Rheumatoid Arthritis: Katy's Journey

[Streaming Well] [National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society] [Rheumatoid Arthritis: Katy's Journey] My entire life I've always been a really active person, so since a toddler I've always played tennis and played for local netball teams. When I started to work I started to run a couple of times a week. When I was in my early 20s I was a camp counselor to an American kids camp. I was the sailing teacher, tennis instructor, drama teacher, that kind of thing. I think because I've always been so active and I've always been quite healthy, so I've never really had to visit my GP or take time off work sick. [690,000 people in the UK live with rheumatoid arthritis. 1% of the population] [Three times as many women than men have the disease] In May 2010 my toe joints were really painful and stiff and a little bit swollen. I was really struggling to walk in the morning. Heels were completely out of the question, and at the time I was having some physio for a foot injury. I asked questions about it, but they just put it down to the foot injury so I kind of just shrugged it off. The pain didn't get any better, and then it wasn't just in my toe joints. It started to go in my hands as well, so when I was getting up in the morning and making a cup of tea picking up the kettle was really, really tough. Small just daily tasks were become really, really hard, and it was quite embarrassing at the time because I'd just moved in with my boyfriend. He was pretty much having to sort of look after me. As time progressed we just got so, so frustrated because I just didn't understand what was wrong. When I went to see a doctor rheumatoid arthritis never came up because they just think that I was too young to have it. We were in total despair in terms of trying to understand what was wrong. [Rheumatoid arthritis can strike at any age with onset most commonly occurring between 40 and 60 years of age] By May 2011 I managed to see a different GP who then sent me for a blood test which then confirmed that I'd got a high rheumatoid factor. From there I then got an appointment with a rheumatologist. They managed to confirm after further tests that I had actually got rheumatoid arthritis. It was such a relief for myself and my family that I'd finally been diagnosed. From that sort of telling friends and colleagues was kind of quite difficult actually because when you tell someone you've got rheumatoid arthritis quite often they think of something that their granny would have which is probably normally osteoarthritis. Even once when I went to see a nurse she kind of took one look at me when I walked in, and she was like, "Oh, you don't look like there's anything wrong with you." It's kind of like you expect things from a 30-year-old who looks about 90. [Advances in drug therapy have revolutionized treatment, but early diagnosis is still essential] I was diagnosed in July 2011. Luckily by October of that year due to the drugs working for me I managed to start running. I was quite determined not to let this disease stop me doing things that I wanted to do. Being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis actually gave me this sort of push to do extra things. I'd always talked about doing the London Marathon but never did it, but once I'd been diagnosed it kind of gave me that determination to want to make the most out of your daily life. Fortunately for me, the drugs have worked very well, but I know it isn't the same for everybody, and I still have my bad days. But I was looking up as well to be a dancer in the opening ceremony of the Olympics last year, and I will say I managed to run the Edinburgh Marathon this year. I've kept up playing tennis and playing netball, and I also manage to wear heels occasionally. [If you, or someone you know, have been affected by rheumatoid arthritis, support and information is available:] [NRAS Freephone Helpline: 0800 298 7650 helpline@nras.org.uk] [National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society] [Streaming Well]