Rheumatoid Arthritis Q & A

I was diagnosed with RA at 19 and have had pretty good luck over the past 12 years with the help of wonderful rheumatologists who have overseen my use of Methotrexate and Humira. It’s only been within the last year that I am abnormally exhausted. Sure, I’m a mom of a 5 year old and 2 year old, work full time and take no prisoners when it comes to the day to day grind, but who doesn’t and who isn’t? Is there some sort of plateau that one hits with their energy levels? I can’t seem to shake the fatigue and am starting to wonder if it’s a normal part of RA. Thanks for all that you do! Jennifer

I was first diagnosed with sero-negative RA approx 8 years ago. After 7 years of methotrexate (1 mil injections) supplemented with Arava and the usual medications my RA continuted to get worse and I’ve had no remissions. So, last year I stopped all DMARDs in favour of Vitamin D (100,000 IU per month). Whilst this has had no effect on my RA (it’s now in every joint except one) I have noticed a marked improvement in my ability to sleep – now getting 5-6 hours per night rather than 2-3, which has resulted in me being able to handle the pain better (rather than it improving). Is there any news on the benefit of vitamin D – my Rheumatologist says in large quantities it has a proven anti-flammatory factor, hence her agreement to let me try it.

what is zero negative arthritis ?

My 16 year old son was diagnosed with lyme disease less than a year ago. He went into stage 3 heart block before he was properly diagnosed. His doctor now thinks he has RA. Is this treatable? What is the link between lyme disease and RA? Will he beable to still play guitar? Kimberly Cahill-Fulp

What kind of birth defects would we be looking at if my husband was on Enbrel when I got pregnant? My son has some muscle issues and wondering if they are some how connected

I have been recently diagnosed with RA, but am also having symptoms that relate to AS–plus I have HLA-B27 marker. Is it possible to have both RA and AS?