Just got back home (USA - Vermont) a couple days ago after about a week in Australia. In addition to typical souvenirs such as refrigerator magnets, I came back with a few things I didn’t expect. In addition to new clothes in Mooloolaba, partially by necessity (long story), I bought fingerless gloves in Sydney. I’ve always had a hard time keeping my hands warm in the winter. Gloves and mittens are abundant in stores, but are frequently geared towards activities like skiing. I just end up going without as I can’t seem to do anything with them on, trapping my fingers and reducing my already poor grip to nonexistent. I can’t believe I had to go around the world to find these, but they seem like the perfect solution! The ability to keep the joints covered without trapping my fingers. Yay!

I have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and based on my personal experience, whenever I start eating fruit, my joints become inflamed and my symptoms flare up. However, when I stop eating fruit, my RA seems to go into remission, and I barely have any symptoms.

I'm wondering what might be causing this. Could I be sensitive to something in fruit, such as fructose, histamine, or another compound? Has anyone else with RA experienced something similar? I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts and personal experiences.

First of all, congratulations! Im a soon-to-be mummy too and im so excited yet scared.

Please do share your experience on the whole pregnancy process:

- any complications

- what to take note of

- which hospital to go for that assures both mummy and baby wellbeing? Public/ private?

My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for over a year. I just learned im about 5 weeks pregnant. Due to my age and my RA, I have alot of anxieties surfacing. Presently, around my elevated CRP levels and what im reading in how this can affect the baby.

For context, I have had elevated CRP levels for the last 2 to 3 years, anywhere from 10 to 12. Most recent bloodwork after pregnancy indicated my crp levels at 12.3.

Anyone with elevated crp levels going into pregnancy? How did your doctor address or support this? Would live to hear happy stories, but also, if it affected your pregnancy in any way, happy or not, would be helpful to know.

I'm looking for phone recs especially if anyone has started using those newer flip/foldable phones. I've had an iPhone 13 mini for years and although I love the lightweight, mini design compared to bulkier standard options, I find typing on the smaller screen being more of a pain. I usually use voice-to-text when possible but I can't always do that in certain settings.

I have been wanting to splurge on one of those foldable options like the Motorola razor because they seem both compact, yet can accomodate wider screen space for typing. I've been meaning to actually to go the stores and try out phones for myself, but I thought I'd ask for other's input and experiences (especially from the RA community) before possibly hopping on the bandwagon lol. Any input appreciated.

It's been over 2 years with NO relief, still searching for a med that helps control my RA. Started with Hydroxychloroquine, then Sulfasalazine (allergic), then Leflunomide 10mg then 20mg, then Enbrel, now Xeljanz, all the while lots of prednisone.

Currently on Xeljanz 11mg XR and 20mg Leflunomide as well as prednisone taper(20mg>15mg>10mg>5mg to function at work, after dropping to 15mg I had 100% breakthrough pain and symptoms (like I was on nothing at all), Dr bumped me back up to 20mg and then had some relief after a week at that level. I've never had breakthrough while on 15mg prednisone, always have breakthrough on 10mg and 5mg prednisone, is this common? Breakthrough pain while on 15mg of prednisone while also being on 20mg Leflunomide and Xeljanz 11mg XR? Seems like a lot of meds to take to control this RA.

Anyone have suggestions on next steps for meds? Of course my Dr will chose, but I want some influence. I'm thinking of suggesting switching my base DMARD to Methotrexate from Leflunomide and then suggesting Abatacept? IDK, I want to hit this hard as I've had no relief in over 2 yrs and I'm way over it.

I just want to be able to go for a walk, maybe play golf or something, just withering away at home and struggling at work, I'm already making moves to retire early as I can't stand long at work, and struggle. RA is no joke, it's debilitating.

Chad

Hi everyone!

I’m struggling with the decision of whether to go ahead with a second pregnancy or accept that the potential risks may be too much.

I have elevated CRP and ESR levels, my doctor has been tracking for 5 years, and suspects I may develop RA or Lupus at some point in the future. My antibodies are currently negative and I have no symptoms.

I’m worried that pregnancy could accelerate the development or potentially lead to a more severe disease course.

My biggest fear is becoming so sick that I can’t be the kind of mother I want to be to my children. I’m scared of how this could affect my ability to be present and enjoy motherhood in the years to come.

I’d love to hear from women who developed RA after pregnancy, had elevated CRP before their diagnosis, or went through a second pregnancy while at risk for RA.

Did anyone face a similar decision about having another child? How has RA affected your ability to care for and enjoy time with your children? If you had known the risk, would you preceed forward to grow your family or be content with what you had?

I know everyone’s experience is different, but hearing your stories would mean a lot as I navigate this difficult decision. ❤️

People with RA, I'd really appreciate your honest feedback on an idea I'm prototyping

Hey everyone,

My partner has rheumatoid arthritis and experiences finger joint pain, and seeing them go through that has made me want to explore whether I could build something that might help.

I've been researching existing finger supports and other approaches, and I've started working on prototypes for an affordable wearable device that combines finger support with adjustable vibration.

I'm still in the early stages, and I don't want to assume I know what people with RA actually need just because I'm researching the condition. That's why I'd really value input from people who live with it.

I'd love to ask a few questions:

• Would a wearable device with adjustable vibration and finger support be something you'd be interested in exploring?
• What are the biggest problems you face with existing finger supports or splints?
• Would you have concerns about vibration making your pain worse?
• What would make a device like this comfortable and practical enough to use in everyday life?
• What price range would you consider affordable for something like this?

I'm trying to keep the project affordable and accessible, but I want to understand the real needs and concerns before investing further in development.

I'm not claiming this would treat RA or reduce inflammation. I'm researching and prototyping to see whether there's a genuine unmet need and whether the concept is worth pursuing.

I'd appreciate honest feedback, including criticism or reasons you wouldn't use something like this. Your experiences could help me make better decisions about what to develop.

Thank you!

Just looking for experience on sequelae of setpoint installation or from people who have had some sort of throat surgery.

I’ve had UCTD for almost four years now, and my antibody levels keep fluctuating.
My most recent anti-CCP result was 10, with the laboratory’s upper normal limit being 5.
I’m extremely scared, and I’ve been crying all day because I’m terrified that I might develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the future and eventually develop pulmonary fibrosis.
I’ve been reading so many frightening things about RA-associated pulmonary fibrosis, especially about how serious it can be and its prognosis, and honestly, I’m terrified.
The uncertainty about my future is really affecting me emotionally.

I’ve had RA for 20 plus years. I read the inflammation can get into your chest. It causes tightening burning ect pain. For me it kinda feels like something is stuck in my chest and it’s very uncomfortable. What are the other ways others would explain it? It’s a concerning feeling

I have been taking CellCept for maybe four months now, didn’t change my skincare and my whole life I had normal skin without any major issues but recently I noticed that my skin became more dry and have redness on my cheeks, did anyone else also experience this? Or am I creating things?

Has anyone used Yuflyma during their entire pregnancy? Was baby okay? What extra precautions did you take when they were born?

Waiting for insurance approval to start a biologic, and in the meantime, have another new thing happening. When I bend over to pick something up, and apply pressure to my heel, I get this strange pulling sensation on the back of it. Very uncomfortable. It's just on one side but I suspect it's from all the inflammation left untreated. Anyone else have this? Google suggested it might be called Achilles Tendinopathy? My feet have been swollen for months.

When I was undiagnosed, I experienced incredible fatigue that only contributed to pain. With being put on hydroxychloroquine, I experienced a 50-70% reduction of fatigue. However I was still flaring occasionally with fatigue remaining as the worst symptom. Humira was a fatigue lifter for me. While I am technically someone who is seronegative and has no radiological evidence of disease, these two medications have improved my way of life tremendously. I can function around 85-90% of what I did before. 2 months lacking Humira really can put things into perspective. Finally having it shipped to me today. Never have I been so eager to stick something inside my skin 😂

I’m breaking all my glass food storage containers lately. I guess it’s poor grip strength. I prefer not to use any plastic if I can. What food storage containers do you all recommend? Is silicone a good option?

So, I started R at the request of my search for something better than the 70% relief I get from Cimzia. I did incredible on Humira for so long and was switched to a biosimilar by insurance which ruined the efficacy of these TNF inhibitors for me unfortunately. Was put on 15 mg of R about 2 weeks ago and I’m flaring. Hands are a mess. Feet are a mess. I guess Cimzia was helping a lot more than I thought. I have this weird feeling Rinvoq isn’t going to work for me. Any thoughts on what’s next? Should I give R the benefit of the doubt? I’m hurting it’s winter and it’s cold and I’m miserable 😑 I just want relief.

Hi guys!

I am in a bind!! I'm 23, and I don't know what to do about my meds. I'm on an IL-17 inhibitor for psoriatic arthritis. IL-17 inhibitors are supposed to be "less immunosuppressive" than most other biologics, and yet, in the 6 months I have been on this med, I have had 3 lower respiratory infections (one requiring a hospital visit). Bronchitis, pneumonia, and another possible pneumonia (I'm on antibiotics because my lungs keep wheezing and crackling). These have all taken me out of my life for weeks to months each.

I have a reactive airway disease/asthma-like thing going on. It's not allergy induced or exercise induced, I barely notice it unless I'm sick, but when I got sick before immunosuppressants I tended to get bad coughs and chest colds more easily that then came with these coughing fits. But I never had pneumonia before Taltz.

I want my autoimmune disease to be under control but I don't know if getting scary respiratory infections this often and this severely is worth it for me. I already do so much to avoid getting sick. I got this newest bout of possible pneumonia even AFTER getting the pneumococcal vaccine, masking with an n95 almost everywhere, washing my hands often, having an air purifier at home, doing saline rinses, having a good diet, avoiding large gatherings. I don't even go to class in person anymore. I don't go to parties. I only hang out with friends outside or in very small groups. I'm on a daily inhaler now. I don't know what else I could be doing.

Most of the other medication options would be similarly immunosuppressive or more immunosuppressive than Taltz, which is what I'm on right now. Taltz does an okay job at helping with my joint pain, and it clears my skin psoriasis completely as well as staves off my hidradenitis suppurativa issue. And I get Zepbound from being on Taltz, which is really nice and has helped me lose almost 30lbs as someone with PCOS.

But I just don't know how else to manage and I feel at a loss right now. Thank you.

EDIT: I have talked to my rheumatologist before and all they've said is "well we could put you on skyrizi but it's basically the same thing and you'd lose access to zepbound".

Today I had something strange happen. I had to stop lefluminide because it gave me neuropathy and then we believed it had stopped working because I started flaring and my number started increasing. During late spring and summer I noticed big time brain fog but I also was flaring badly because my medication stopped working. I started Orencia and had the three loading doses. Waiting to start injections. But recently I've noticed that words just don't come out the way they should. Today I had something scary happen where I said a word but it was messed up. I have noticed that happening off and on where I'm trying to get words out but they're not coming out the way they should. It's been a long time since I had a massive flare like this one. I just don't remember if this happened during it. Does this happen to anyone else? I also started having chin numbness and random neuropathy today. Just a weird day. I did get a steroid shot the other day for my knee and I know that can cause some weird things to happen too. This disease sucks.

Hi everyone. I finally got my seropositive RA diagnosis about a week ago. Ever since I started developing RA symptoms, I’ve had this facial rash.
It is honestly embarrassing. The white bumps on my skin are not all pimples, a lot of them are like…blisters?? Sometimes they’re present sometimes they’re not. The rash doesn’t really hurt too much. It does get really hot sometimes though. It’s ALWAYS there though and never goes away. I was just wondering if anyone who has RA has this rash. Thank you for reading pls be kind ❤️

I have been on mtx for around 6 weeks and have been experiencing noticeable hair thinning. I am already on folic acid daily. Are there any treatments or suggestions anyone has for how to fix this????