Web MD article | Arthritis Information

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/rheumatoid-arthritis-8-top-myths

I get WebMD emails on a regular basis. I wanted to share this one for our newbies especially. Often you hear so much gloom and doom it can be scary. I thought this 8 top-myths article was encouraging.

This was a good article. Thanks for sharing it. It's amazing how many of these myths I repeatedly run into and try to clear up in my daily life. I'm sure I'm not alone.

excellent article...well worth readingThank you. Excellent! Let's try to remember to pass on this link to all newbies. Excellent Read - Thanks for sharing. I like this one:
"94% of people with rheumatoid arthritis continued to perform all their normal activities independently after 10 years with the disease."

It is a much better statistic than some medical books which say that there is a 50% chance that people cannot work after 10 years. That has made me a happy camper! _popupControl();

Thanks Lovie, A very good article for new and old alike.

Great article - and as paperdoll said, especially the updated statistics. Takes away some fear and anxiety about the future.

It was a good article, but I can't say I am not afraid of where the JRA will take me in the next ten years. I wish it could, but I worry and I have a very aggressive form of it. So...oy! Interesting what people say about the disease though. its sad I remember my first doc saying some of these myths as fact to my mom when he was dxing me. Poor woman!

Thanks for the link. Interesting.[QUOTE=ShaDucky]

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Lots of us were given those stats, as was I when I was diagnosed 11 years ago. I think that was largely responsible for my depression that I struggled with for the first two years. I certainly hope that folks with new onset of the disease are getting more positive and encouraging information from their RD's than I did. There's so much more available to us now!

Very true, its very different from what was out there when I was diagnosed. Oh well, we paved the way as ginny pigs for you all. lolJust like with anything you can choose to see the glass half full or half empty.

I'm a firm believer that your attitude toward the disease will make a huge difference. I'd advise not waiting around on the other shoe to drop. Live your life to the fullest with no anticipation of the worst. Expect the best and don't let what MIGHT happen take one ounce of enjoyment out of the life you have right now.

I wanted to share this mainly because (just as many have stated) when I was first dx'ed my resources were from books in the library. I didn't have access to the WWW back then and the resources I was searching were likely dated even then. None of the things I read gave me much hope. I did spend many years worrying my self sick (literally). I now realize that wasn't nessesary.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring; but I have every reason to be hopeful considering I've been on a very good treatment plan since the onset. I think you learn to accept a great deal of what comes with RA as "normal" after a while and you learn not to let certain aspects of the disease control your life.

We have many members here that feel that way and live active, interesting lives. I hope that more will speak up and share their experiences about truly "Living" with RA.

Yes, that's a good article. I like to refer to my sister every once in a while when I post here. She was DX'd with RA nine years ago and was quite sick at the time but now she continues to do well. Once they got the right mix of meds, she went on with her life as she always did. Just recently she had to up her pred. slightly, but that's it. She's a real success story and I know she's only one of many. Her daughter, my niece, was DX'd with lupus several years ago. I don't know what drugs she was on, but she's off everything now and still doing well. I guess she's in remission. My sister and I were a bit nervous about her stopping all her meds but so far so good......Over the years you'll often find that you'll have to adjust medications here and there....but like your sister I've managed to cope really well after I found the right mix of medications.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for your niece. That's what I consider a real remission. If someone can go off of their medication and maintain the same level of success that's remission in my opinion. Everyone talks about medication induced remission but I just consider that disease controlled with medication. Not the same thing in my opinion.