In A Nutshell

At least I'll try.

During the week between Christmas and New Years I would wake up with achy feet. All of a sudden it hurt to get out of bed and I'd hobble around a while before I loosened up. It was better during the day.

Then it got worse. And my feet would hurt during the day as well and especially after sitting awhile. A couple of days later my hands started hurting. Then swollen knuckles.

And I was pretty sure I needed to turn back the clock to 2010 .... or the good ol' days...as I like to call them.

I have always been healthy. And with the exception of having babies, I could count on one hand the number of times I'd been to a doctor with an actual illness. This was weird.

So I searched the internet and was sorry to find that I fit the symptoms for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Especially b/c there is nothing good that comes from that diagnosis. But what do I know? I'm no doctor.

Then...OH MY! My shoulder was killing me. Like don't-even-think-of-touching-me pain and I'd rather you not talk or look at me either. No driving. No cooking dinner for my family. No anything except sitting on the couch with my rice bag and praying this goes away. My hands and feet still hurt and it was only getting worse.

I had to do something.

I made an appt with my doctor. She ordered a lot of lab work and told me she thought I fit the profile for RA.

As I waited for lab results, the pain grew worse. It was hard to turn on lamps, or the lids to my contact case, or the can opener. I could no longer guarantee I'd make it to church or piano lessons or anywhere else. I'd wake up and it'd be something new. A wrist, another finger, an elbow, the other shoulder. Always tons worse in the morning but never going away.

Lab results confirmed that my rheumatoid factor was high. My doctor referred me to a rheumatologist.

Let the journey begin....