Tonight I'm going to talk about my journey.....
At first (around a year ago) I started noticing pain in my hands, swelling in my fingers, discomfort in my wrist. It was not often and I seriously thought I had carpal tunnel. I am an Office Manager that works on a computer ALL day taking care of benefits and payroll for my company. I would take some ibuprofen and was able to move on with my life.
As time went by, the pain become more and more frequent and intense. Then it began moving to different parts of my body. One morning I would wake up and my shoulder would be hurting (thought I slept wrong), the next day it would be my ankle, sometimes my feet, my arms, my legs, my neck, my hips, my knees, etc....the pain would move around but my hands have always been the worse. Then came the numbness...in my hands, wrists, arms, and feet. When the numbness started is when the blogging stopped.
Let me say that I am one of those people that preaches to my family to go to the Dr. (Just ask my Husband...I love you Honey) but when it is my turn I always come up with the best excuses... I have to work, I don't have time, I'll feel better tomorrow (and sometimes I did)
The truth was I was scared..... I was scared that I would become a burden to my family, I was scared of a diagnosis, I didn't want my life to change.
The day that began my journey to diagnosis was November 12, 2009. I woke at 3 AM to go to the bathroom and couldn't walk. My left knee and right ankle were both inflamed so neither leg would work. It was agonizing. I couldn't sleep all night because of the pain. I couldn't go to work and I couldn't get out of bed to take pain medication so Rudy came home at lunch to bring food and medication. He said "I'm taking you to the Dr." and my excuse was "You don't need to miss work, if I'm not better when you get off we can go to the Urgent Medical." When he got home Paige was helping me get out of the bath, I couldn't stand long enough to take a shower and Rudy had to dress me.
As bad as I was hurting, I begged Rudy to turn around and take me back home all the way to the Medical Center. Looking back I think I was having a panic attack...I was crying and told him I would refuse treatment. Now...for those of you that know me really well (and the medical drama I've been through) probably understand my fear but I will never forget what happened next....as we got to the Wendy's on Battleground I closed my eyes and began to pray. "God I trust you and know that you will not put on me more than I can handle....please take this fear from me if it is your will to do so" I immediately felt peace. I'm thankful Rudy didn't listen to my begging, my crying, my fears and take my whining butt back home.
After a long list of complaints, the Dr. referred me to a Rheumatologist, which I first saw on December 3, 2009. I had a totally different outlook with this appointment. I wanted to feel good...I was tired of hurting so I looked forward to meeting Dr. Anderson. There was no fear, God had replaced that with peace and understanding. Dr. Anderson listened to my laundry list of signs and symptoms then asked me to go to the ultrasound room. There is where he found the inflammation in my wrists and fingers he said I had some type of inflammatory arthritis. He ordered blood tests that day and started me on Prednisone (which made me feel like a million bucks).
I went back yesterday (Dec 17th) for my final diagnosis. He said "Your results are off the charts Rheumatoid Arthritis." He started me on some Methotrexate and I have to have blood tests every month for a while to keep a check on my liver.
So now starts my journey of living a life with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I'm thankful that I am able to manage the pain until they find a cure. Hopefully that will happen during my lifetime.
I'd like to hear if any of you have RA and what your experience has been.
I've been feeling great lately....good enough to blog and that's good enough for me.
