Have you heard of Palindromic Rheumatism?

Another one with RA. I feel for you are it can be excruciatingly painful. They think mine was triggered by pregnancy too. I had an acute onset that took months to get under control but I was diagnosed very quickly and had great medical care. I too have had a double knee replacement due to the severity of the onset but have been very lucky with my hands etc, they are in good shape. I've had it a long time but unless I told someone, they would have no clue as it's pretty much well controlled and my knee replacements have been brilliant.

Have you seen a rheumatologist? If not ask to be referred, there are some great treatments available. Hopefully you might be one of the people that palindromic RA disappears for . Wheat bag helps sooth the pain.

My understanding is that it’s episodic but unharmful. Joints swell and are painful for a short while but go back to normal between episodes. No lasting damage is done.

I had it and it has now progressed to RA... getting ready to leave for work the now but will reply fully when i get there. Big massive gentle hug xx

DH has psoriatic arthritis so also autoimmune and sounds very similar, how horrible for you DH currently back on methotrexate which makes him sleep an awful lot but at least it is helping.

There are so many different types of arthritis that people are unaware of this is a list of all the ones recognised by the arthritis foundation. It is also possible to have more than one type, currently I have four on the list. Large number of the the types are autoimmune.
The tricky thing is that even if you find someone with the same type their symptoms are likely to be similar, but not the same as yours and response to medication is very variable. I do not have Lupus, yet the medication which works best for me is a medication that is more normally prescribed for Lupus.

Ive never heard of it, but i wonder if it is what my mum hsd.
Shexstarted having arthritis in her early 30s, firstly in her neck. She never had it perminantly but would have very painful flare ups, i remember once it affected her spine. She also had hearing damage diagnosed as arthritis. Think it started when she was pregnant with my sister.

A former colleague of mine had it.

In her case, she would have flare ups that were very painful and these would last few weeks. In between those flare ups, she was often virtually pain-free. She found that she had to be careful not to overdo stuff, and that stress and generally not taking care of herself would trigger an attack.

She'd previously had a job that was physically quite demanding and had changed roles because of her illness. She also had a fair few adaptations at work (special mouse, chair etc) that made things easier for her.

Apart from that, she was able to lead a perfectly normal life most of the time. She retired a couple of years early, but that was to care for her partner, nothing to do with her own problems.

Hopefully, when they've worked out what medication etc suits you best, you'll find it manageable.

I have not heard of this type of Arthritis.

((((((Big Hugs))))))))))

Yes, I have heard of it.

I have RA, and mentioned this to a salesman when I purchased a bed. He in turn told me he had Palindromic RA, and, of course we started comparing symptoms, etc. We even shared a common rheumatologist. He had just started on a new biologic, as (I think) Humira had stopped working for him.

But, from what he told me, is that, although it is horribly painful when left untreated - as is my RA, it doesn't however actually cause the joints to deteriorate. I may have misunderstood him, or he may have been completely wrong.

I had my RA misdiagnosed by an incompetent doctor as OA because I didn't have Rheumatoid factors show up in blood tests. By the time I got an accurate diagnosis my knee joints had completely gone (double knee replacement) and I had physical distortion in my hands, elbows, shoulders, etc.

I can only recommend that you find a Rheumatologist you trust and get on some medication as soon as possible, as well as taking good pain killers. There are no prizes for being stoical, and being the most miserable person you know is not much claim to fame. Been there, done that. I became the sort of person who when asked how I was, would actually tell people. Now that's pathetic.

Sadly, when people talk about Rheumatism, I think they often mean OA which, whilst not much fun, is probably not a patch on the unremitting grinding pain and misery that RA can be. It changes you completely.

I know we don't have the same illnesses, but they are similar, and if I can be any help, let me know.