Hi, my name's James and I've never posted to this group before - I never
knew any thing like this existed until today. I guess I should start by
telling you about myself.

I'm 22. I was diagnosed with RA in 1999, but the doctors didn't tell me that
I'd still have it 5 years later. I guess they hoped it would be temporary
and didn't like the prospect of telling me that it may be with me for years.
My brother had a once-off swelling in his knee and elbow (there's definately
a genetic link), was in hospital for a month, but it cleared up and never
bothered him since (lucky b******!!) but for some reason it just got worse
and worse in my case. Until recently I've quietly put up with it, kind of
ignoring it and hoping it will go away - it was the wrong thing to do
because I became quietly depressed without talking to anyone about it. I was
bottling up emotions until I exploded into tears one day. Thats when I
decided to come to terms with RA and see it as a challenge instead of a
curse, confront it and do something positive about it. I had no idea of all
the little things that can help which my rheumatologist never told me, until
I started reading about it: hot water bottles, relaxation techniques,
different medications, eating the right food, an electric blanket, massages,
exercises etc. But the most helpful thing I've found is just talking to
people about it - it helps so much. With all these little things I feel like
I can get on with my life - thats why I decided to give this posting stuff a
go.

I'm thinking about trying an RA diet - lots of oily fish, veg, fruit, less
red meat, fat, sugar - I've also heard that cheese can be an aggravator.
Does anyone else do a diet like this? Do you think it helps?

Thanks for reading my ramble.

Till next time,

James