Hi guys, welcome to my site.

I’ve been researching and studying the world of arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis in particular) due to my wife’s diagnosis of it 6 years ago.

At first, we found the news hard to take. There are no known cures and it seemed as if our dream of a happy retirement had gone sour.


However, I’m happy to report that isn’t the case. We manage her illness the best we can and take each day as it comes (some days are worse for her than others). The good news is that it hasn’t affected her in some areas as bad as we thought and she’s able to live life as best she can.

The thing is, as I’m writing this now, I’m getting so frustrated. The memories of her initial diagnosis are coming back and all those dark nights wondering what it all meant. Back then I couldn’t find any decent information on the web about rheumatoid arthritis, or general arthritis. It was either old and out-of-date, or like walking into a library and not being able to read – incredibly overwhelming!

So, I decided to put together my own notes in an easy to understand manner so that you won’t have the same problems that myself and my beautiful wife did.

I hope you find this information useful and I’d love to hear from you with your experiences or questions. Each page of the site has a "comments" section in the right-hand column, please feel free to use it.

Thanks!

Robert (fonzy47).

 
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  1. Nov182008
    Rose
    I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. There were days when I felt I could barley move my hands the pain was unbearable. However I never understood how serious it was until it got to that point. I wish there would have been a site like this a long time ago and would have given the information I needed.
  2. Nov182008
    Jim
    My wife has rheumatoid arthritis. She went for years without seeking medical advice, which made the problem worse. The good thing about arthritis these days is that the treatment is a lot more advanced than it used to be.
  3. Nov192008
    Admin
    Hi Rose, thank you for the kind words, now I know why I set this site up! I guess the beauty of the Internet is that it can being people connected through illness just a little bit closer together to share experiences.
  4. Nov202008
    Mike
    Suffering from rhuematoid arthritis is going to ruin my thanksgiving. Ill have to stuff the turkey with my feet! This is horrible. What is the best rheumatoid arthritis treatment?
  5. Nov202008
    Kelly
    Is arthritis hereditary? My mother has minor problems with arthritis but isn't taking any medications. I'm wondering if I'm at risk for arthritis and if there is a holistic approach to preventing this other than using drug treatments? Like are there certain foods I can eat to help prevent this?
  6. Nov242008
    John
    Someone once told me that cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis in your old age. Is there any relevence to that myth?
  7. Dec272008
    Elysia
    Iam 28 and suffer from severe neck pain. I sought out help once and was handed pills, but with no insurance I never followed through. Are there any streches to relieve the constant pressure? I'm afraid one day I won't be able to hold my head up.
  8. Mar22009
    Nancy C. Sexton
    From 2001 until December 2005, my husband, Lewis Stroup, took Remicade, Enbrel, and Humira for RA. In February 2005 he was first diagnosed with monoclonal protein in his blood. Then, on March 8, 2007, he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Mantle Cell Lymphoma. He began taking the drugs before Johnson and Johnson, i.e. Centocor, Abbott, and Amgen/Wyeth announced that TNF Inhibitors could cause Lymphoma. Upon diagnosis, my husband was given 6 to 8 months to live; however, he had a Stem Cell Transplant on August 27, 2007, at Wake Forest Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC. He continues to take Chemo for this deadly disease. His last CT Scan still shows tumors in his abdominal area. Our family and especially Lewis, have been and are still going through a nightmare over these drugs. All RA victims need to be aware of what these TNF Inhibitors can do to them. This should not be happening to Lewis. Through our experience with these drugs, we have learned that if someone is a victim of deadly Lymphoma from taking
  9. Mar22009
    Nancy C. Sexton
    From 2001 until December 2005, my husband, Lewis Stroup, took Remicade, Enbrel, and Humira for RA. In February 2005 he was first diagnosed with monoclonal protein in his blood. Then, on March 8, 2007, he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Mantle Cell Lymphoma. He began taking the drugs before Johnson and Johnson, i.e. Centocor, Abbott, and Amgen/Wyeth announced that TNF Inhibitors could cause Lymphoma. Upon diagnosis, my husband was given 6 to 8 months to live; however, he had a Stem Cell Transplant on August 27, 2007, at Wake Forest Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC. He continues to take Chemo for this deadly disease. His last CT Scan still shows tumors in his abdominal area. Our family and especially Lewis, have been and are still going through a nightmare over these drugs. All RA victims need to be aware of what these TNF Inhibitors can do to them. This should not be happening to Lewis. Through our experience with these drugs, we have learned that if someone is a victim of deadly Lymphoma from taking
  10. Mar212009
    Lynn
    I was diagnosed with RA when I was 34, but realized after my diagnoses that I had RA since my early 20's. Doctors gave me tranquilizers because they could not find the reason for my pain and swelling. They said I must be under a lot of stress and that I was hurting myself without being aware of it. Thank God, over 20 years later, doctors are more aware and medicine is available. Although the tranquilizers made life wonderful:-) I am 48 years old now. I have had both knees replaced,(acutally my right is being replaced again this summer from cysts growing around the screw and absorbing into the bone). I have to wear a brace on my right wrist all the time, to try to buy me more time with my wrist before the have to fuse it. I live with pain constantly, but refuse to lose my wrist joint just yet. I had to have my ankle reconstructed from ruptured and torn tendons when I broke it last January. I broke it by merely turing the wrong way, but my bones, ligaments, & tendons were weak from being on prednisone for

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