Autoimmune Warrior The Background

I was diagnosed with RA when I was in my mid 20’s after complaining for years that my knees would swell and stiffen. I have never had the RA factor, but was diagnosed based on symptoms, X-rays, mri’s and other factors. My biologics journey began with Enbrel and Methotrexate and ended with an allergic reaction to Remicade infusions. After over 20 years of less than desirable results and serious side effects , I made the difficult decision to stop all medications and focus on dealing with the disease progression naturally.

Over the course of 20 plus years, I’ve had two rheumatologists and a third for confirmation of diagnosis. I’ve had symptoms of lupus and prescribed Plaquenil, symptoms of Sjogrens Syndrome that led to salivary gland irrigation. Most recently my rheum doc is exploring the idea that I may have Psoriatic Arthritis as a result of rapid hand joint deformities and psoriasis. I’m scheduled for a hand ultrasound to help with the diagnosis.

Almost every joint in my body has been affected including, jaws, cervical spine, lumbar spine, hips, elbows, hands, wrists, ankles, feet and knees. My life is literally one joint flare up after another and the flare ups have gotten worse. Flare ups include flu symptoms, chill, fatigue, joint pain, red and white skin patches, literal skin pain and sensitivity to touch, heat and cold.

I made the decision to stop the biologics even with the presence of increased disease activity because I literally felt as if I was going to die from the medications. The first few months after stopping the treatments I felt better because the side effects I had experienced from the treatments had subsided. The problem is, the disease activity spiked after about 6 months. My flare ups were more frequent and my joints in my hands became visibly deformed. I had both knees replaced and started Accupuncture, Chinese and Indian herbs and chronic pain classes at Kaiser. I had bariatric surgery to get as much weight as I could off my joints and started to eat a mostly keto diet focusing on no added sugars.

At this point, I’m considering biologic treatments again, but my new rheumatologist has not made a definitive decision on how she wants to treat me. The fact that the medications in the past did not work has her questioning my diagnosis. She currently says I have an undisclosed inflammatory arthritis that may not have a treatment. That doesn’t sit well with me. There has to be something that will at-least slow down the joint deformity. I have far too many symptoms to be locked down to just one autoimmune disease and treating them all at the same time was overwhelming my system. I have serious decisions to make that will affect the quality of my life Moving forward. Stay tuned for more of my Beautiful Struggle.