RA Beginning: Pain With Slightest Movement

Extreme pain with every movement of my body started me on my RA journey. I absolutely dreaded waking up in the morning because I knew the pain I was going to experience. I had no idea what was happening to me.

My first RA symptoms

I was losing weight but the pain was my biggest concern. My primary care doctor was at a loss for the reasons for my symptoms and I believe was leaning towards bone cancer as the reason.

When those tests were negative he recommended seeing a rheumatologist.

Diagnosed with RA

I had family members who were seeing a rheumatologist in Lexington Kentucky and they highly recommended him. Within a couple of weeks he confirmed I had RA.

Then began the trial and error of finding the right medications for me. After three years or so it seems I’ve found the meds that work best for me. I still have some pain most days but it’s tolerable. I would really like to know what triggered my RA.

I’ve read about other people having sudden symptoms like I experienced but no one seems to know exactly the cause. I suspect that mine was caused by a pretty significant injury I received while catching a shoplifter (complete tear of bicep tendon and rotator cuff injury requiring two surgeries) but who knows.