Rheumatoid Arthritis and Florida

[stopmufflerman]

Hard to tell but at least I can do my water aerobics here every day and I couldn't afford a heated pool or gym membership up north. Water aerobics really helped my RA.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

tijlover, everyone is different. A lot of people actually feel BETTER with some humidity. I have some mild arthritis and I love Florida (I'm a native). I have been out west and HATED the cold winters. I also just don't like really dry air.

There is no one place in the country where it will be ideal conditions 365 days of the year, so you need to choose the place that suits your needs MOST of the time. For me, that is coastal Florida (I live in Sarasota). The salty smelling air also helps with my allergies!

Well, that's encouraging, thanks for the response! Before I left Minnesota for the desert SW, I had pain in my elbows, wrists, shoulders (I was doing massage for 5 years) and I thought my days of doing massage had come to an end.

I moved to Phoenix, and within 6 months it miraculously disappeared. No pain! And it's been 18 years now and it's never reappeared! Wonder of wonders!

I had planned to move to Tucson, but I think it's best then to try out Florida for a year, renting an apartment, and see what happens. I doubt whether a 2 week trip over there would be timely enough, probably need a year, and if it's not conducive to my arthritis, I'll hightail to the desert SW again!

Anybody know the least humid part of humid Florida?

[Legendof302]

Im from Delaware and have went to South Florida almost every winter of my 20's and it saved my life.

Now im in my 30's and my joints hurt so bad all fall and winter up here i wish i could go down there for the winter again.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Well, that's encouraging, thanks for the response! Before I left Minnesota for the desert SW, I had pain in my elbows, wrists, shoulders (I was doing massage for 5 years) and I thought my days of doing massage had come to an end.

I moved to Phoenix, and within 6 months it miraculously disappeared. No pain! And it's been 18 years now and it's never reappeared! Wonder of wonders!

I had planned to move to Tucson, but I think it's best then to try out Florida for a year, renting an apartment, and see what happens. I doubt whether a 2 week trip over there would be timely enough, probably need a year, and if it's not conducive to my arthritis, I'll hightail to the desert SW again!

Anybody know the least humid part of humid Florida?

All of Florida is humid, you won't find much difference in any part of the state. It is a teeny bit drier in the center of the state, away from the coast, but temps will be hotter in summer and colder in winter. I advise somewhere in the central coastal area (east or west) for maximum enjoyment (that's just my opinion)

[flyred77]

I have now read about a million forum messages related to arthritis and the only pattern I see is that humidity does seem to effect folks with RA, but not so much those of us with OA. Barometric pressure seems to be the key for OA. Would anyone else agree with this?

[idsrvt2]

Flyered, I have oa , Lyme disease and other chronic pain conditions. I do best in warm and humid, started after my neck got really bad that I noticed humidity helped. I'm in pa and the winter was so tough. I visited dunedin in March and felt almost human again, but going from 80 to 22 degrees they day I got back really messed me up for months. I'm looking to relocate to fl , and hope to make a trip down this summer to see how I feel in the heat and humidity.

Originally Posted by flyred77

I have now read about a million forum messages related to arthritis and the only pattern I see is that humidity does seem to effect folks with RA, but not so much those of us with OA. Barometric pressure seems to be the key for OA. Would anyone else agree with this?

[Johnnylin]

Originally Posted by carries114

I am 27 yr old Florida native. I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 12 and still struggle with joint pain and constant swelling of my lower joints. I cant imagine living in a cold state, I absolutely love florida, however, the humidity is definately a factor. Winters can get down into the low 20s at the coldest but usually feel much colder because of the humidity. It also rains a decent amount contrary to popular belief that we are the sunshine state....i wake up stiff and achy and can tell it ill be raining the next day. Nonetheless, I'd still rather live here than in a state where it snows. I hope this helps you.
Carrie

Can I have direction which hospital I can go for RA please?

[bgirldeb]

Originally Posted by Johnnylin

Can I have direction which hospital I can go for RA please?

Rheumatologists are the doctors that treat RA. One I can recommend is Joel Silverfield in Tampa/ Brandon. As with most specialists you may have to wait a while for an initial appointment.

[ilikepizza]

Question for all of you RA sufferers. Do you take Sulfasalazeine? If so, any trouble or side effects from taking in long term? Do you have to get blood work done every year to make sure it's not damaging your body?