New Zealand actress Jodie Rimmer’s hidden battle: ‘Chronic pain can be isolating’

The Kiwi star is working to find the right medication to help manage her rheumatoid arthritis. Photo / Woman's Day

Beloved Kiwi actress Jodie Rimmer was spending her days working on the Netflix favourite Sweet Tooth two years ago when her health took a drastic turn one evening. While alone at her Auckland home, the mum-of-two suffered excruciating pain as her neck and right arm seized up. Panicked, she called an ambulance.

Worried Jodie might be suffering a heart attack, paramedics arrived quickly and took her to hospital, where she stayed overnight as doctors unsuccessfully tried to pinpoint the reason for her pain. It wasn’t until two months later that the former Shortland Street star was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease.

“My kids were at their dad’s house and I had my puppy here, who was really young and slept through it all, thank goodness,” laughs the mum of sons Xavier, 13, and Theo, 11, as she chats to Woman’s Day from her bed.

“It’s all very dramatic when I talk about it now, but it has been a bit of a journey through pain and the mystery of pain when they didn’t know what was causing it, which was scary. But when I got referred to an orthopaedic doctor and had a bunch of specific blood tests, I finally got diagnosed.”

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder which creates painful swelling in Jodie’s joints, mainly affecting her hands, feet and knees. In hindsight, she believes her symptoms started four years ago, when she noticed her hands, wrists and fingers hurt, but the In My Father’s Den star put it down to everyday living.

“RA is all through my joints and can make me very tired, and it’s extremely painful,” shares Rimmer, 49, who played eccentric character Judy in season one and two of Sweet Tooth. “I’ve had this flare-up for five months, with pain every day, and because it’s relentless, you do start to feel miserable.

Jodie is the mum of sons Xavier, 13, and Theo, 11. Photo / Woman's Day

“I can kind of cope with my hands and knees, but your feet carry you around, so it’s really inconvenient. The doctors and I have been trying to find the right medication that’ll work for my body.”

Rimmer admits she was surprised by her diagnosis since she thought RA was something only the elderly got. But she learnt the disease is also caused by genetics, and her aunt and grandmother had it. Thanks to steroids and immunosuppressants that managed her first flare-up, the actress didn’t have another one for a year, but the pain unfortunately returned.

“One of the things I hate the most – apart from the pain obviously – is that when it’s really bad, I need to go on steroids, which make me bloated and swollen,” she says. “Then if I have a TV job to do, it’s awful. I did a support role for an unannounced show that’s coming to Three and we were shooting down in Kaikōura when I started having another flare-up that presented in my feet. It feels like I’m walking on glass unless I have a full-on dose of Nurofen and anti-inflammatories.”

Now Rimmer’s getting ready to go into rehearsal for the play Mike And Virginia, which will co-star actor Andy Grainger and former Shorty actress Laura Hill.

“It’s a comedy and I could really do with the lightness,” she quips. “I play an out-of-work actor who has to work in a fairy shop as a fairy. I actually worked in a fairy shop when I was 21 and went to people’s houses to do fairy parties!”

Woman's Day.

As well as juggling jobs with motherhood, Rimmer walks her mixed-breed rescue dog Hiwa, who she adopted following her diagnosis, naming her after the Matariki star for prosperity and good wishes. “I thought we could do with some of that,” says Jodie, who has been narrating Dog Squad Puppy School on TVNZ 1 and working as the voice for Animates.

“I also walk two other dogs for friends and love how much joy they can bring. Even though I’ve had a lot of pain, I’ve had to walk them because you need to, and getting out and being in nature has actually been so good for me.”

Although there’s no cure for RA, medication can manage and slow the disease, and Jodie has started a new course that should take another couple of weeks to work. She’s keeping positive as a mate who also has the disease is completely fine and healthy since finding the perfect medication.

Jodie adopted her mixed-breed rescue dog Hiwa following her diagnosis. Photo / Woman's Day

“My friend, who is younger, super-fit and has a young baby, told me I’ll be fine and just need to get my meds right,” says Rimmer, who wants to head into directing next.

“It was really nice because it reminded me people do live with this all over the country and world, and that there’s hope. Chronic pain can be isolating, but at the end of the day, the little things like having a cup of tea, putting your feet in the sun and reading a mag can mean so much when you have to slow down.”

Mike And Virginia is on at Pumphouse Theatre in Takapuna, Auckland from August 31 to September 10. For tickets, see pumphouse.co.nz.