Thanks Nancy. My brother has it, so genetics may play a factor. Trauma? Physical, mental and emotional. And I am blessed to care for my 93 year old moon, but it’s stressful with her dementia and slow decline. I forced myself to stop yesterday and go by the lane and watch the ducks. It’s difficult to stop and relax. My chiropractor said the buttocks pain is the paraformis muscle. It kept me up again last night. I have pain medication and it works about 50% of the time. I’m very open to any suggestions that you have, even private conversations if that is possible with this forum. Again, thank you.

Sorry for my delay. RA is like🤔 like trying to wrangle in a mad cat. It's best to go at it from many angels. My first suggestion is to take this time, gather and learn as much as you can so that when you get to that appointment in September you'll be ready for it. RA doctors are very good with the medicine part and not the lifestyle part. Many of us here will tell you that their doctor told them that the cause is unknown and there is nothing they can do and yet we've all discovered there are things we can do.

Here's a few places to start:
1. The Road Back Foundation is the research on RA being an Infection: https://www.roadback.org/
FAQ: https://www.roadback.org/faqs/
Read the book: The New Arthritis Breakthrough
2. Start getting rid of any toxins you come in contact with if you haven't already.
3. Consider finding a Functional Medicine Doctor and explore holistic alternatives and the infection information.
4. DIET!! is HUGE!!!!!! Stop eating sugars, gluten and dairy. These things cause inflammation = PAIN in your body. Try to focus more on vegetables (leafy greens are excellent) and fruit. Meat is Ok as long as it's not breaded or processed. Diet is part of a larger problem in our gut microbiome. There's alot of research here connecting it to RA that I can pass onto later.

Check out Dr. Terry Walh's and her story.
https://terrywahls.com/
Hot showers, Baths or Suanas work really well on those painful joints. Cbd creams work for short periods of time.
Try to get exercise (walking or biking is good) in at least 20 min a day. Exercise moves that inflammation out of your joints and then your body will flush that out.

I know this seems like alot so take your time. Add or change things a little every day.
You can email me any time. I love to talk and share: (Email address can only be seen by the question and answer creators)

Hi ZiZi - Yes - this is the way RA can hit. It can be all of sudden or over a period of time. There are 7 Root Causes of RA and one or all of them just may have been the final straw for your body. I hope your doctor has given you lifestyle changes information or pain medicine in the meantime while you wait for you infusion in September. There are many things you can do in your lifestyle changes to decrease that inflammation you're experiencing. If you need some ideas, please feel free to reach out to me.

Thank you Nancy!