What is RA?

RA stands for rheumatoid arthritis. According to the Arthritis Foundation it is summarized as follows:

"Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes joint inflammation and pain. It happens when the immune system doesn’t work properly and attacks the lining of the joints, called the synovium. The disease commonly affects the hands, knees or ankles, and usually the same joint on both sides of the body, such as both hands or both knees. But sometimes RA causes problems in other parts of the body as well, such as the eyes, heart and circulatory system and/or the lungs.

For unknown reasons, more women than men get RA, and it usually develops in middle age. Having a family member with RA increases the odds of developing RA."

https://www.arthritis.org/diseases/rheumatoid-arthritis

No one, including researchers, knows what causes RA. The inflammatory responses in the body occurs when the immune system erroneously detects the body's own cells as foreign and reacts to it by releasing inflammatory chemicals to attack those cells. So the body is fighting itself by having an overactive immune system. 

Early onset symptoms of RA include:

• Joint pain, tenderness, swelling or stiffness that lasts for six weeks or longer.
• Morning stiffness that lasts for 30 minutes or longer.
• More than one joint is affected.
• Small joints (wrists, certain joints in the hands and feet) are typically affected first.
• The same joints on both sides of the body are affected.
• Fatigue.

By 2019 I had all of those symptoms. Unfortunately the medical field spends a lot of time searching for a positive test result. In many patients it takes YEARS to get a diagnosis. I am one of the lucky ones in that I had a little bit of medical knowledge to push through. I will say this, if you feel something is wrong, you know your body better than any doctor does. Do not give up on fighting for answers. Have someone advocate for you if needed if you don't understand medical terms. But don't give up.  RA is like a ticking time bomb. The earlier you start treatment, the better your long term prognosis is.

Unfortunately despite years of research and treatment, there is no known cure for RA. It h as been called the "invisible disease" because someone can look perfectly fine on the outside, but literally be dying on the inside. 

However, I just refuse to believe that there is no way to turn my prognosis and diagnosis around. I am fortunate in so many ways to have a husband and best friend, that while he thinks I am nuts most of the time, supports my battle and helps me on my worst days. 

On my good days, I get back in the fight for answers. On my bad days, I rest.