RA- I'm scared.

[fluffyblanketfeatherpillow]

Earlier this year I had a cold that landed me in A and E when my throat swelled up alarmingly. Def wasn't a covid thing.
Since then I have had some odd symptoms I have been ignoring. Ignoring because I have a severely disabled young child who needs continual care.
I've had sore hands and feet. I'm typing this with one finger because the rest hurt too much to want to move them. Hot, swollen joints and fingers DH has likened to a pack of sausages. And my only comfortable shoes at the moment are my trainers. Fatigue that means I have been taking 2+ hour naps during the day and the simplest things tire me out to the point of exhaustion. And in the mornings DH has been calling me the tin man. Seemingly I have 'frozen' overnight and I am so stiff and sore it takes a long time (think anything up to an hour) and at least 1 cup of tea to get moving. Mornings are always worst.
It's almost like I have the flu without having the flu- especially with the body aching. I'm fairly hardened to pain anyway due to a different, physical thing but the pain in my hands is like nothing I have ever experienced before.
Still testing negative for covid- both LFT and PCR

I have an appointment Monday AM with the GP for blood tests. However I am not silly and I know where this is going. I have professional experience of RA plus my mother has it as well. Hers started in exactly the same way and it was her that pointed out my odd collection of symptoms and said I needed an appointment. And I am scared. I have seen what RA can do to people. I don't want it to happen to me. My child needs me. They'll be very unlikely to achieve independence and will always need to be cared for.

Sorry for the long message, I just wanted to get my thoughts out to a neutral place. I don't want to tell DH just yet how I am feeling.

Op I am so sorry this sounds like a very worrying time. I don't have experience with the specific condition although I have of others and i can imagine how unsettling the thought of it must be. Hand hold from me and a hug x

I'm so sorry you are suffering at the moment, but so glad you've made an appointment with your GP.

I too started with RA in a similar way, it's so debilitating on its own without the added stress of worrying about your daughters care. I feel stress contributed to me starting with RA.

An RA diagnosis doesn't have to mean what it did for our mothers, as treatments have come on so much in recent years. I was very immobile, very swollen joints and in pain when diagnosed, but my team at the hospital have been great and got me going.

I won't lie, it's hard at times and it can take time to find the right treatment. However, my mobility is much improved and I have faith that it can be managed and not inflict the damage it did on my mother's body.

Ive been very lucky with the nurses at the hospital and my GP, and I voiced my fears to them. They were, and still are incredibly supportive.

I hope you can speak honestly at your appointment, and get started on finding out how to resolve your symptoms. The arthritis helplines are useful too.

Best of luck. Take care

I meant to say, a wax bath really helped when I started with RA and my hands were so sore and I didn't know where to put them and paracetamols and naproxen didn't help.

Hope your appointment went smoothly this morning.

@Glassesareneeded

Appointment went OK. GP took loads and loads of bloods. Not only did I cry at the GP I also managed to faint while she was doing the bloods. I hate needles and was already feeling a bit wobbly.
She has also referred me to a rheumatologist before the bloods come back as in her opinion something really isn't right that needs investigating.

But ye gods do my hands and feet hurt. It isn't the pain like a broken finger, it's more like a dull ache. I'm counting down every second till 9pm when I can take some more pain meds and go to bed. Not that I need any more sleep today- I had 12 hours last night and another 4 today. And I'm feeling generally a bit bleugh (still covid test negative) and my appetite has gone to pot. Not even DH's delicious pasta sauce could tempt me to eat much earlier.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck

Sorry you are feeling so rough, but glad you now have a rhumatology referral and bloods done, it's not nice I know

Take care, and I hope you can get some quality sleep. My fingers used to throb, like a deep dull ache, I hope the pain killers help you tonight. With me a hot water bottle sometimes helped.

Take care and rest when you need to. Good luck and I hope your appointment comes through soon.