic to. Some foods or allergies can stir up your RA. Most RA sufferers try alternative treatments of some sort. Again, what works for one person doesnt work for another, so experiment until you find what works for you.

You may need to change your job (high stress jobs are really bad!) or get a smaller easier to manage home. But all this takes time to work through. This is what it meant for me;

Early retirement - I'm a high school special needs teacher. STRESS!!!!

New hobby - bonsai trees instead of knitting and playing the piano a lot. Got to avoid those repetative movements!!

No more long haul flights or distance travel by car.

No more lawn because pushing the mower hurts my shoulders and wrists. Now have a low maintenance 'wild look' garden.

Getting a home help once a week for wrist and shoulder jobs - mopping and vacuuming for floors.

Getting more sleep and rest generally.

Not losing my temper - if I do, a flare up follows within hours.

Avoiding hens' eggs and the whey of cows' milk. I'm allergic to one of the proteins in them.

Getting some gadgets - best one gets the lids off jars. Wouldn't be without the wrist splint. It stops me from getting carpal tunnel syndrome.

I hope that gives you some idea of what managing RA involves. Its trial and error until you get to the point where you can enjoy your life despite having RA.

 

Hi,

I was diagnosed 18 months ago but I suspect I've had it for a while before then, it was a slow build up. By the time I was diagnosed the pain was terrible and I couldn't walk, cycle or even sleep. The fatigue was awful too. 

For me I had to cut down on work after a couple of months off, and following a consultation with a nuero-immunologist (natural health route) I went on a strict diet. No gluten or grains, no dairy/legumes, no junk or sugar. Lots of veg, eggs, coconut & olive oil. Also a number of nutritional supplements chosen after results of various tests. 

The results have been impressive. I'm now almost completely pain free, the inflammation is right down. I can now walk, cycle & do some yoga. I'm back at work full time and loving it. I'm so glad I refused the methotrexate as for me I think this would have been a downward spiral. 

I do still need to use a special tool to open jars and I don't play the accordion which I used to love. And I avoid stress, get to bed before 10 and have a hot bath with Epsom salts every evening. Life has changed a lot, but my quality of life is good now. 

Good luck, I'm sure it's different for everyone.