This isn't to say arthritis isn't bad or painful.. I've had that.. and know it is.. but RA.. is just sooooo much more!!
Does anyone else feel like this, when people say hows the arthritis? and you're like arghhhhhhhh.. its Rhumatoid.. RA.. bc it seriously affects your immune system, the fatigue,.. I never had this, when it was only arthritis.. the flu like systems.. the not being able to walk.. and how it totally takes over one's life, whether you want it to or not.
Does anyone else understand what I mean??
It feels like when they just say arthritis, thats what they're thinking and they don't fully understand whats going on.. even when you try and explain.
Yep, yep, yep... join the club.
Oh I was watching tv at in-laws, and man I have heard a few on here complain of the Aleve commercials... today I finally saw one! That commercial should have been banned from airing. It was just awful. Dude said "I have arthritis in my hands and I take Aleve and I am able to use them again." WHATEVER!! I took Aleve for my pain and it done nothing for my pain and then I had to wait 8 hours before I could take something that does help with the pain... 800mg of IBU or 1600mg of tylenol, it takes the edge off the pain, makes it more tolerable most times.
ABSOLUTELY!!!!!
I hear you on this.......I guess its the lack of education and understanding of this disease mostly......and the RA drugs dont get much TV exposure....I am not sure what the answer is ,,,except more public education on the disease....but I guess we all agree we would rather have the ridiculous amount of money for advertisement go to find a damn cure!!!!!!!! Thats why in my opinion we need one another here...we need to pull together and not apart.....this is a source of comfort and understanding....not tearing each other apart and not for personal monetary gain trying to sell something....we and only we trul understand what each other is going through. All of you are daily in my prayers...take care and God Bless
I read somewhere recently (might even have been on here) that Rheumatoid Arthritis shouldn't really be called Rheumatoid Arthritis, but something else - simply because it is so different from regular wear & tear arthritis. I'm not saying that people with regular arthritis don't suffer pain and disability- not saying that at all - of course they suffer pain & disability.
I know what you mean about those TV commercials - they really get up my nose!! And we have so many of them here as well.
Oh well, I guess we will just have to think of a new international name for our monster, and keep hoping that maybe it could get some public awareness education that doesn't lump it in with other forms of arthritis - all of which have their own peculiarities, and in which inflammation doesn't play a part. And for which the medications are very very different.
One of the things that amuses?? me is when people say, "Gosh you look well - you've put on weight". Sure the Prednisone has filled my skinny body a bit, and made me a bit curvy, and puffed out a few wrinkles on my face, but they're not going to listen if I tell them about what it's doing to the rest of my body where they can't SEE the damage like the Osteoporosis etc.
Somebody once said to me - you should get off that Prednisone, it's very bad for you - you don't need it now - just look at you - you look great!! You can move better. Thanks - I feel like screaming - do you think I would still be taking it if I could get off it?? Just try it!! Walk in my shoes for a week!
oh ya, we all "get it". I'm sure people do not realize what they say to us, it's because they don't understand. It pisses me off sometimes, or makes me get all weepy. One day I'm afraid I may snap. I have had a lady tell my daughter! that i am suffering all this pain because my husband is a pessimist and that i won't get better until i leave him!!!! How selfishly one minded, or is that one mindedly selfish, works both ways i think. I am so sick of all the so called cures. She doesnt even know whats happening in my life and that i can't work at all and it was my husband that said hurray when i stopped work and said about time, she doesn't know that he now totally supports me as i have no income at all now. Oh yeah, sure i'll be better off without him, as if!! What would she know. She can hobble a mile in my shoes!!
I get very frustrated with people and trying to explain why a seemingly healthy looking on the outside 38 year old woman is NOT working. Or why my husband is out doing the errands for me. Or why my daughter often will make dinner. Or why I'm tired all the time. Or why it takes me 3 hours to clean our medium sized 2 bdrm 1 bath upper.
I feel a lot of the problem is society itself and these dang drug companies that advertise one pill and you are cured!! Even the commercial for Enbrel that I have seen has a woman probably in her 60's horseback riding because her Enbrel is working so well. ???? Not one person I know can still go horseback riding that is on biologics and/or dmards. I just can't imagine how newly diagnosed people feel when they find out that just isn't true!! And society...don't get me started with that. If I have to explain to one more teacher or anyone that I do not work...can not work...will probably never work again in my life I'm going to scream. If I have to explain one more time I need my parent/teacher conference done over the phone and deal with rudeness from school staff I am going to scream. Or the looks I get when my husband has to help me out of the car and hand me my cane. UGH!!! I have tried every explanation I can think of and people still don't get it. And I don't feel they will unless they gimp a mile in my shoes just for one day. I do use the spoon theory with people that have time to sit down and talk about it. http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/the_spoon_theory/ A light bulb just comes on over people's heads when they run out of spoons lol.
Yea Gramma I was going to also point out the pamphlets in Dr's offices showing people boating, horseback riding etc. Those advertisments make the biologics look like a cure! I just say that I have an auto-immune disease and it is eating my joints.Bonny, I said that to someone once, and she was horrified - she thought I meant AIDS. Literally took two steps backwards!!!
When I tried to explain she went all red and flustered and couldn't get away quickly enough. She just wasn't taking it on board. Maybe it was just shock horror stuff that she didn't know how to deal with. I dunno. Paranoia maybe?? Or embarrassment at her mistake??
Made me feel quite sad at the time, I thought to myself, well what if it had been AIDS - I would sincerely hope that I wouldn't react like that if a friend told me they had AIDS.
Now I just say I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, which is attacking all my joints, and leave it at that unless they ask more.
sarah
grammscittles- thankyou for the spoon theory. i am going to print this out and give to my clossest friends and family if they ever ask why cant you just get up and go? you need to keep moving. or are you in bed again?
kelly
Well, it's true!!! Even though I was newly diagnosed, when I told a group of friend a couple said, "I have arthritis too!". One even said, "well, I'm glad it's only arthritis and not something worse". I just smiled and said, "yeah, I'm glad". Honestly, for me it's better to keep it to myself at this point. I have one friend who is really into natural remedies and she's horrified that I'm taking Sulfasalazine. She feels that I should be okay taking glucosamine/chondroitin and avoid anything harsh. And to be fair, I never knew of RA until I was diagnosed. I would have probably thought the same thing--that's it regular arthritis.I don't understand why people think that RA is an old person's disease.
There just are not that many kinds of arthritis that are NOT old peoples disease.
What disease are they thinking of?
Questions don't hurt...ignorance does.
Yes Whispered, I do understand what you mean. One thing that RA has taught me is what ignorate, idiots the general public is.