Archive for the ‘For the newly diagnosed’ Category
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The Consequences of Not Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Sometimes people ask me whether taking treatment for RA matters. Over the last couple of years, I’ve answered dozens of emails with this question, posted on Facebook last week: “What are the consequences of not treating RA?” Why patients wonder about not treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Since I live with RA myself, I know the validity [...]
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The Mouse in My Pocket: We Are Not All Alone
RA can be Isolating. Even with loved ones, we might feel lonely because they don’t know what we’re going through. Our friends can’t visualize the ice-pick that’s stabbing us or appreciate what it’s like to move around in cookie dough all the time. Being alone is not all bad, but feeling cut-off sucks Being alone [...]
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My Dear Friend Renoir: a Poem on Life with RA
This poem is one reader’s sentiment about fighting Rheumatoid Arthritis after the model of Renoir. by Eveira Prados What a shame I felt and I still feel, When the contemplation of quitting invaded my mind. Thoughts that keep telling me, “What a mess!” “Is this real?” “How am I going to survive?” I took the [...]
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Rheumatology Blog Carnival #2: How Can Diagnosis Be Improved?
Welcome to the second ever rheumatology carnival, a blog carnival on diseases of rheumatology such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Sjögren’s syndrome, and Juvenile Arthritis. You are in for such a treat. I hope you’ll take time to read each of the blogs that was submitted. What would improve diagnosis of RA or [...]
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The Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Mystery
Mysterious flares For me, a Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis was a very long process. From the teen years on, sudden painful flares attacked my hands, feet, hips, and shoulders – only I had no idea they were called flares. The whole process seemed rather comical, like a scene from a Dick Van Dyke episode: healthy girl [...]
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Newly Diagnosed Rheumatoid Arthritis Map
Lately, I’m getting more mail and messages from the newly diagnosed. Rheumatoid Arthritis is such a complicated diagnosis to handle. There is so much to figure out, I’ve often joked that we ought to get a degree and little letters after our name: RA. Answering emails and messages is an enjoyable part of my day [...]
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Where Is the RA Help Button?
What, There’s No Easy Button? Once a blogger I know mentioned how easy it would be to write a Rheumatoid Arthritis help blog. “Just write the tips you learned that make it easy to live with RA.” I just said, “Thanks.” Of course, he did not realize that living with RA is difficult. And that [...]
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Meeting the New Rheumatoid Arthritis Specialist
11 Things you might bring with you to the new Rheumatoid specialist: Person: Bring someone to serve as a witness who also provides moral support. Choose someone who believes in you and will back you up one hundred percent. For example, choose someone who has seen your disease at its worst. Discuss in advance the [...]
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