RA Sisters

     I am having one of my HARD weeks this week. So hard in fact, that I can not bear the pain of standing up in the shower to bathe in the morning. I get so weak and dizzy from the shooting/throbbing/stabbing pain i want to faint. Like I have said before, I do get a little down and out, but I try to always see the good in every situation. So here it is...      When you have a disease like RA, it is essential to have supportive and loving people surround you. I just happen to have several in my life. Thanks be to God. My husband is at the top of the list. He isn't always perfect, but when I am hurting really bad, my husband really comes through for me. After complaining about how hard it is to stand in the shower, I asked my hubby to run to the store to buy me one of those chairs you put in the bath or shower to sit on. You know, the kind old people have to use... I woke up the next morning to find this chair put together and waiting for me. Instead ...

 After I was diagnosed with RA, my Rheumatologist said he wanted to do a blood test called Vectra DA. He gave me a pamphlet and told me to go check out the website. He assured me that it was a good resource and information on RA. If any of you have ever been diagnosed with something, the first thing you do is.... GOOGLE IT! I had done my share of Googling already after my sister was diagnosed and already knew all the doom and gloom. I pulled out my pamphlet and looked on the Vectra DA website as soon as I got home. It was excellent. It explained all of the information I had already read on RA, but it had something else. It had an explanation of what the Vectra DA test was and why it was important. Out of all the blood work I had had done in the past, I never had had an explanation of what it all meant. This was the first time I actually understood what the blood work would tell my doctor about my disease. Awesome...      Now comes the important...

My name is Beth. I am 35 years old and I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. The purpose of this blog is to educate, advocate, and provide a look into what it is like to have autoimmune diseases as a mother, wife, and person in general. I would like to take a step back and reflect on how I was diagnosed. It was 2012 and I was pregnant with my third child. I was sick with strep throat for the like 8th time in a year. I went into a walk in clinic and the Doctor looked at me and said "I would like to do some blood work on you. You are sick way to much and something is not right." That blood work was the answer to so many unanswered questions that I had had in my past. Long story short, I was referred to a Rheumatologist and found out I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, and Fibromyalgia. I also have a list of other issues that are autoimmune related such as a blood clotting disorder, thyroid disease, anxiety, and mild depression. The diagnosis, while awful, was an answer to ...