At First I Was Happy
I had been battling severe pain in my foot, shoulders and wrist for over a year. I was sent to an orthopedist who did an MRI and Xrays and could find nothing wrong, but he immobilized my wrist in a cast for six weeks. That didn't help. I was sent to a podiatrist who did surgery for a bunion. The pain in my foot was still there. I finally went to a different general practitioner who did the blood test to find out if I had RA, and the test was positive. I was initially thrilled to find out what was causing my pain. I thought it would be great - get some pills, eat well, do whatever I was told to do and all would be back to normal.
I found an excellent rheumatologist, and began a course of treatment for RA. And, although I'm doing everything I've been told to do I have suddenly realized that this is going to be my life from now on. I'm still going to hurt, I'm going to get depressed, and there will be things I can't do anymore. I'm not so thrilled as I was when I first found out.
I think one of the hardest parts of the RA diagnosis is that although you can sometimes control aspects of it, it's here to stay. I'm lucky I have a wonderful husband who goes above and beyond to make things easy for me. I have a boss who is very accommodating when I have a flare up and need to dial back a little. I appreciate stories and tips from others because I'm new at this.
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