The latest on my RA
/
I had an appointment with my rheumatologist on Monday, and - before I dive into the update - I first want to say that we are so blessed with a knowledgeable doctor who really takes time to explain results and treatment options and answer any questions we have. It is such a comfort!
As I posted before, I do have rheumatoid arthritis. My MRI showed a lot of joint swelling consistent with RA and some bone deterioration at those joints. Basically RA is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system, which is designed by our Creator to fight off bad stuff in our bodies, starts attacking joint tissue, which then swells - thus the inflammation and pain - and can then - due to the friction between bones and swollen joint tissue - can wear away at the bones in those joints. RA can look very different from person to person, so it's hard to know what the progression of my disease will be. God has brought two sweet women into my life who have gone this road before me, one who was diagnosed with RA ten years ago (Mary) and another diagnosed seven years ago (Nicole). The way I met these two ladies is so "coincidental" that God's fingerprints are all over it! Read below, and you'll understand what I mean (and why I don't believe in coincidences being accidents!):
Without going into much detail for now, we have determined a course of treatment for the time being, and we have no doubts that we've made the right choice. Praise God for answering that prayer, and thank you to those of you who had been praying for that on our behalf! I'll go back to see the rheumatologist every three months, so my next appointment is in late October (two days after Jenelle's due date, so if you're reading this and willing to babysit for me during the appointment, let me know since I'm thinking that Jenelle won't be available to do so!). Please pray that it will be unnecessary for me to see Dr. T any sooner than that scheduled appointment, since the only thing that would make us schedule an earlier appointment would be an increase in pain, swelling, and/or stiffness in my joints.
Keeping in the spirit of my last post, a lot has changed in a year. A year ago I was a little tired, but just attributed it to being a new mom. Since then I've been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and I've had wrist surgery. I didn't expect my health to change so much in the past year! Even though I like to plan everything out, I'm glad that I had no idea how much would change because it would have been tempting to worry about tomorrow if I had known a year ago what my tomorrows would hold!
I'll close with a couple pictures like Jocelyn's then and now post. Both of these are "now" pictures of what my left thumb (without arthritis in it) and right thumb (with arthritis) look like; I don't have any "then" pictures to share since I didn't used to go running around taking pictures of my thumbs! (I still don't, actually; these wouldn't have been possible without Lee's assistance!) While you'll notice inflammation in the pictures, it's actually much better - about 50% less inflammation - than it was two weeks ago (which may make it a little hard to see what I'm talking about). Please pray that trend will continue!
My left thumb is fine; my right thumb is inflamed (and a little red, but that's not showing in the picture) at the base of the thumb. When I held my hands like they are below, there used to be a mostly straight line from thumbnail to wrist (like there is with my left hand) and the bump at the bottom of my right thumb just above the bottom of the picture wasn't there.
Below you can see the same thing at the base of my thumbs, plus you can notice that the muscles in the palm of my right hand has atrophied somewhat (thus the area below the joint between my thumb and hand looking flat on the right and rounded on the left) since I've not been able to do as much with my right hand ever since the RA kicked in full-force.
As I posted before, I do have rheumatoid arthritis. My MRI showed a lot of joint swelling consistent with RA and some bone deterioration at those joints. Basically RA is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system, which is designed by our Creator to fight off bad stuff in our bodies, starts attacking joint tissue, which then swells - thus the inflammation and pain - and can then - due to the friction between bones and swollen joint tissue - can wear away at the bones in those joints. RA can look very different from person to person, so it's hard to know what the progression of my disease will be. God has brought two sweet women into my life who have gone this road before me, one who was diagnosed with RA ten years ago (Mary) and another diagnosed seven years ago (Nicole). The way I met these two ladies is so "coincidental" that God's fingerprints are all over it! Read below, and you'll understand what I mean (and why I don't believe in coincidences being accidents!):
- When my joint pain first started getting really bad, I was in a prayer group at Bible study with two ladies I had just met that night (Kristen and Tracey - now dear friends!), and Tracey asked me if I knew Mary, a friends of hers at our church who also has RA; I didn't, so Tracey gave Mary my contact info. Mary had already emailed me when I got the call confirming the diagnosis of RA. It was comforting to know that I had someone to talk to who had gone through this before. When Mary and I talked on the phone the other day, we realized that our experiences had been very similar: first diagnosed with a thyroid autoimmune disorder with doctors thinking that our joint pain was related to that and then, not much later, getting diagnosed with RA. I think Mary was as excited as I was to have someone to talk to about this stuff, since she hasn't met anyone with exactly what she has, so we are being able to mutually encourage one another.
- Last Sunday Lee and I asked our Sunday school class to pray for us and our decision regarding treatment since there are a few different drug options for RA. After class, a new couple to our class, Nicole and Dave, came over to talk to us. Nicole shared her experience with RA and then - get this! - tells me she's a pharmacist. So now I have someone else to talk to who has been through this, plus she knows all the drug stuff, so she's a great resource for that too! Also, Dave and Lee are excited to talk to each other about what it's like to have a wife with RA, since neither of them knows anyone in this situation (especially another couple that's been married less than five years).
Without going into much detail for now, we have determined a course of treatment for the time being, and we have no doubts that we've made the right choice. Praise God for answering that prayer, and thank you to those of you who had been praying for that on our behalf! I'll go back to see the rheumatologist every three months, so my next appointment is in late October (two days after Jenelle's due date, so if you're reading this and willing to babysit for me during the appointment, let me know since I'm thinking that Jenelle won't be available to do so!). Please pray that it will be unnecessary for me to see Dr. T any sooner than that scheduled appointment, since the only thing that would make us schedule an earlier appointment would be an increase in pain, swelling, and/or stiffness in my joints.
Keeping in the spirit of my last post, a lot has changed in a year. A year ago I was a little tired, but just attributed it to being a new mom. Since then I've been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and I've had wrist surgery. I didn't expect my health to change so much in the past year! Even though I like to plan everything out, I'm glad that I had no idea how much would change because it would have been tempting to worry about tomorrow if I had known a year ago what my tomorrows would hold!
I'll close with a couple pictures like Jocelyn's then and now post. Both of these are "now" pictures of what my left thumb (without arthritis in it) and right thumb (with arthritis) look like; I don't have any "then" pictures to share since I didn't used to go running around taking pictures of my thumbs! (I still don't, actually; these wouldn't have been possible without Lee's assistance!) While you'll notice inflammation in the pictures, it's actually much better - about 50% less inflammation - than it was two weeks ago (which may make it a little hard to see what I'm talking about). Please pray that trend will continue!
My left thumb is fine; my right thumb is inflamed (and a little red, but that's not showing in the picture) at the base of the thumb. When I held my hands like they are below, there used to be a mostly straight line from thumbnail to wrist (like there is with my left hand) and the bump at the bottom of my right thumb just above the bottom of the picture wasn't there.
Below you can see the same thing at the base of my thumbs, plus you can notice that the muscles in the palm of my right hand has atrophied somewhat (thus the area below the joint between my thumb and hand looking flat on the right and rounded on the left) since I've not been able to do as much with my right hand ever since the RA kicked in full-force.
By the way, you can expect several posts this week since work has slowed down and since I've been writing posts in my head for weeks now! Among the topics to come: Slydial, what I learned on my business trip to Houston, Wordle, the green movement, why I think I spoke too soon in complimenting the Raleigh PD about how they handled the mall brawl, and "Home Sweet Renovation" parts two, three, and four. So get ready!