Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

My journey with RA started about 18 yrs ago. Numerous tests determined that I had rheumatoid arthritis? My grandmother had it, and she was very deformed, so at first I was very afraid of what was to come, then my family physician who was very informed about RA started me on Celebrex and Plaquinol. the Celebrex started kicking my kidneys down, so I had to stop taking that. A couple months later a yearly eye exam showed abnormalities in my eyes, so I then had to stop the Plaquinol. Even with pain killers life got really hard. There were many days I couldn’t even get out of bed after 6 months without Celebrex my kidneys were starting to improve, so I made the conscious decision to go back on it part time. Life was better, but nowhere near normal. I was put on painkillers and trying different RA meds. Finally was put on methotrexate in pill form. Took 3 to 4 months, but finally started feeling a little better, but still not good. Next came Methotrexate injection. A bit more progress, but still a gap between decent days and bad days.
My journey has been many years of pain and disableing changes. Stronger drug is required and a wrist replacement . When a patient has rheumatoid arthritis they can develop joint deformities in the hand or wrist that are unresponsive to medical management, surgical intervention is often necessary. These deformities lead to loss of the ability to grip, grasp, and pinch, often leaving the patient unable to perform the activities of daily living sometimes permanent damage to joints.A wrist replacement surgery and a carpal tunnel surgery on the left hand immediately to prevent further damages on my left hand.

Being able to do basic daily activities ( combing my hair, dressing myself, working etc.) will mean the world to me.

Thank you so much.