RA Sisters

My sister Meredith and I recently attended an ambassador reunion in Florida for Vectra DA. While in attendance, I had an epiphany. I have always just considered my sister and I the RA SISTERS, but it is so much more than just the two of us. We created this blog because we never wanted anyone to feel alone on this journey or suffering. My sister and I felt fortunate in a way, because we had each other. Not everyone has a partner in crime when it comes to their disease. 😏 I now realize the term “RA SISTERS” is for ALL women suffering with this disease! We are all RA SISTERS, and we are in this fight together. At the ambassador reunion, I had the privilege of hearing Kelly O’Neill Young present. She is the author of RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS UNMASKED, 10 DANGERS of Rheumatoid Disease, and widely known as the RA WARRIOR. Here is the link to her amazing web page. http://rawarrior.com/ After hearing her speak, I instantly felt connected to her. Everything she said made me feel e...

My name is Meredith Boutte.   I'm 34, a stay at home mom of a smart 8-year-old boy and have had a wonderful boyfriend for two years. I was first diagnosed about 6 years ago.   During that time, I was a full-time student working towards becoming a nurse.   I was doing a great job in school. When I first got sick, it took about a year to be diagnosed.   There were a lot of doctor visits and a whole lot of throwing fits just so that doctors would listen to me. At one point, I told the doctor that if they did not admit me I was going to hurt myself. It's sad that I had to go through such drastic extremes to get someone to listen to me, but it worked. Soon after the hospital stay I was referred to a rheumatologist.   That changed my life forever.   At that time the diagnosis was such a relief because I was finally going to get help. I didn’t feel crazy anymore, yet the news put me into a state of depression. The only thing I knew about RA was what I ...

Like most that suffer from chronic diseases, I feel like people typically do not understand what it is like to walk (or not to walk) in our shoes. While I do not want to constantly focus on my ailments, I think it is important to spread awareness. It is crucial that we educate and provide basic knowledge for the general public. I chose this picture for this post because it hit home for me personally. I have lots of friends with Rheumatoid Disease that do indeed have severe arthritis. While I look at them and see strength, hope, and courage,  you can also see the pain and suffering through their disfigurements. My sister and I have many health issues, but one can not visibly see any deformities as of yet. While I am grateful that all my extremities are characterized as normal so far, this can make it hard for others to realize what type of struggles we go through on a day to day basis. I wanted to post some symptoms here that go hand in hand with Rheumatoid Disease. These wer...

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES AND OILS Many of you have read my very first post  RA...Say what?!?!   In this post I explain why I decided to start my very own Blog and share my diagnoses to help raise awareness for RA, Lupus, and Fibromyalgia. Over the past 5 years, I have learned and continue to learn on this journey. I enjoy sharing my story in hopes that it may help someone else feel better emotionally, spiritually, and even physically! In January of 2016, I changed my lifestyle for the better. I started to clean my diet of processed foods and products. I made a huge change and was able to get off medications that I never thought I would be able to stop taking. I started using essential oils, supplements, and foods to help any ailments instead of going straight to the medicine cabinet. I have been using Young Living Oils and products now for 2 years, and can't imagine life without them. I am no expert and have so much more to learn, but I feel obligated to share what ha...

I was in 4 th grade. I remember seeing a little boy after church. We were in the parish hall waiting in the breakfast line. He was wearing wranglers, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. I saw him standing there with his mom and grandparents. Then I remember being in 8 th grade and telling my mom that I was going to marry him someday because I loved him. I bet she thought that was funny at the time… Those are the first memories I have of meeting my husband. Fast forward to now, we have been married 12 years and together 22 years. We have 3 beautiful children and we are so grateful to have our little family. I truly know in my heart, that God made us for each other. It hasn’t always been easy, but there is no one else that I would ever want to share my life with.  When we got married, I had no idea that I would have the issues that I do. We both seemed so healthy. I had only started to have some debilitating symptoms in graduate school. The migraines that developed were ...

In general, we are raised to believe that we must always keep it together. Keep things that are unpleasant to ourselves. Try not to complain... Just suck it up!  It is rare for someone to actually tell you the truth, when asked how they are doing. I mean, what is the standard answer? "I'm fine. I'm good." We have all heard it, and we have all said it. What would happen if we really said what we were feeling or going through? Would it scare people? Would they not want to be friends anymore? What if it actually made us feel better? I believe that God made us to be compassionate and caring creatures. Most human beings are born with the "want" to nurture relationships. So why, do we deprive others of the opportunity to love, pray, and care for us?  I have to communicate my feelings constantly in order to maintain a healthy mental state. I tend to be short tempered when I am in pain. When I hurt, it causes stress on the whole family because I ...

Through suffering we find true love... This picture was taken about two years ago. I was in a terrible flare and my Grandmother, "Doe" was suffering from pulmonary fibrosis. As a child when I was hurt or didn't feel well, I would crawl up in her lap and she would pat my back and sing to me. I remember just breathing her in and almost feeling as if we were one in spirit somehow. No matter what I was going through, she always made it seem okay. She was always on my side and I knew she loved me with a love so fierce, that she would do everything and anything to make sure I was safe and taken care of.  For those of you who watch Grey's Anatomy, she was "my person".  My world was shaken when she passed away last year on September 21st. This picture popped up in my newsfeed today and it made me reflect on the true meaning of suffering and it's purpose in this life. No one likes to suffer, and no one wants to see anyone they love suffer, but if we ...

Here is a piece from the Vectra DA Ambassadors. Let's raise awareness! Click on the link to watch. #RedefiningRA

My Journey with Rheumatoid Arthritis Whenever I look back and try to remember when my symptoms started, I can’t help but wonder if all that severe joint pain as a child was more than just growing pains.  Maybe the severe fatigue and migraines all through high school were not normal and maybe all those times I got sick in college was more than just stress related.  It wasn’t until losing three pregnancies and experiencing four years of extreme suffering that I was finally diagnosed with three autoimmune diseases, one of those being Rheumatoid Arthritis.      I was official diagnosed in 2012. I was on my sixth pregnancy and feeling sick all the time. My sister was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis a few months prior to me being diagnosed, so I had already googled everything I could and knew a little bit about what it meant. The initial diagnosis was a relief on top of extreme sadness. I say it was a relief because being sick for so long and not knowing...

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I have finally felt like updating this blog! The last update was all about stopping my meds. Well, it has been a year and I am so glad that I did it. I have changed my diet and follow Paleo. I went from 206 lbs to 155 lbs. I went from a size 16 to a size 8. I was very strict in the beginning, but now am a bit more relaxed. I will tell you that I listen to my body more. When I feel like I am run down, I start a sugar detox and feed my body what it needs. I have been feeling amazing. I still have some hard days, the autoimmune issues don't go away completely, but I have seen a huge drop in pain and fatigue. I feel way better than I did on all those meds. The side effects were just as bad as my disease symptoms. I post this picture because it says so much. When I look at the left picture, I see so much pain and suffering. The picture on the right shows promise, hope, and health! On September 21st, I lost my grandmother. She was everything to me. I lost her and two weeks later...

Here is a video of the RA Sisters and our story. https://youtu.be/HMf87lqeDvU

So I have not been in the mood to do any blogging in a while, but I am ready to get back into it! My Rheumy doctor went MIA in October and I went into a panic state. I have been on methotrexate injections (chemo) for over a year now and my next appointment we were going to switch to a biologic. I was excited for this because I had heard of people having so much success with it. My doctor had explained to me that insurance companies kinda make you follow a cheaper to most expensive time line when it comes to prescribing medications and biologics are at the most expensive end of the time line. So, I had done my time and tried all the least expensive drugs and none of them seemed to help any.  I got a call the day before my appointment saying that no one knew where my doctor went and that I would have to find a new Rheumatoid doctor. This meant that my almost empty pain killers were all I had left to survive on until I found a new doctor that would prescribe me the medications I ...

It has been a fun week of sharing our story with our local community. Meredith and I were interviewed by KAMC & FOX. It felt good to share our story with other people. Our hope is that it will encourage others with RA to stay strong. No one should ever feel like they are alone in their fight. Our next goal includes organizing a 5k to raise funds for research and awareness. We would also love to do a piece on national News . My prayer is that God guide us to inform and support others who also fight rheumatoid arthritis. Here are the links to the interviews... http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=5811912 http://www.everythinglubbock.com/story/d/story/-/k7B12Ey9X0-yfN0VlNiMOw

I can vaguely remember a time when I was scared to take more than one pill at a time. I was kinda brought up believing that only the weak take medicines. It was better to just "tough it out". After I was diagnosed with my autoimmune conditions, the medicines just kept multiplying! In the beginning I decided that I was going to change my diet, use essential oils, and make my diseases disappear. I tried to talk to my doctor and see what he thought about my decision. Long story short he told me to go ahead and do what I wanted to do, but I was NOT going to stop taking any medications. He informed me that my diseases, RA and Lupus are very aggressive and if we did not treat them aggressively, they would harm my body more than any medication could. I went home that day feeling defeated. The next morning I was sitting in a chair feeling like I was on my death bed. My 5 year daughter asked me to brush her hair and put it in a ponytail for her. When I started to brush her hai...

     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 ...