Rhuematiod Arthritis - The Beggining

Warning this is only being published as my record of my road to recovery.

Today I am in hospital after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I jokingly called it my "rigor mortise disease". It happened rather quickly over three weeks I went from being mobile to almost totally immobilized. Not only were my joints shoulders,elbows, hands, hips, knees and feet sore all muscles had also locked up to stop the pain. I had fluid on my right knee and the following activities were almost impossible:

• walking
• stand up straight
• turn head without pain with very limited movement couldn't look left and right while driving without turning body. Couldn't look up above me 15 degrees above vertical
• sleeping and rolling over took thought
• lifting a coffee cup
• moving toes
• bending ankles
• bending fingers more than 20 degrees - couldn't make a fist.
•  sitting in a chair with knees bent 90 degrees with feet flat on floor
•  Lying on my back with knees straight was not possible
• Lying on my back on a hard surface with knees bent couldn't place feet flat on surface

Physical descriptions:

• Feet swollen no gaps between toes, no veins or ligament visible
• Nodes on elbows and forearms 

 I had been regularly taking voltren before this episode to control pain but in a health drive to improve my health I had reduced voltaren and alcohol to almost nil.
Although I had been to a emergency clinic and prescribed 75mg Voltaren - Tramadol the pain was still intense after 5 days of medication. All drugs were stopped when in hospital with only panadol to ease the pain (it didn't work). I had two ulcers one on my right foot on the second biggest toe the other on my left lower leg which was 5cmx4cm and 0.5cm proud flesh, but no infection. After being discharged from hospital I was taking 40mg Prednisone for two weeks then 20mg for two weeks then down to 10mg and Ibuprofen 200mg for pain.