New diagnosis
I am 30 years old, I work full time, and have a 1 year old and a 3 year old and I was recently diagnosed with RA. I started having pain in January 2024 and it took awhile to get a diagnosis, mostly because I kept thinking the pain would eventually go away on its own. My xrays showed bony erosions in my left foot and changes in both of my knees. I can't count how many mornings I have spent crying because of how much pain I am in and how stiff my joints are. It feels like someone is pouring cement into my ankles and feet. My hands just recently started hurting. I have been on and off of prednisone, then on diclofenac, and more recently I have been taking celebrex, and just 2 weeks ago was started on plaquenil. My rheumatologist suggested the plaquenil alone because I want to have 1 more pregnancy, and we were planning that soon, but the RA has pushed that back a ways and now I don't know if another pregnancy even makes sense for me. I have read that RA can get better with pregnancy, does anyone have experience with this? I would obviously have to stop the celebrex when I get pregnant, and hopefully by then, the plaquenil is helping. My rheumatologist told me it can take 3 to 6 months for the plaquenil to work. Just looking for advice, encouragement, personal experience, etc. Thank you.
Hi
thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and concerns. I'm sorry to hear about your new diagnosis and the struggles you're currently facing. I've met a lot of woman over the years who have had successful pregnancies while treating their RA. There are actually other medications you can take while trying to conceive etc, such as biologics. I've included some resources that may be very beneficial for you to look into. Mamas Facing Forward created by Mariah Leach was created for moms, by a woman living with RA who had kids while taking RA meds. Arthritis Life is another great resource from another advocate, occupational therapist and mom. Both have been living with RA for around two decades or more like me. There are some articles below too that you may find helpful. Wishing you all the best on your journey, and hope you have some relief/more answers soon. Please feel free to reach out if you have anymore questions, concerns, or need to vent. I would also look into rheumatologists who specialize in women's health and rheumatology. I'm not sure where you are located but I have a contact at University of Chicago who has helped countless of woman get pregnant and have healthy pregnancies all the while treating their RA. Her name is Dr. Edens.
https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/women-health/pregnancy-and-ra
https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/ra-and-pregnancy
https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/the-pregnancy-chronicles-the-magic-r-word
https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/the-pregnancy-chronicles-the-magic-r-word
https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/tips-for-a-tolerable-pregnancyThank you so much for the thoughtful and informative reply. I will definitely look into these resources. As far as rheumatologists go, I am a little limited as I live in Montana. I see my rheumatologist back in 1 month so I’ll discuss future pregnancy and other med options with her more. Thank you again!
Hi
, hopefully some of the articles Effie shared are helpful. We hear you on the limited rheumatologists. There seems to be a national shortage so living in Montana might make it especially tricky to find specialists.
I am sorry to hear about your new diagnosis. While it can be helpful to get answers as to what’s causing the pain, it’s understandable to experiencing all the emotions of navigating a new diagnosis.
In addition to the pregnancy information and articles that Effie shared, I just wanted to share some articles about being newly diagnosed. Our advocate, Kat, put together a two part series about advice for the newly diagnosed that I wanted to share with you, https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/support-new-diagnosis, https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/care-management.
Please, if you’re comfortable. Keep us posted with how you’re doing, and what your doctor says at your next appointment. And please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have question, need to vent, or could use some support.
Sending you gentle hugs! — Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
Thank you for the added resources. I read both articles and definitely resonate with trying to build a support system that doesn't include my loved ones. I joined this group for that very reason. It seems sometimes like it is too much and/or too heavy to explain everything to my husband, especially with us both working full time, raising young children, etc. I appreciate your response. Seeing a notification pop up for a reply to my post definitely put a smile on my face today. Thanks again, McKinley. 
Hi McKinley (
). I happen to be the husband of someone with RA (my wife, Kelly Mack, is a contributor here). I can tell you that you are right that it is important that you develop a separate support system of people with RA, distinct from your family. I say this not because I don't want to be involved in some aspects of Kelly's RA (I'm pretty much involved in all of it), but because I see how important it is for her to have these connections to people with similar experiences and to be able bounce thoughts and ideas off of them. Also, please know that this site is here for your husband as well. Best, Richard (Team Member)
Thank you for the reply. I didn’t realize this site was also for my husband, that’s awesome. I’ll share that with him. Still working on figuring out my support system outside of family but so far this site has been very helpful. Thanks again!
