living with the fatigue, any suggestion, I'm tired of being tired all the time.

thanks for your reply. I am on plaquanil and methetremate, 3 months on plaquanil and 3 weeks on methetrexate. I know it is probably too soon to see any relief but I am impatient. Thanks for the heads up on the fruit powder I would not be inclined to try that unless it was from a legitemate source. I am so amazed at how the symptoms can change so drastically from day to day, it is also difficult to plan any activities as you can never be sure how you will feel. Thanks again for your input,

Paquinil usually takes up to six months to really kick in and methotrexate takes 6-8 weeks, so you're almost there. I'd recommend asking your doctor for a prescription of prednisone to help bridge the gap and act as a bit of a booster for your medication. And hang in there, it does get easier.

 

And you're right, this disease is incredibly unpredictable and is one of the most frustrating part about it. Earlier this year, I wrote a post called Predictably Unpredictable about that aspect of the disease - there might be things in there you recognize.

 

thanks for the imput. I assume you have been dealing with this disease for quite sometime you seem to be quite knowledgable. I just want to wake up in the morning and find that it has gone away ! I know that is not going to happen so I guess I will have to accept it and make the best of it. Thank you again and have a pain free day !!!

you could say that - I got it when I was four years old, so that's 43 years, so far.

 

I can highly recommend a book called The First Year with Rheumatoid Arthritis - that link will take you to a review of the book and an interview I did with its author.  it's a fantastic resource for people who are new to the disease and I learned (and re-learned) a lot, as well.

 

I'm with you. There are days where I wish someone would wave a magic wand and make the RA go away, but that's on really bad days. The rest of the time, I don't think I would change anything. RA takes away, but it also gives. It gives resilience - if you can live with this, you can do pretty much anything - and it gives you different way of looking at things. An ability to find beauty and joy even when you're having a really bad day - to get even more self-referential, you may also want to check out Great Expectations, as well as To Be or Not To Be. They both talk about finding ways of living around the disease, in spite of the disease. 

 

And stick around - finding a community of people who know exactly what you're going through can be one of the most empowering things there is about living with a chronic illness.  It makes it easier.