But you shouldnt give up trying.
When youfind a typeof biologic that works, it can really change how you feel in your body.
double-check you have ongoing conversations with your doctor about which treatment options may be best for you.)
Five people share how taking biologics for rheumatoid arthritis changed their life.
I had this feeling like there was hope.
Lisa Copen, 53, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1993.
As a result, she had significant joint damage and needed multiple surgeries to regain her mobility.
After she made the switch, she no longer felt limited by chronic pain.
I was walking along, and not really thinking about my pain.
I had this feeling like there was hope.
We can celebrate our little wins, whatever they are, she says.
Im no longer the mom who cries all the time.
Courtnay was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2003 when she was almost 25.
I couldnt even squeeze the toothpaste, Courtnay tells SELF.
Courtnay started taking a DMARD and a steroid to reduce the inflammation and pain2.
When she got pregnant, she went off the DMARD to avoid complications.
By the time her son was born in 2007, thearthritis had progressedto all of her joints.
I was bedridden, she recalls.
My entire body wasnt functioning.
That year, Courtnay started trying different medications but nothing worked for more than a few months.
None of them worked.
Meanwhile, Courtnay was struggling to be a hands-on mom for her son.
She couldnt feed him or change his diapers.
Just laying on the floor with him was a challenge, she says.
She hated that she couldnt play with him like other moms did.
She remembers crying in pain after he accidentally knocked her with his tiny toddler hands.
And then he would start crying, Courtnay says.
By her second treatment, she was already feeling better.
When her son called her to play outside, she could go with no hesitation.
I didn’t want him to remember me as the mom who was always in pain and crying.
And Im not that mom anymore.
Courtnay wants her story togive other people hope.
Shes the community web connection chair for theArthritis Foundationin Georgia, and is on the organizations Patient Leadership Council.
Now, she gives other people with arthritis this message: I was in your shoes.
I was hopeless and depressed for a really long time as well.
But stick with it.
Im able to do simple things like vacuum my carpet without worrying about pain.
I thought, Theres got to be a way to find relief, Zamudio tells SELF.
By February 2020, Zamudios right index finger had swelled up and turned shades of purple and blue.
It was humongous, she recalls.
Zamudio couldnt pick up a mug or brush her teeth.
If her husband accidentally nudged her foot while they were sleeping, Zamudio would wake up crying.
In early 2021, Zamudio started taking a steroid and a biologic.
Now, shes so grateful to be able to do things that many people might find mundane.
After the treatment, I feel like I can do things that everyone else can do, she says.
Im able to do simple things like vacuum my carpet without worrying about pain.
I basically have no limitations when it comes to lifting weights.
Although it got better after a week, the same thing happened to her shoulder.
Then, she started having periods of pain and swelling in her hands and feet.
At the time, her doctor assumed it was tendonitis resulting from her intense gymnastics training.
Likely switched to basketball during her freshman year of high school, but the pain continued.
After six months ofvisiting multiple specialists, Likely was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2013.
But in 2018, during Likelys senior year of college, hersymptoms started flaring up again.
I was mostly just thankful to get back to being self-sufficient, Likely says.
Chiropractic is very physical and you use your hands a lot, she explains.
I can basically do everything, even cardio.
I built back up to being able to basically have no limitations when it comes to lifting weights.
I can look after my goats and run my business.
Lainey Morse, 49, has a unique and adorable passion: goats.
My life is pretty goat-themed, she tells SELF.
Morse runs a goat farm and cocreatedGoat Yogaclasses with a yoga instructor in 2016.
At the same time, she started experiencingjoint painand stiffness, along withoverwhelming fatigueand brain fog.
(Many people with rheumatoid arthritis say they have trouble concentrating or feeling focused3.)
She began taking steroids, but they didnt relieve her symptoms.
I was thinking, Im going to be bedridden for the rest of my life, Morse says.
I thought I was going to have to give up the business, because I couldnt even function.
Theyre my babies, so its important for me to be able to do that, she says.
She is able to care for the goats again and to resume offering goat happy hours.
I have more tenacity than I did before.
I dont ever want to quit, Morse says.
She now feels more creative and was inspired to launch a goat-themed hotelthe Goatelthis year.
But now, I want to do better in business and life.
