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The patient perspective

Harrie van der Velde, 49, is by nature a very optimistic person but when he was diagnosed with an aggressive type of RA about five months ago he became depressed.

– If I had known anything about the first symptoms of RA I would have come here
to see a specialist much earlier, says Harrie who is participating in IMPROVED,
one of the clinical studies at Leiden University Medical Center.

Harrie van der Velde works as a director in fashion business and like most other
actively working people he spends a lot of time in front of his computer.
– When my right wrist started to hurt almost two years ago I was sure it had to do with too much work with the mouse. I didn’t even look it up on the internet because I had no idea that this could be a symptom of a disease. But when my left wrist also started to ache some months later I went to see my GP who immediately advised me to go to the Rheumatology
department at the LUMC. At first Harrie was treated with a cortisone injection and the pain in his wrists disappeared almost immediately.

– It was like a miracle, I felt great and totally stopped thinking about these problems. But shortly after the same thing started in my ankles and that’s when I got my diagnosis, RA. I was very depressed because I had such bad associations with the disease, like old disabled people in wheelchairs etc. Nobody in my family has ever had any rheumatic problems, it was
a real shock to me. Another most unwelcome shock for him was to learn that smoking is a well-known risk factor for RA.

– I have smoked almost all my life and I still smoke between 20 and 30 cigarettes a day. It will be very very difficult for me to stop, but I intend to try, eventually. I am not really motivated yet, he says. He also suffers from periodontitis and has lost several teeth by now.

– I knew there was a connection between my dental problems and smoking but I had no idea that there also might be a link between periodontitis and RA. For the moment Harrie van der Velde has no problems with his RA. He goes on regular check ups and has responded
very well to the treatment with methotrexate and prednisolone. – I feel that my usual optimism has come back now, he laughs. My life hasn´t changed at all really and I am very pleased with
the specialist medical care here at the LUMC. My only regret is that I didn´t come earlier because after having read everything about RA, I know now how important it is to come under treatment as early as possible. I think that the public should be more informed about what the first symptoms of RA can be.