Defective gene behind rheumatoid arthritis identified

So glad RA can be explained and now can be better predicted, which means treated early, which means maybe preventing it for years.
This is exciting.

I had my first RA symptoms at 45. Woke up one morning and couldn't reach up to turn the bedside light on. {I'm a former Capt of 2 sports college athlete and was a Cat 2 bicycle racer at the time.} It took me 15 minites to get dressed. Five minites to get in and out of the car. I lost fifteen pounds. I was out of work for six weeks. The first "flare" lasted six months. They gave me all the "weaker" drugs to try....not the methotrexate or any DMARDS. The first "flare" I had alot of pain but no real swelling to speak of. I was in "remission" for ten years. Three years ago I had a bad bicycle accident. I broke my leg, dislocated my shoulder, etc. I also had my second "flare" of RA the same time I was trying to recover from the accident. This time I not only had the debilitating pain but alot of swelling too. I was on oxycodone at the time. I was prescribed quite a bit of oxycodone because of my severely broken leg and bad shoulder separation {initially} and what I did was I saved up alot of the oxycodone from the first month so I could take 5 mg a day for 3 or 4 months. Believe it or not this small amount helped me alot. At least at night I could sit and watch tv and not be miserable for a couple hours. The second "flare" lasted about 10 months. With the second "flare" I not only had the pain but the swelling. About 8 months after the second flare {maybe 20 months ago} the 3rd "flare" began. I still bicycle indoors on my trainer six days a week. My knees began to swell. Really swell.....not only in the front of my knee but in the back of my knee. I kept on biking though. For months. It started in my left knee and went to my right knee. My knees were as big as a girls softball. I still biked though. {I used to play athletics with broken bones and stuff. My pain threshold is a 15 on a 10 scale.} Then my wrists began to swell. Then my shoulders got so I couldn't sleep on my side. I had to sleep laying flat in my bed. Sometimes it was excruciating simply trying to push myself up from the toilet. The inflammation got so bad I had it in my teeth. I'm not kidding you. You think I'm kidding but I'm not. I could FEEL the inflammation in my body like something from the exorcist.. It was palpable, like a demon. Life was torture. This went on for months...THEN I got the malaise. Here I am with pain and swelling which was indescribable {I NEVER slept more than 1 1/2 hours in a stretch} and I get the MALAISE. What's the MALAISE? I'll tell you what it is. Here you are in so much pain that your teeth and gums are inflamed, your hips, shoulders, wrists, knees, are all swollen and to add more to this equation all of a sudden you feel like puke. That is the only way I can describe it. 24 hours a day you feel like you've got the worst Sunday morning hangover you've ever had in your life. You feel like a piece of pizza which has been sitting on the back floor of your car for two months {which you find on a 95 degree July day.} This is how I felt. Here I am a former two sport college athlete {Capt of both sports} a guy who used to play with broken bones and sprained ankles and hematoma's of the thigh and dislocated fingers...how did I feel? I used to stand in front of my bathroom mirror at night and cry and pray that I wouldn't wake up in the morning. Beg the good lord to not allow me to awaken from my {one hour at a time} sleep. Like a little baby.....and the thing is no one understands. "Have you tried glucosomine?" {Yeah. Tried it 20 years ago dude.} "What do you think might help?" {Got any heroin on ya?} "Ya. Geez. I know what ya mean. My knee has been bothering me for a week. That arthritis is difficult." {Sure is. My left knee is as big as a volleyball.}
Finally I took some methotrexate which I'd been avoiding like the plague but about three months after starting it I developed a cough and some trouble breathing issues and stopped it...I've been in remission for awhile, but I won't go back. Bad RA is a nightmare. An absolute horror.

A cure for arthritis would be a major, major breakthrough! I have tried the DMARD injectible drugs. Enbrel took away all my symptoms and was like a cure. However, after three months, I started having a serious reaction on the injection sites. I am now on Humira, which has not done much. Before that, I was on methotrexate with the Enbrel. Who knows what all of this will do to me too.
My arthritis came kind of out of the blue and had me bedridden for four months. I am thinking a virus set it off. Hope this new discovery will help us millions of victims.

I have RA so any news that can be tied to the cause is great news! Fantastic news would be a cure but in order to cure, they have to learn more about the cause.

Now lets find a cure..................