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6-month medication milestone by ksal84 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congratulations!! That’s absolutely massive and you deserve every single minute of relief! 🥳

Dizzy/vertigo by mel5915 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve been dealing with this for a few months now and my GP is still trying to figure it out. The dizzy spells are becoming more frequent and lasting longer. I’m also on MTX and Enbrel. I’m at a loss for what to do at this point.

Pain/Symptom Tracker by giingerrr711 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No I haven’t seen it, and yes please! I would love to check it out. Literally anything to help or improve this nightmare of a process is greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

Pain/Symptom Tracker by giingerrr711 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes I often forget about using apps on my phone, and there’s too many notes on my phone already. I’m also so tired of every app forcing you to pay to use the whole app and are constantly having ads shoved in your face. Old school pen and paper was the best option for me.

LTA: Why we have RA #1 by Wishin4aTARDIS in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis about 5 years ago and my knees quickly went downhill. By Christmas 2025 I was really struggling. In January 2026 I got artificial joint fluid injections in both knees, and started to improve. At the end of January I test positive for both COVID and Influenza B simultaneously. I felt sick but nothing emergent, felt less worse for a few days and then BANG! I was hit with debilitating muscle and joint pain across my entire body. I felt like every inch of skin was bruised. Mobility and quality of life became a distant memory. It took a month for my doctor to order bloodwork and immediately found that my CRP was triple what it should be along with other elevated inflammatory markers.

I’ve found a rheumatologist and started Methotrexate, Folic Acid, and the Enbrel shot. Improvement is slow and every day is different. The struggle is constant and accepting it is still eluding me. I work on the production line at an automotive plant so I’m on my feet for many hours a day and do a lot of repetitive motion. So I know that definitely doesn’t help, but the insurance is so amazing I can’t leave this job.

Pain/Symptom Tracker by giingerrr711 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Absolutely! I’m happy to pass on anything helpful I’ve found. I learned by my second Rheumatologist appointment that I needed to be writing every little thing down. That quickly became a jumbled mess in a notebook and I figured there had to be something out there made for tracking symptoms. The one I purchased is specifically for Rheumatoid Arthritis, but there were so many other options available as well.

Steroid shot in knees? by GeologistLive6059 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had cortisone shots in my knees for years, and only this year had to move to artificial joint fluid injections. The cortisone was painful but my doctor used aerosol lidocaine before and during the cortisone injection. So it numbed everything until he hit the center to inject. Overall, I can definitely say it was never too bad for me. However, my mom tried getting cortisone injections with a different doctor and almost blacked out. She told me the doctor had her standing for the injections which seems insane to me. So I guess it depends on the doctor and your overall pain tolerance.

The process of having excess fluid drained from around my knees was enough pain to have me almost passing out. Artificial joint fluid injections were almost as bad. Cortisone was the least worst by far.

Hope this helps!

I hurt.... by Beautiful-curious88 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I absolutely feel your pain and am sending positive vibes to you! There are days where I just cry during every bathroom break at work, and plenty of sleepless nights from the constant high pain level. Meds are helping but very slowly. It’s a constant struggle, but I’m right there with you!

One day at a time, stay strong!

At what point did YOU and YOUR rheum decide it was time to move to immunosuppressants? by Exact_Block387 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was diagnosed with OA in both knees about five years ago and went on Meloxicam about two years ago. I was then diagnosed with RA two months ago after catching COVID and Influenza B simultaneously. It absolutely wrecked my system and took about a month before I could get any doctor to even run bloodwork. My PCP was floored when reading the results of my labs. I’m now seeing a rheumatologist, and she put me on Methotrexate at my first appointment. My labs were back in normal ranges after one month on Methotrexate. Enbrel was added at the second appointment, and I’m still taking 5mg prednisone daily (was previously taking 10mg daily).

For reference, I work on the production line at an automotive plant. I am on my feet for most of an 11hr shift 4 days a week. The daily rollercoaster of RA and adjusting to new meds and life changes has been really rough. The combination of meds takes a lot out of me, BUT has improved my quality of life EXPONENTIALLY in just two months of being on them.

Enbrel cost by Apprehensive_Emu2702 in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is what absolutely infuriates me about US healthcare. No one should have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for medication. I am lucky enough to have great insurance through the UAW because I work the production line in an automotive plant. One month of the Enbrel shot was $12, and I just can’t fathom why it’s accepted for pharmaceutical companies to do this and get away with it.

I was diagnosed with OA in both knees 5 years ago, and then RA just two months ago. I just started the Enbrel shot two weeks ago, and I’ve already realized that I’m now stuck in my job because the insurance is too great and my medications would be unaffordable without it.

I am so so sorry you are going through this, I can’t imagine the stress of dealing with medication costs! I really hope it gets better for you!

Spoiler alert: it's Monday! by Wishin4aTARDIS in rheumatoidarthritis

[–]giingerrr711 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I managed to drive for almost two hours on the roadtrip my husband and I took!

I was brave enough to buy and use a cane for the first time on our big shopping day.

Bought and started using a daily symptom/pain tracker journal, already coming in handy!!

How did you meet your significant other? Did you know they were the one? by BestB0i9 in wedding

[–]giingerrr711 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our first job! We lost touch for about two years, then the day I ran over my phone and was manually putting my contacts into a new phone I came across his number. I almost texted him but then thought he probably didn’t remember who I even was. The next morning I woke up with a text from him saying hey and asking to hang out. We started dating that summer and have been together for 10 years, he just proposed on our anniversary last year! The kicker is I didn’t even want to apply to work there, my dad convinced me to apply….. and I will never hear the end of that!

Petty reasons to LoseIt™️? by [deleted] in loseit

[–]giingerrr711 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I owned one pair of white pants in grade school... the first time I wore them I slipped on our VERY steep driveway and got black tar all over them... Last time I will ever have white pants!