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If it isn’t frightening enough to be told that you have a potentially crippling disease, once patients begin to read about their condition, they are faced with the reality that they might die 10-15 years earlier than expected. This is what the older literature says. What it doesn’t say is whether a few, some, or all rheumatoid arthritis patients suffer this fate. The prognosis for RA is uncertain, because of the prolonged course of disease, the fact that the disease is so variable, and that many patients never even see a doctor for treatment and therefore are never counted in the statistical pool. When death does come prematurely it is usually from infection, pulmonary and renal disease, and GI bleeding. In my personal experience, this is not a common occurrence with today’s current treatment.
another site state: Rheumatoid arthritis alone does not appear to decrease lifespan or make your RealAge older.
Another site states that RA CAN affect mortality, however there are a lot of conditions that make that more likely....not simply just having RA. And it further states:
In addition, the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) can improve the life expectancy of those with RA. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which your body's immune system attacks itself. DMARDs may benefit immune systems that have gone out of control.
Doctors hope to improve the life expectancy of those with rheumatoid arthritis by:
another site: As treatment for rheumatoid arthritis improves, severe disability and life-threatening complications appear to be decreasing, so these figures may be overly pessimistic.
If you really want to find literature proving that your life expectancy is lower, go ahead. I won't give any credence to it and still don't understand why you would want to seek these things.
Again, I'm supersensitive on this subject b/c of my experience with congestive heart failure. I don't expect any of you to understand how I feel unless you're suffering from something as severe as heart failure and been told your survival rate was under 3 years. I'm wiping out all of the negative things in my life. I truly do wish you all good health.
p.s....I also think that if you believe your life expectancy will be reduced dramatically by RA, it probably will.
I don't want you to go Juliah. We need your postive influence here desperately.
If however you have decided you can't be a part of this group any longer I'd like to wish you the best of luck. You will be truely, truely missed here.
Hoping you'll have a change of heart,
Lovie
Juliah:
Please e-mail me -- I tried sending you a private message but saw later you can't get into your PMs.
Hugs,
Janis
Thank you Janis. I did get your private message and appreciate the referral :) Love and hugs, JuliahJuliah - Imissed seeing your posts, until I realized you were Juliah67. I wish you would stay. I do not think very negative thoughts. Heck I do nothing think much of anything at all. Good thing breathing is involuntery...lol...or I would forget to breathe. Well, hope you stay.
Wow, this post is a tough one. My doc brought up the mortality issue but I just let it go in one ear and out the other. I too believe that it is God's hands and I have no control. Maybe this is another reason I am into eating healthy, walking and yoga because I'm subconsiously fighting it but so what. I have this saying about not wanting to face my death bed with unanswered questions about trying to accomplish things I wanted to do. At least if I fail, I can say I tried and that brings me comfort. The truth is that I could be in a car accident tomorrow and it's all over. Since that is the case, why worry too much RA, etc. Take one day at a time and be happy.
Need inspiration, watch Lance Armstrong. We are all stronger than we even know.