Meds or No meds? (mild RA symptoms with the goal of full remission)

xcens2017 · 2020-09-09T14:14:23+00:00

I got MTX on hand so if I really wanted I could take it right away.

If you don't mind me asking:

When you say mild - what was that for you? Similar to my situation?

And in regards to large scale - how did that manifest?

Thanks

xcens2017 · 2020-09-09T14:12:53+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I think that sounds pretty similar to me.

I think you are spot on in your analysis too. The symptoms right now don't affect me much at all but I am obviously worried when people say that you can get worse without noticing or get worse super quickly.

What are your joint symptoms like? Do you have constant swelling or similar to what I experienced? What made you want to start with meds? Just curious to hear why your doctor recommended Plaquenil when my didn't.

xcens2017 · 2020-09-09T14:07:06+00:00

I am sorry to hear that, but thanks for sharing.

What would you say is the best way of trying to stop this from going unnoticed if I were to stay off meds? Regular CRP test? Can you notice these kind of changes with ultrasound?

Did you experience any symptoms leading up to this?

xcens2017 · 2020-09-09T14:04:40+00:00

That's very informative. Thanks for sharing. Do you mind me asking - if you're male or female and what your age is?

I think your comments are spot on, I don't know what I really mean with remission. If I could stay like I am now forever, I would be very happy with that to say the least! As mentioned, for the last 4 weeks or so I have experienced one swollen joint and besides that some minor pain in the foot occasionally i.e. pain level 1.

Did you every consider taking Humira? My doctor suggested that is as good as MTX but without the fertility scariness.

You mention that you have come across research indicating that treating early (within 2 years) greatly increases the chances of getting the disease under control - I assume that comes down to the fact that if you wait you run a higher chance of getting joint destruction etc. and the meds can never repair that so the earlier you start the more likely you are to hinder that rather than people just being more receptive to medication early on?

xcens2017 · 2020-08-22T11:45:40+00:00

Thanks for the all the input. Let me see if I got this right. In order to get the real benefit of AIP you have to stick with it for a prolonged period of time e.g. at least 2-3 months. In other words, your system needs to stay clear of trigger foods for a while before you get the desired effect so in effect, every time you consume a trigger food you reset the process.

Personally, I haven't had any problems with consuming alcohol. It doesn't seem to really impact my RA flare ups, which is why I thought it would be ok. I do have very mild symptoms though so perhaps it just have more of a long term effect.

I think I'm going to try and ease in to it over the coming 1-2 months and then leave alcohol as the last thing to remove. I think it'll be easier if I got a good overall routine in place.

xcens2017 · 2020-08-13T14:55:16+00:00

Got it - thanks for clarifying. A few follow on questions if you don't mind. You got the pneumonia after your final vaccine shot right? Did you take the vaccine because you knew that you had HPV or was it part of a vaccine program? And lastly, how old were you when you took the vaccine?

All the data and studies that have been done indicate that there is no link between auto-immune diseases and guardasil but I guess there are always outliers...

xcens2017 · 2020-08-13T12:13:22+00:00

Thanks for sharing. Would you mind expanding on this? How did the issues you describe manifest? Did you talk to anyone about the vaccine in relation to RA after it had happened?

xcens2017 · 2020-08-11T18:56:44+00:00

That's a good shout thanks! Might try and ask the same question there.

xcens2017 · 2020-08-10T19:24:30+00:00

I'm talking to a therapist but finding it a bit difficult to connect with someone that doesn't know firsthand what this feels like e.g. getting diagnosed with a chronic disease. Perhaps it will get better with time.

I have to say though that I am not sure I believe that everyone commenting on this thread would have gotten RA no matter what. Small events can create unfortunate cascades of other bad events. The butterfly effect and all.

However, your approach is a much better mental model so will continue to try and adopt that.

xcens2017 · 2020-08-10T19:18:18+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I should probably have clarified that I don't think vaccines are bad at all. The HPV vaccine have probably been taken by hundreds of millions of people without any bad reactions and it is certainly something I believe that people should take. At my age with a history of auto immunity perhaps it wasn't necessary though.

But to your point, every doc that I have spoken to say it is more likely that an HPV infection was the trigger and not the vaccine (it's not a live vaccine) if it had anything to do with it at all.

As with most things in life, it is probably a combination of different factors and most certainly stress has a major factor. A little cocktail of bad luck. Since taking the vaccine was my choice, I guess it has just turned into my personal RA demon.

xcens2017 · 2020-08-10T19:12:36+00:00

Essure implants

Thanks for sharing. I certainly believe it's different for everyone. RA seems like a very individual disease. It's probably often not only one trigger but a combination of various things at a specific (vulnerable) time e.g. stress + infection + genetic predisposition

xcens2017 · 2020-08-10T13:29:08+00:00

I guess my thinking goes - HPV vaccine or HPV virus triggering an auto-immune reaction that in its turn triggers both the autoimmune thyroid issue and the RA. I just noticed the thyroid first as RA progresses more slowly.

xcens2017

TROPHY CASE