RA = Rheumatoid Arthritis (auto-immune disease)

I have had arthritis for over 30 years, Doctors have for YEARS been telling me it was osteoarthritis. Both my knee have been replaced with prothestics. I went thru bilateral carpel tunnel surgery 2 years ago with the repair of trigger fingers. But it was the removal of a snyovial mass from a ruptured tendon on my right thumb this past Nov. that I was finally tested for RA. I went off the chart.

My doc says I have had RA for a long time. DUH! Even though he replaced my last knee, he said it LOOKED like osteoarthritis. I am BEYOND anger that it's taken so long to find this out. I have been seeking treatment for the pain and stiffness for YEARS only to be told, "take asprin, motrin, live with it, it's all in your head, you'll just get addicted to pain killers, we can't kind anything wrong, come back if it keeps bothering you...blah,blah,blah" Now my hands and feet are a nightmare. It's like wearing lava gloves and socks and having someone pound on them with hammers. We won't even discuss the back, hip, neck, elbow pain or the dry eyes.

RA is an autoimmund disease. It affects many different parts of the body including organs. The brain is an organ which CAN be affected.

No one in my family has epilepsy, only me. Mine was sudden onset at age 47. I had ONE grand mal in the back yard watering my garden about 40 days after my first knee replacement. I have always felt that the seizure had something to do with that surgery. But now that I know about RA, I just wonder if the RA wasn't the real reason for the seizure.

I never had another grand mal, but have had felt the same fluttery feeling many times, that preceded the GM. Over the next 3 1/2 years, I experianced several complex particals and 1000's of simple particals. ( I have been seizure free for the past year and a half and completely off all AED's since Oct.) I tried about 10 - 15 AED's and the VNS implant as treatment but it was the added protein, iron, Zinc and B12 that got me seizure free. Go figure.

I have searched the internet and RA message boards and web sites for ANY connection of RA and SEIZURES, now I will ask any members who have RA and epilepsy....IS THERE A CONNECTION FOR YOU? Does your RA cause your seizures?

Hello Birdbomb,

My daughter has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and complex partial seizures. We only found the seizure condition when I was trying to get someone to listen to me about my daughter's physical issues. There has been question of whether she may have lupus instead of just JRA, but her blood work has not been consistent to support that diagnosis. My daughter has also bee found to have dyslexia. JRA seems to be in my family, but the epilepsy doesn't seem to be and as you said RA can affect organs too. I would like to know who else out there is dealing with both chronic conditions as managing medicine can be diffciult let alone getting all of the doctors to work together. My daughter also has a history of a left kidney reflux but has thankfully finally outgrown it. She now has hematuria and protein in her blood, but the nephrologist has not found a reason for it yet except that she has JRA and it is a result of dealing with a chronic condition. She see the eye doctor regularly as well as the podiatrist for her orthotics. We are just now getting her to the level of other children so basically her JRA is in remission and now her rheum. wants to wean her off of her medications. I understand why, but I am also mad because this is the first school year since she was 4 years old that she has really been able to learn and play like other children without chronic conditions and I don't want to take that away as she has a lot to catch up on. Am I weird for thinking that?

Anyway, that is interesting that increasing vitamins and protein help control your seizures. I think that I am going to ask my daughter's neuro. about that. She is currently on 500 mg of Depakote ER twice a day. Talk with ya later....