What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
According to the Arthritis Foundation rheumatoid arthritis is "a chronic disease, mainly characterized by inflammation of the lining, or synovium, of the joints. It can lead to long-term joint damage, resulting in chronic pain, loss of function and disability.
RA progresses in three stages. The first stage is the swelling of the synovial lining, causing pain, warmth, stiffness, redness and swelling around the joint. Second is the rapid division and growth of cells, or pannus, which causes the synovium to thicken. In the third stage, the inflamed cells release enzymes that may digest bone and cartilage, often causing the involved joint to lose its shape and alignment, more pain, and loss of movement."
Rheumatoid Arthritis:
- affects about 2 million Americans a year.
- generally affects more women then men.
- can start in early childhood.
- symptoms may manifest after severe trauma, a life changing event or even dental surgery.
- symptoms may be associated with Lymes Disease
No one knows for sure what causes RA but there are several schools of thought. One says it is a bacteria, another says it is a virus, yet another says it's genetic.
Whatever the cause, the effect can be horrendous. The body's immune system kicks into hyperdrive, attacking itself and basically consuming itself as it attempts to fend off what it thinks are foreign invaders.
Symptoms Of Rheumatoid Arthritis
The following is a list of typical symptoms found in people predisposed to RA.
- Fatigue and low energy levels
- Joint pain, stiffness and inflammation
- Weakness
- Low grade fever and flu-like symptoms
- Pain associated with prolonged sitting or standing
- Muscle pain
- Depression and other emotional issues
- Painful lumps under the skin called rheumatoid nodules
- Glandular changes around the eyes and mouth
- Joint deformity
- Loss of range of motion
- General decline in overall health
Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis
I was diagnosed with this terrible disease about 12 years ago when I was in my early 40s. At the time, and after all of the tests, one doctor told me that I would be in a wheelchair within 5 yrs. Still another doctor, a few years later, told me I had 18 months to live.
Rheumatoid arthritis is considered a 'whole body' disease in that it affects you both physically and mentally.
In addition to the severe pain, inflammation and weakness, I continually run a low grade fever, can be irritable and depressed, have very little energy and have severe emotional ups and downs.
Those are the bad days, but not all days are like that.
The key to living with RA is to manage these symptoms and proceed with your life in a proper frame of mind.
Education Is Important
If you have been diagnosed with RA, you must get in the frame of mind of taking control of your own body and controlling where you will go with this. You must also educate yourself AND your family as to what to expect as you (and they) live with this disease.
People are a bit strange - especially healthy people. If someone can't SEE something physically wrong with you then they naturally assume everything is fine.
Communicate With Your Family
It's difficult for friends and family to see into your body and experience what is taking place. They can't experience the emotions, the sensations, the bone-on-bone grinding and twisting, the heat, the mental anguish, the confusion, the depression, the pain.
Educate yourself AND your family. Family members living with a rheumatoid arthritic can have their own set of issues.
They may wonder why you are irritable, or why you are having a difficult time doing simple tasks, or why you have no energy even after an entire night of sleep, or perhaps they may not understand those times when you simply can't go out in public and face even the simple things such as grocery shopping or going to the post office.
In order for your family and friends to understand you, support you and assist you, they must become educated and learn what people experience who suffer from RA.
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