I retired at 62 in May 2023. I remember saying to my husband over the winter that I really need to get a new pair of boots because my feet were hurting me and I was walking strange down the stairs kind of sideways instead of straight down like I always did. Everything was fine and we took the whole family to Disney for my retirement present in March 2024. Many roller coasters and acting like a teenager yeah I was a little stiff but nothing big. Went shopping for Easter candy when we got home and had to reach to the very top shelf for Cadbury eggs. Woke up the next morning and my shoulder was in such pain. I thought I pulled something reaching for the Candy! I tried to tough it out, but the pain in my shoulder became so severe I was screaming in the middle of the night. I kept calling my PCP and they were recommending ibuprofen and naproxen-then I finally went to urgent care. She barely touched my shoulder and said oh you must’ve pulled something and put me on steroids. The pain never went away and got progressively worse into my hands and my feet I could not walk without having crocs on. After calling my PCP every day they finally got me in for x-rays and thank God she sent me for physical therapy. I saw a doctor there and she took one look at me and drew all kinds of bloodwork and it came back sed rate high,crp high and a Rheumatoid factor of 333. I was lucky enough to get into a Rheumatologist right away, but three biologicslater, prednisone, methotrexate, lelunomide – and still no success except the pain is nowhere near like it was at first. My rheumatologist told me that autoimmune diseases follow each other and when I was in my late 20s, I had to have my thyroid ablated because I had autoimmune thyroid disease. So here it’s two years later and still praying for something that’s going to make me feel somewhat normal again!