4speedy

firefightersgal

I had an appointment with my new MD today.  He suspects that my eczema may be connected to my potential RA.  (IF that's what it is).  After I thought about it, I've only had trouble with eczema for about 5 years.  I'm not sure how long my hands/feet/other joints have been bothering me, but it's more than a couple of years.  The pain seems to be more frequent lately.  The initial stiffness wears off in the morning, but doing something like gripping the steering wheel on the drive to town can make my hands hurt again.  Larger joints have also been hurting more, like my knee at this moment.

They took 6 vials of blood and said that it may be a while before I get results back, as they have to send the samples to a lab out of town.  The dr said that if my tests come back with RA markers, he'll refer me on to a Rheumatologist.  If not, he'll put me on anti-inflammatory drugs (probably just ibuprofen), as he feels I have *some* form of arthritis.

4Speedy

Hi.  I'm so glad you updated--I think about you often and my SIL asks about you, as well.  I hope you get some kind of Dx quickly--it really helps with the insurance if they can list something specific they are treating for.  Now that you mention it, my BIL has patches of eczema, also.  You sound eerily similar to him.  I remember meeting him and thinking he was kind of whiny because he walked around like an old man in the morning.  I remember him always complaining about his feet--I think that was where he first noticed it.  Then he went into a flare on their honeymoon and came home in bad shape.  From there, it all moved really quickly.  His internist sent him to a rheumy.  The best rheumy in the area wouldn't see him for a month but luckily my SIL had sold medical equipment to him.  SIL called in some favors, the rheumy saw BIL the next day and BIL had his diagnosis within a very few days. 

You have probably figured out that there are dozens of kinds of autoimmune aerthitis disorders--I hope if you get a final diagnosis that it is one of the milder versions.

Also--STAY AWAY FROM THE CHAT BOARDS!!!  I've heard SIL mention this to a mutual friend who was also diagnosed with RA.  Flem tells a story about how she was newly married with a DH who was in a horrible flare and put on chemo every Thursday to supress his immune system.  She said spent every Friday as a newlywed holding her DH's head while he puked his guts up. Finally, she stumbled onto an RA board where everyone seemed to be in the same or worse shape.  She posted asking if this was really all she had to look forward to.  A very kind woman explained that chatboards are full of RA patients who are at their worst because the people who have their RA well managed are out living their lives and not talking about it online.  So don't get down about it--there are tons of people who live with it and it is no big deal.  Don't read the internet too much until you know what you are dealing with and even then, take it with a grain of salt!

 Also, make sure you tell them you are not done having children--it will make a difference as far as what drugs they prescribe.

Good luck.  Keep us updated!

firefightersgal

Thank you!  I'm glad to hear there are other people who feel the same as me.  I've been reluctant to say anything, as I don't want anyone to think that I'm a weenie.  The pain is manageable to me at this point, but I know that if it *is* something like RA and I don't do anything about it, it can get beyond what is tolerable.

 Thanks also for the tip on message boards about RA.  I'm not afraid of a Dx of RA.  I know that it is manageable if it is found early, and the progression can even be stopped.  I know I'm probably not going to end up like my great-uncle or great-great-grandmother who are/were completely crippled from it.  I also am hopeful that a Dx will help solve my IF issues.