Heart of an Angel!

I was already a caregiver for my mother who had stage 4 breast cancer - she lived with me and my 2 daughters who were 6 and 13. I was a full time mom and dad and caregiver but also I was a caregiver in my profession.

Noticing a change in my body

I noticed that I was pulling tendons all the time in my large joints. I would miss work a couple of days. I had already been diagnosed with Hashimoto's so my doctors assumed it the reason for the tendons. But I knew better.

Everything I researched lead me to RA

Finally after 2 years I begged my doctor to test me and I came up with the RA factor. The specialist said indeed you have RA. I thought ok we are finally getting somewhere.

Starting treatment and adjusting medications

That was 2013. I was started on hydroxychloroquine. It didn't have the results I was looking for after taking them for 2 years. Now it is 2015. I started taking 2 a day and after a year of that I started feeling a lot better. I went from 160 to 130 which is my normal weight. Now it's 2016. I started having problems with thyroid again so she up my meds to 120 mg levoxyl.

Being cautious of flares

So around 2017 I was feeling fantastic but still had to be careful of some everyday chores that would still cause a flare up. So in 2019 I started swimming (I have always been active in sports) so it felt great to be doing something I loved again without suffering any flare ups.

I'm doing better now

I still have some issues but I'm doing so much better. My boyfriend said it was like he had just met me. Any questions for me and my journey so far, just ask. ?

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The RheumatoidArthritis.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

Community Poll

What flare symptom do you wish you could avoid the most?